MULTAN, Nov 20: West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul joined an elite band of cricketers on Sunday when he became the 42nd player to complete a century of Test appearances on the opening day of the second Test against Pakistan at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
Chanderpaul, the 32-year-old left-hander from Guyana, is the eighth West Indian to reach the coveted landmark. The club also includes 10 Australians, eight Englishmen, six Indians, four Pakistanis, three South Africans, two Sri Lankans and one New Zealander.
Born on Aug 16, 1974, Chanderpaul was 19 years old when he made his international debut against Michael Atherton’s England side in the third Test at Georgetown which was played on his home territory in March 1994. In that game, which West Indies won by an innings and 44 runs, Chanderpaul scored 62.
The West Indies’ roll of honour is headed by Courtney Walsh with 132 Tests caps, followed by current skipper Brian Lara, who is playing his 130th Test here, Sir Vivian Richards (121), Desmond Haynes (116), Clive Lloyd (110), Gordon Greenidge (108), Carl Hooper (102) and Chanderpaul (100).
Remarkably, all eight of them captained West Indies in Test cricket at some stage during their careers.
Former Australian captain Steve Waugh leads the 42-member club with a world record 164 Test appearances. The only other player to figure in 150 or more Tests is Allan Border, who played 156 matches and led Australia in a record 93 Tests (all of them in an unbroken sequence).
Ian Healy, who like Steve Waugh and Border also hails from Australia, is the solitary wicket-keeper to feature in this group. He played 119 Tests between 1988-89 and 1999.
Three players of this exclusive club are playing in the ongoing Test – Lara, Chanderpaul and Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who is taking part in his 115th Test.
Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have no representatives since they have yet to register 100 Tests. Zimbabwe, currently without Test status, has figured in 83 Tests with Grant Flower heading their list of individual appearances with 67 matches.
Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar has so far appeared in 42 of the 44 Tests played by his country.