LONDON, CMC – Veteran West Indies left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul hit a typically composed, unbeaten half-century to prop up Derbyshire on the opening day of the English County season here yesterday.
At the close at Chelmsford, Derbyshire were 139 for five in reply to Essex’s paltry 94, with Chanderpaul leading the way with a top score of 66.
He has so far batted for just under three hours, faced 134 deliveries and struck nine fours and a six. The Guyanese has been at the core of two key partnerships which helped to repair the innings.
He added 56 for the third wicket with captain Wayne Madsen (30) after Derbyshire slipped to 17 for two, and then posted another 44 for the fifth wicket with Wes Durston (21), to pull the innings around from 91 for four.
Chanderpaul’s teammate, Leeward Islands left-hander Chesney Hughes, made just nine before he was fourth out, bowled by seamer Graham Napier.
At Edgbaston, Barbados pacer Chris Jordan made a bright start to the new campaign, picking up three for 15 for Sussex to help blow away Warwickshire for 87 in their first innings.
The right-armer, who plays for England, conjured up a devastating opening spell to knock over openers Varun Chopra (1) and Laurie Evans (4) cheaply, before accounting for Test star Ian Bell without scoring, as Warwickshire crumbled after electing to bat first.
In reply, Sussex were dismissed for 229, to lead by 142 runs on first innings, with captain and opener Ed Joyce cracking 117.
Jordan fared poorly with the bat, however, scoring just 15 in nearly an hour at the crease.
