Chanderpaul must play

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was England's scourge again

West Indies skipper Chris Gayle is banking on Shivnarine Chanderpaul being fit for Saturday’s NatWest Series decider against England, declaring: “It doesn’t matter if he has to go out there on one leg.”

Star batsman Chanderpaul suffered an ankle ligament injury while scoring a superb unbeaten 116 in the Windies’ triumph at Edgbaston on Wednesday which levelled the three-match series.

He fully justified the decision of the tourists to push him up the order from number five to three with a perfectly paced innings which saw his first half century take 85 balls and the second fifty just 29 deliveries.

The 32-year-old will have a fitness test on Saturday morning after being unable to field during the England innings.

But Gayle is hoping he can be the scourge of England just one more time at Trent Bridge after averaging 148 in the npower Test Series between the two sides.

He said: “Shiv is our in-form batter and, yes, we rely on him a lot so hopefully he can carry the guys that play around him. It worked in the Edgbaston game and hopefully will in the next if he’s fit.

“There is no doubt he is one of the best batsmen in the world. You have to give him credit because he has done the work and the business in the past and he is doing it again right now.

Chanderpaul enjoys reaching three figures

“Shiv can destroy any attack whenever he wants. He just has to play according to the situation. He can step it up whenever he needs to.

“I have opened the innings with him on many occasions and he has out-scored me many times. He is capable of scoring quickly and adjusting as well to any situation in a match.

“His moving up in the order paid off well on Wednesday. You have to give him credit. He batted well all the way through the innings. It was a tremendous effort.

“I will push him out there on Saturday if necessary! It doesn’t matter if he has to go out there on one leg. Hopefully he can make it.”

A West Indies spokesman confirmed: “Chanderpaul will have a fitness test on Saturday morning to determine his availability for the game.”

Gayle is aware victory against England on Saturday will be a massive morale booster after the 3-0 mauling in the Test series.

He said: “It will be tremendous for us to actually win the series. That is something we are looking forward to trying to achieve and hopefully we can put up an even better performance than at Edgbaston.

“We had a chat the night before that game. We knew how crucial it was us for us. We were 1-0 down and it was an opportunity to rally back at England.

“I said to the boys ‘we can’t turn back now’. We had to give it our all and it really paid off.

“We produced good all-round cricket, everything came together in that game and this is what I asked for so I can’t complain. Now we have to do it again at Trent Bridge.”