As a pure batsman (both technical and statistical) I rate Shiv as very good, behind only Lara, Richards, Sobers and Headley, just as Slifer said. His numbers are superb and he has played some truly astonishing innings. He is very nearly an all-time great in pure batting terms, but the following factors make him only very good IMHO:
- Refusal to move up to number 4 when BCL retired.
- Failure to take charge of the situation when batting with the tail
- A few too many innings where he meandered along at an unnecessarily slow strike rate even though we all know he has the ability to step it up.
Having said all that, Shiv represents more than just a very good batsman to most reasonable West Indies fans. He has been the only man standing between us and Bangladesh style humiliation on so many occasions. He has been holding the fort, keeping the flame of West Indian batsmanship alive whilst we wait for the current generation to come to terms with test cricket. Having come from extremely humble beginnings in Unity Village, he has risen to become an absolute giant of a human being. For this reason, I rate him right up there with the Worrell, Headley and Lara in terms of what they meant to West Indies cricket.