Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his son Tagenarine score fifties in same first-class match

What’s the story?

Former West Indies stalwart Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his son Tagenarine both recorded half-centuries in the same first-class match. The father-son duo represents Guyana in the Caribbean region’s domestic circuit and became the first time a father-son duo to have scored half-centuries in the same first-class match.

During an away fixture against Jamaica, they even batted together for a brief partnership of 38 runs to help their team eke out a narrow first-innings lead at the Sabina Park in Kingston. While Tagenarine scored a 135-ball 58 from the top of the order, Shivnarine entered at number five and held fort with a solid knock of 57 from 175 balls. However, both batsmen were unable to kick on and reach three figures.

The background

One of the greatest batsmen in the modern era, Shivnarine has played a whopping 164 Tests for West Indies and amassed 11867 runs at an impressive average of 51.37 with 30 centuries and 66 fifties. Only 4 cricketers have participated in more Tests than the reliable left-hander while his tally of runs places him on seventh in the all-time list behind Brian Lara.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul made his first-class debut in 2013 and has since played five matches (including the ongoing one) alongside his father but this was the first time both players made a mark in the same game.

The heart of the matter

Tagenarine was born a couple of years after Shivnarine made his Test debut against England at Georgetown way back in 1994. The age difference between them is less than 22 years. The 42-year old Chanderpaul senior announced his retirement early last year after the selectors had dropped him following a lean run of form in 2015. Since then, the veteran left-hander has been quite active in first-class cricket.

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Not surprisingly, his son’s batting style is quite similar to him apart from a minor adjustment instance. Even the famous Caribbean trait of marking the guard using a bail remains intact in the promising 20-year old southpaw. Upon making his first-class debut in February 2013, Tagenarine made history by playing alongside his father a month later. They were the first father-son duo to play in the same first-class game in the West Indies since 1922.

Parallels from history

There have been at least 19 recorded instances of father-son pairs playing in the same first-class game including the Chanderpauls. Prior to Shivnarine and Tagenarine, the most recent father-son duo were Denis and Heath Streak who turned out for Matabeleland in the 1996 Lonrho Logan Cup. Even though the game did not receive a first-class status, Dennis Lillee joined hands with son Adam to destroy the visiting Pakistanis in October 1999.

Sportskeeda’s take

Considering his age and waning reflexes, the fact that Shivnarine is still scoring runs in the domestic circuit shows his incredible resolve. There cannot be a better role-model for Tagenarine to bat alongside and sharpen his batting skills. As they often say, it runs in the family.