Trained by Tagenarine Chandrapaul’s grandfather Kemraj, Shivnarine’s son is less raced than his father but still has many similarities.
His front foot starts off well outside leg stump, his heel points towards square leg and he shuffles across just in time to be in line to meet the ball. At that point, Tagenarine looks as regular as any other batter, which is sort of how he sees himself.
Young Chanderpaul told ESPNcricinfo that his stance is a traditional one.
“My stance is pretty conventional. But I guess when my trigger starts, I can get a bit square on. My dad, when he came back to Guyana, I was about 13 and we would practice together in the afternoon, so yeah, some of the stuff started to rub off.”
His first coach was his paternal grandfather who taught him to play cricket on the same cement pitch that Shivanrine learned.
“He was my first coach. Where we lived, he would throw balls at me. We also have a cricket ground not too far from us – Unity Cricket Ground – so we would go there in the afternoon and hit balls. And then he took me to join a club in town. After school, we would go and practice there. It took off from there.”
Commenting on his father, he emphasized that he feels great pride when he hears people talking about his father.
“Growing up, if we go about somewhere people would know him or speak about him or talk about a game from the previous day. It was a proud feeling.”
The talk around Tagenarine was that he was walking the same path as his famous father, and when Shivnarine returned to Guyana in 2009, there was hope that the pair would walk down the road together. Four years later, Tagenarine made his first-class debut with limited success.
He scored 105 runs in his first three matches. In his fourth match, he played in an XI with his father, who scored a century in the second innings, with his own scores of 42 and 29.
He described how he and his father play together.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t bat together as much as we would have liked and it’s because I got out quite a few times before he came in. But when we were together, he gave me some advice and ways to score and what shots I can play so it was good to have him around.”
The two played 11 first-class matches together over five years, with Tagenarine scoring his first red-ball century in the final. Later that year, Shivnarine played his last first-class match and seemed to have passed the baton.
However, Tage says that he is different from his father, so he tries to be him.
“My dad is a totally different person from me, personality-wise. He’s achieved so many things. I can only do what I can do. I’ve got to try and be myself and I can’t be him. Every time I go out and bat, I just try to be me and get some runs.”
Tagenarine scored 51 and 45 in this first Test and scored 47 and 17 in unfamiliar conditions and against a strong Australian attack under the guidance of none other than Brian Lara.
He spoke about mentor Lara and he says,
“He wasn’t a team mentor then but he was doing commentary and he would come to practice sessions and offer some advice.”
The West Indies team is currently touring South Africa for a full series. However, the South Africa won the first Test by 87 runs, with Tagenarine scoring 22 runs in the first innings and 10 runs in the second innings.
West Indies in South Africa schedule:
February 21-23 – Warm-up match vs SA Invitational XI (Benoni)
Feb 28-March 4 – 1st Test (Centurion), March 8-12 – 2nd Test (Johannesburg)
March 16 – 1st ODI (East London), March 18 – 2nd ODI (East London), March 21 – 3rd ODI (Potchefstroom)
March 25 – 1st T20I (Centurion), March 26 – 2nd T20I (Centurion), March 28 – 3rd T20I (Johannesburg)
Test squad
Kraigg Brathwaite (C), Jermaine Blackwood (VC), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Akeem Jordan, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas
ODI squad
Shai Hope (C, Rovman Powell (VC), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith
T20I squad:
Rovman Powell (C), Kyle Mayers (VC), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Obed McCoy, Nicholas Pooran, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith