Sir Clive Lloyd

November 16, 2007

Clive Hubert Lloyd, the most successful West Indian captain of all times, was born on 31 August 1944 in Georgetown. He captained the West Indies fro 1974 to 1985. he guided them to two world cup victories in 1975 and 1979. He scored a century in the first World Cup final at Lord’s to guide his team to victory. He also took them to the finals in 1983, where they received a shock defeat against India. That was the first world cup match, West Indies lost. Clive made his test debut in December 1966 against India at Bombay, scoring 82 and 78 not out and taking his team to victory. He was named the Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1971 for his exhilarating performances in county. He scored 1600 runs that year for Lancashire. He struck a century in the final of the Gillette cup 1972, against Warwickshire to win his team the cup.

At his best Lloyd was a flamboyant destroyer of bowling. His heavy bat, powerful shoulders and full swing of the arms could turn the course of any game, once scoring 201* in just 120 minutes against Glamorgan - equaling the record for the fastest ever first-class double hundred (1976). Far from inhibiting his batting, Lloyd’s first tour as captain (1974-75) marked a dramatic improvement after a run of low scores. 163 in the First Test at Bangalore (his century came in just 85 balls) was followed by a Test-best 242* in the Fifth Test in Mumbai to set up a series-deciding win for the West Indies. In 1975-76 West Indies toured Australia under his captaincy. Despite his efforts(he scored 469 in 6 tests at an average of 46.9), West Indies lost the series 5-1 thanks to the pulverizing attack of Dennis Lillie and Jeff Thomson. Clive came back wiser from the tour and decided to adopt the aggressive measures that Australia used. The team was lined up with heavy artillery bowlers like Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Colin Croft. Adding to it was the intimidating batting line up of Greenidge, Haynes and Richards. The times were controversial too. Slow over rates and intimidation of batsmen with short-pitched bowling were both characteristics of his reign as captain. He was the first West Indian to get 100 test caps.

During the Packer crisis Lloyd resigned as captain after disagreeing with the selectors on the eve of a Test against Australia (1977-78), but he returned to lead his team to the 1979 World Cup. On the next tour of Australia he underwent a knee surgery that improved his mobility and effectiveness. Centuries at Adelaide and Old Trafford followed, and back in the West Indies he found the most consistent form of his career as in nine successive innings his lowest score was 49 (run out). He averaged 76 in the series against England and a phenomenal 172.50 in domestic cricket. Standing tall at 6′5 and with a lazy gait, he was an unusual sight at the crease but few can match his batting prowess and his cricketing brains. He wears specs because he damaged his eyes in a fight when he was twelve. Few people know he is a cousin of the famous spinner Lance Gibbs. Having been a schoolboy athletics champion, he became a brilliant cover fielder before knee problems forced a move to the slips, where he pouched many of his 90 Test catches.

Although Lloyd has worked as a civil servant for Guyana Ministry of Health post retirement, he has remained involved in cricket. He has coached and commentated on the game, as well as managed the Guyana team. A promising career as ICC Match Official (he officiated in both semi-final and final of the 1996 World Cup) was put on hold to take on the management of the West Indies team after their disappointments in the World Cup. It was a frustrating period for Lloyd as his hands were tied by the decision not to appoint him as a full selector (although he was a selector while on tour), and his responsibilities became increasingly administrative. He resigned at the end of the 1999 tour of New Zealand after a three-year period that coincided with a decline in the fortunes of West Indies cricket.

Sir Clive Lloyd

Read More under West Indies

Comments