Second test 'double' delights Chanderpaul

Shivnarine Chanderpaul said he welcomed his second double century.The veteran gathered an unbeaten 203 as the West Indies posted a huge first innings total of 527-4 in their first innings.

Chanderpaul's innings came to an end 20 minutes before the tea interval when the West Indies declared.His 203 today equalled his highest score which he also made 7 years ago against South Africa on home soil at Bourda in Georgetown,Guyana.

He is now level with the peerless Garfield Sobers on the list of century-makers in Tests from West Indies with 26.

“Sir Garry is Sir Garry,” he said. “Being level on centuries with Sir Garry is always good, but I cannot be Sir Garry.

“I have played a lot more games than Sir Garry, but it’s still a great honour to be mentioned in the same sentence with Sir Garry.”

He added: “In my career, I have not scored too many Test double hundreds, so it was truly satisfying to get past that landmark.

“The team comes first. No matter what is the individual’s score. Whatever is the team plan, we have to stick to it. I was just happy to get past 200.”

Chanderpaul said his desire for runs and the love of the game were God-given talents, which he has worked hard to cultivate over the years.

“It is something that I have tried very hard over the years to do,” he said. “I’ve tried hard to improve and tried hard to get better at everything I do. I’m happy that I am still able to score hundreds and batting well at this stage.

“Where I bat could be one of the reasons why I have not scored many more double hundreds. But I had many opportunities to get big scores and I didn’t. It’s unfortunate, but it’s how the game is played at times, so I was thankful that I was able to cross the double-hundred mark this time.”

Is Powell the West Indies opening Solution ?

With the return of Chris Gayle to the West Indies side,the likes of Adrian Barath,kraig Brathwaite and  Keiron Powell have found themselves battling it out for the remaining opening position.Powell having been selected however to accompany Gayle in Bangladesh as he has done against New Zealand in the previous tour has somewhat provided a solid impact showing why he was selected.On the first day of the first test,Powell struck his 2nd century,providing the West Indies with a solid platform for a huge first innings total.Other significant contributers included the all so reliable,veteran batsman;Shivnarine Chanderpaul who brought up his 26 test hundred and Denesh Ramdin who is  unbeaten like Chanderpaul after raising his half century.

Powell gave praise to Chanderpaul saying he found it comfortable batting with him.

"I think batting with any senior player is easy. Shiv has lots of experience, something like 145 Test matches," Powell said after the day's play. "He takes all the pressure off you and lets you play the normal game. He keeps talking to you."

The age difference between the pair is around 16 years, a non-issue for Chanderpaul, who has been known to take young batsmen under his wing. "He's just telling me to be patient, stay positive, look to rotate the strike and put away the bad balls, and play straight," Powell said.

The competition is a nice one for the West Indians to find themselves in,positive competition where solid performances are needed to maintain their spots.Powell's century will surely add to his stats and his case,to cement his spot as Gayle's opening partner.

Windies look for Progress in Test

Windies have taken stirdes in test cricket this year (source-cricinfo)

In the last decade the West Indies have not taken many strides towards the top,especially in the test format of the game,recent series however have shown that there is ability and that some sort of fight can come from the Windies. November 13th starts the test series against Bangladesh and all eyes will be on the Carribean Kings since its there first outing after lifting the World T2c cup a few months ago in Sri Lanka.

Similar condtitions,but totally different format,the challenge will not be easy,and the West Indies players are very conscious about that.Top man Chris Gayle,captain Darren Sammy have both voiced their comments,and neither is being complacent about the opposition.

Sammy has made his intentions clear, "We beat New Zealand in both Tests and performances came from different players. We come here with one mission: to win all three series in Bangladesh." Bangladesh on the other hand would surely be looking to put up a challenge and for they themselves to make inroads into the test rankings.

"Pitches in Bangladesh will suit us"-Ramdin

Verasammy Permaul

Sunil Narine

West Indies wicket keeper Denesh Ramdin believes the pitches in Bangladesh will suit the West Indies,especially with the inclusion of "mystery" spinner Sunil Narine and uncapped 23 year old,left arm spinner,Verasammy Permaul.

"The pitches here are similar to a lot of pitches back in the Caribbean. Slow and the ball spins a bit," Ramdin said. "It will be to our advantage with Sunil Narine and Veerasammy Permaul, who's on debut. If we go into the Test with two spinners, we'll have to try and bowl them out." 

Along with the 2 specialist spinners,West Indies have part timers up their sleeves,the likes of Chris Gayle,Deonarine and Sammuels will surely be useful in such conditions.Ramdin believes its very important to keep the momentum going and with the likes of Chris Gayle,Shiv Chanderpaul and co. he sees no reason why this cannot happen. West Indies play the first test in Dhaka on November 13th.

Viv-west indies can return to glory under darren sammy

Sir Vivian Richards the legendary west indian batsman has said that the carribean can witness back the days of glory under the leadership of darren sammy after their memorable world cup victory in sri lanka . 

“Winning a tournament of that nature will ignite the spirit again — and winning in cricket is what it is all about,” the Sun quoted Richards, as saying.

“The younger generation in the Caribbean love the Twenty20 format and will be inspired,’ he added.

“West Indies cricket is on the road back — winning should create the confidence that you need in other formats of the game. We can walk tall again,” he said. 

Chris Gayle to Record Song !!!

The man they call CG,Crampy is about to hit up the recording studios to record a song .The song will be a promotion for the dance "Chris Gayle Cover Drive,"invented by G-unit dancer,Zinga !

   The dance will include dancehall artist QQ who is also  known for his dance hits 'rum ram' and 'stukie'.The song has not yet been recorded,but CG is suppose to record his part of the song,before departing for the highly anticipated Bangladesh series.Zinga nor CG are known for their singing skills,so the song is surely going to be an interesting one.That's "wha gwan mon !!!"

Permaul picked for Bangladesh Test 

Versammy Permaul the Guyanese left arm spinner has been included into the West Indies squad to tour Bangladesh this Novemeber.Permaul has led and performed well for the West Indies A team throughout 2012.Permaul,23 has played 45 first class matches since his debut at the age of 17 and has taken 152 wickets at an average of 24.59.

WEST INDIES SQUAD: Darren Sammy(captain),Denesh Ramdin(vice-captain),Shivnarine Chanderpaul,Chris Gayle,Narsingh Deonarine,Marlon Sammuels,Assad Fudadin,Sunil Narine,Versammy Permaul,Kemar Roach,Ravi Rampaul,Keiran Powell,Tino Best,Kirk Edwards,Darren Bravo

West Indies vs Bangladesh Preview

      

                                                 WEST INDIES  .vs.  BANGLADESH

        So as the West Indies,get ready to fly out to Bangladesh where they compete in 2 test,5ODI's and a one off T20,the guys from the Caribbean must be feeling quiet confident about there chances against the host especially after winning the world cup a couple weeks ago.Providing the celebrations have stopped,the focus must now be set to a entirely different format,and as Chris Gayle has mentioned before,the west indies must not take Bangladesh lightly.
       West Indies possess a team in which there is no doubt about the skills,ability and talent,and with the likes of Shiv Chanderpaul back in the whites,the middle order looks that more formidable.The Bangladeshis must not count themselves out,with a couple of good batsmen who are more than capable of scoring runs,left arm spinners capable of tackling and confusing  Kevin Peiterson,surely there must be some sort of positive mindset and the belief that they can win. Apart from winning ,is important that Bangladesh put up some sort of competition so as to provide entertainment and hope for the home fans. 
       Darren Sammy would love to keep up the progress shown in recent years and surely he himself would not be taking Bangladesh lightly.The Windies start they're campaign on the 8th November,against the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI which should provide some crucial warm ups for the guys to get their mindset right for the longer version of the game.Whether spinners are picked or not,is all up to the BCB. :)