Rooting for young Chanderpaul

Western Bureau:

Thanks to television, I recently had the pleasure of watching the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup Tournament in Dubai, and while the West Indies team did not do as well as I would have liked, I think I saw enough, especially in the batting of young Tagenarine Chanderpaul, to be encouraged.

After watching the steady decline of West Indies cricket for the better part of the last three decades, I decided to pay special attention to the Under-19 World Cup tournament in the hope that among the youngsters who were on show, I would see one or two we could bank on for the near future.

I was mightily impressed by the sparkling century scored by wicketkeeper/batsman Nicholas Pooran in the West Indies' quarter-final game against Australia, but for me, the real highlight of the tournament was the batting of young Chanderpaul, the sixteen-year-old son of established Windies star Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

After watching the young Chanderpaul scoring a century and two half centuries in his tournament tally of 293 runs, I am firmly convinced that with his technique, temperament and hunger for runs, the West Indies selectors would do well to start giving serious thought to getting him into the senior team set-up.

In fact, in looking at the current West Indies senior team, I am absolutely convinced that some of our batsmen will never become great players. Unlike the young Chanderpaul, they are woefully out of sorts in terms of technique and the desire to succeed.

Contrary to the belief that youngsters, regardless of how much promise they are showing, should be forced to wait until they are considered mature, I believe that once a youngster possesses the requisite skills, he should be given the opportunity to step up to the proverbial plate.

It could be argued that many of the youngsters who have been given early opportunities have failed, but it should be noted that many have evolved into real icons of the sports. India's Sachin Tedulkar, who was given his chance at age 16; and West Indies super star Sir Garfield Sobers, who started at 17, are easily two of the biggest stars in the history of the game.

Instead of seeking to further prolong the careers of players like Devon Smith and Dwayne Smith, who are clearly not suited for cricket above the regional level, I would love to see young Chanderpaul being given a chance to hone his skills in the company of the likes of Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo and his father Shiv.

In fact, I think it would be a proud moment for West Indies cricket and sports in general to have father and son in the same team. Surely, it would be a rich tribute to the durability and enduring qualities of the father and the great promise of his talented son.

As I have stated above, I don't believe gifted youngsters should be held back because someone thinks age should be given more significance than it deserves. In looking back at the situation when a young Brian Lara emerged, I believe the selectors blundered badly in initially keeping him out of the team to facilitate Gus Logie, whose place in the team could not be justified.

In reflecting on the Lara scenario, I strongly believe that had he been introduced into the West Indies team two years earlier, instead of the 11,953 runs he amassed from his 131 Test marches, he would be much closer to the 15,921 runs Tendulkar scored in his 200 Test matches. It is my fervent hope that young Tagenarine will be given an early start.

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