Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the most astonishing batsmen around and among the finest. From his first outing for the West Indies in Georgetown in 1994 to his coming 389th appearance this week, at the Gabba, he has batted by his own lights and been effective and entertaining.

Remove him cheaply and the job is half done. But he will not lend a hand. Chanderpaul likes batting and knows his game inside out.

He is, too, a survivor, not a bad quality in modern West Indian cricket. And with every passing year he seems to get better. Usually, he makes a nuisance of himself. Others might destroy, he picks an attack apart like a buzzard on a bone.