Clive LLOYD

With his thick-lensed spectacles and his stooping walk Clive Lloyd was the last person you would recognise in the street as an athlete: yet not only was he a destructive left-handed batsman of enormous power but in his youth he was one of the great cover points of all time, his long arms stretching to reach balls that were apparently well beyond his reach then flicking them back onto the stumps. "Great big gangling begoggled Supercat" was the tabloid description. He hit the ball so hard that he once stunned a seagull. A cousin of Lance Gibbs, Lloyd made his debut for British Guiana in 1963-64 and joined Lancashire in 1968.

He should have toured England with Garry Sobers' team in 1966, but inexplicably did not get his chance until the series in India that winter, when he made his debut at the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay, scoring 82 and 78 not out against Venkat and Chandraesekhar. He scored 118 in his first Test against England in 1968 in Trinidad, with 113 not out in Barbados. He scored 129 in Adelaide in 1968-69 and also took 2-17. Despite his headline feats for Lancashire he struggled to fulfill his early promise and was not always in the side in the early 1970s, despite scoring 178 against Australia at Georgetown in 1972-73 and 132 at the Oval in 1973. He came into his own once appointed captain in India in 1974-75, when he made 163 at Bangalore and 242 not out in the first Test at the Wankhede stadium. His greatest triumph was winning the first World Cup in 1975, when he repeated his triumphs in so many Lord's cup finals for Lancashire and scored an exhilarating 102. (Bob Harragan)

Photo of Clive Loyd with the World Cup Trophy. © George Herringshaw.   23 June 1979.

 The 1975 World Cup win was the first of many great achievements by Lloyd's West Indies, but it was not roses all the way. Of his 74 Tests as captain he won 36, but there was humiliation in Australia in 1975-76 despite an innings win in Perth and scores of 149, 102 and 91 not out by Lloyd himself. Tougher players and greater teamwork were his answer. In the same season he watched India get 406 to win on a Trinidad pitch that was tailor-made for his three spinners. He never trusted spin again and so began the era of the four fast bowlers. It worked in England in 1976, where Lloyd made 84 at the Oval. He scored 157 against Pakistan in 1976-77. The West Indies showed how much they had united behind Lloyd during World Series Cricket. When he was sacked as captain against Australia in 1977-78 the whole team withdrew.

During their time with the Australian 'circus' the West Indies began the heavy training regime that was to stand them in such good stead. When the World Series came to West Indies Lloyd scored 56 and 197 against the Australians in the Kingston Supertest. He won the World Cup a second time in 1979 (see photo above, captain Lloyd holding aloft the trophy after the comfortable 92 run victory over England in the final), scoring 73 not out against New Zealand at Trent Bridge. His own contribution was becoming less essential, but he regularly weighed in with centuries, from 121 in Adelaide in 1979-80, through 143 against India in Trinidad in 1982-83, 161 not out in Calcutta in 1982-83 and 114 in Brisbane in 1984-85. He moved to first slip, from where he could best direct operations in the field, and became a safe, instinctive catcher. In the 1983 World Cup final West Indies lost to India, Lloyd managing only 8 in the Windies disappointing total of 140 all out. (Bob Harragan)