Guyana/West Indies and Durham prolific middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is a favourite to win the annual Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) cricketer of the year award set for tonight. Chanderpaul has had an outstanding year both personally and with the teams he has played for.
He won the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricketer of the Year award, sits atop the ICC batting rankings and recently surpassed Sir Garfield Sobers on the runs scoring list. Currently Chanderpaul is playing for the West Indies team in their tour of New Zealand.
His nearest rival is hard to pinpoint. National captain and former West Indies vice captain Ramnaresh Sarwan has not been in prolific form even though he rattled up a pugnacious unbeaten 158 against the Auckland Aces, in the West Indies’ first warm-up game during the tour.
However, West Indies under-19 captain Leon Johnson could be a formidable opponent for Chanderpaul. According to a GCB official, “Johnson first made his name as a national under-19 captain, before going on further to lead the Regional Under-19 team. Now he is a member of the Regional senior side and to my mind, he has come through the ranks to be where he is today in the game of cricket, even though he still has a long way to go.”
Johnson has given some impressive performances for Guyana this year: in the Carib Beer competition he amassed 447 runs, with a highest score of 94 made against the Combined Colleges and Campuses at the Guyana National Stadium.
He was at the other end when Jamaican Xavier Marshall struck his record 12 sixes for the West Indies team against Canada. Johnson also scored a defiant 51 during a partnership worth 128 runs and although that was his highest score for the Regional side to date, the 21-year-old left hander does have the potential to go a long way in the side.
As regard the juniors, national under-17 right arm leg spinner Amir Khan is a clear favourite to cart off the junior cricketer of the year award.
Although he did not play for the national under-19 team in the TCL tournament in Barbados, Khan proved his worth as a promising leg spinner when he guided the West Indies under-15 team to the Clico International limited overs title earlier this year. The ceremony will be hosted at the Umana Yana tonight.
