Roseau, Dominica – Shivnarine Chanderpaul celebrated another special milestone in his outstanding career on Wednesday when he appeared in his 133rd Test match, to become the most capped West Indies Test cricketer.
The 36-year-old left-hander is in the line-up for the Third Digicel Test match against India – the first ever Test at Windsor Park.
Chanderpaul made his Test debut as a 19-year-old back in 1994 and has been a reliable member of the team since then. He surpassed fast bowling great Courtney Walsh, who made 132 Test appearances. Third on the West Indies all-time list is another legend Brian Lara, who played 131 Tests.
Before the start of the match Chanderpaul was congratulated by the entire team at a brief ceremony in front the Billy Doctrove Pavilion and was also cheered by the spectators. Also, to mark the occasion, Chanderpaul presented first Test caps to debutants Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards.
Chanderpaul was delighted. "It feels good to reach this landmark. I just want to keep doing my best in every match."
West Indies Team Manager Richie Richardson and Batting Consultant Desmond Haynes were both members of the team when Chanderpaul played his first Test against England at Bourda in Guyana more than 17 years ago.
"This is a tremendous milestone, he has done very well and to reach 133 Test matches is truly remarkable," Haynes said in paying tribute.
Richardson added: "When Shiv first came into the team years back you could see the desire to play for a long time. He has worked hard over the years and it is great to see him reaching this landmark."
Chanderpaul has had an outstanding career, scoring 9228 runs at an average of 48.56 with 22 centuries before Wednesday.