Guyana is set to celebrate its 56th Independence Day on May 26. To mark this occasion in the context of cricket, here are some of Guyana’s top players who have emerged from the West Indies in men’s Test cricket.
01 Rohan Kanhai
Rohan Bholalall Kanhai made his Test debut in 1957 against England in Birmingham. In his early days he was a wicket-keeper as well as a middle-order batsman. The West Indies have relied on his batting for more than 16 years of his cricketing career. He waited until his 13th Test when he did not score a century then scored his first century against India in Calcutta with 256 runs.
He has scored 6227 runs in 79 Tests with 15 centuries and 28 half-centuries. At the end of his cricketing career, ODI cricket was in its infancy and he played only seven ODIs. However, in his first World Cup final against Australia in 1975 at Lord’s, he scored 55 to build a crucial 149 – run partnership with Clive Lloyd for the fourth wicket as the West Indies scored 50 for three.
02 Clive Lloyd
6’5″ with stooped shoulders, a large moustache and thick glasses, Clive Lloyd was the crucial ingredient in the rise of West Indian cricket. An almost ponderous, lazy gait belied the speed and power at his command and the astute tactical brain that led the West Indies to the top of world cricket for two decades.
He scored 7515 runs in 110 Tests with 19 centuries and 39 half-centuries. Lloyd made his Test debut against India in December 1966 in Mumbai, scoring 82 and 78 not out. Also He has scored 1977 runs in 87 ODIs with one century and 11 half centuries.
Lloyd was a hard-hitting batsmen and one of the most successful captains in history. his final record as captain was remarkable, including a run of 26 Tests without defeat, and 11 successive wins. He also became the first West Indian to win 100 Test caps.
03 Carl Hooper
Carl Llewellyn Hooper made his ODI debut in March 1987 against New Zealand and scoring 48 off 79 balls in debut. Since then he has scored 5761 runs in 227 ODIs with 07 centuries and 29 half centuries. His unbeaten 113 is his highest score and He also taken 193 wickets.
Hooper made his Test debut against India at Wankhede in December 1987. He has scored 5762 runs in 173 innings of his Test career with 13 centuries and 27 half centuries and The highest score was 233. Also He taken 114 wickets as a bowler.
The captaincy, which he took on after a prolonged absence from the side, then briefly brought out the best in him, and for two years he averaged close 50. But, after following a bad World Cup in 2003, he was replaced by Brain Lara and once more reverted to semi-retirement.
04 Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Shivnarine Chanderpaul is a legend from the West Indies cricket and world cricket. he has a non-traditional batting style and is good enough to break up rival bowlers.
He made his international debut at the age of 19, but did not score a century in international cricket for three years, prompting some criticism. Early in his career, he was plagued by injuries, and was even dubbed a hypochondriac until Chanderpaul had a piece of floating bone removed from his foot in 2000. Since then Chanderpaul has enjoyed consistent form, scoring over 11,000 runs in Test cricket carrer.
Lara’s retirement could be his biggest contribution to the West Indies’ fragile batting line-up. Two other senior batsmen, Sarwan and Gayle, were absent for some reasons, and Chanderpaul’s contribution was immense as he played with minimal support from the other end, despite bowling attacks in every country and in all situations. Example, In the tournament where he completed 10,000 Test runs against Australia in 2012, he scored 346 runs in five innings. ( 103 *, 12, 94, 68, 69 )
He has scored 11867 runs in 164 Tests for the West Indies with 30 centuries and 66 half-centuries and his Test cricket career average was 51.37. He has also scored 8778 runs in 268 ODIs With an average of 41.60 and he scored 11 centuries and 59 half-centuries.
Due to poor performances, he was dropped from the West Indies side in 2015. After that, he announced his retirement from international cricket in 2016, without a farewell, at the age of 41.
05 Ramnaresh Sarwan
Sarwan made his Test debut in May 2000 against Pakistan, scoring 84 off 232 balls in the first innings. After his first Test innings,Ted Dexter was moved to predict a Test average of more than 50 quite a millstone to hang around any young player’s neck. But on his first tour, to England in 2000, he lived up to the hype by topping the averages. Sarwan’s footwork, which seemed to require no early trigger movements, was strikingly confident and precise.
By the end of his career in cricket, he had scored 5842 runs in 154 Test innings. The highest score in an innings was 291. He also had 15 centuries and 31 half-centuries. He scored 5804 runs in 181 ODIs with 05 centuries and 38 half centuries.
In addition, Alvin Kallicharran, Roy Fredericks, Basil Butcher, Robert Christiani and Lance Gibbs are some of the Guyana players who have represented the West Indies.
Data : ESPNcricinfo