Clive Lloyd
“We were happy, they were happy, the Caribbean was happy. Cricket is a very important part of our structure and we need to bring that back.”
Clive Lloyd
I have started each piece with something written about the captain in question by someone else but with Clive Lloyd, who so came to define West Indies cricket for so long, I felt the words should be left to him and him alone. Lloyd carved the West Indies in a new image, gone was the unfair description of “Calypso cricketers” and the perception that they knew how to have fun and could be very good but they could never sustain it. Lloyd’s teams and the teams that followed, built on the foundations he lay down would go onto dominate world cricket for almost two decades. The numbers are spectacular, 29 test series unbeaten, across 15 years with 20 wins. 8 of the wins in this unbeaten period would belong to Lloyd. Remarkable.
Beyond mere numbers, there is a deeper story. One of divided loyalties and uncertainties, of money, professionalism and a brand of cricket which created fans. The West Indians of the ‘70s and ‘80s were a superstar team unlike any other. Many watched their own sides bowled over by their ferocity…and enjoyed it. It was Lloyd who imbued this professional attitude. Play fair, play hard and play to win. It also meant turning up to training on time, being dedicated and putting in as much time on fielding as players would do on batting and bowling. West Indies became the first truly modern cricket team. However, none of that would have mattered if the results did not follow.
Originally, Lloyd built his side on sound batting. Greenidge and Richards came in, swashbuckling battlers who both oozed class. Lloyd himself was a sound batsman and coupled with an exceptional batting unit, they did away with India. Then came the ignominy of Australia. They lost and it was embarrassing. Lloyd and the players he had brought along with him swore that it would never happen again. The first port of call was England.
Greig antagonised and the West Indies responded. Holding and Roberts would batter the batsmen whereas Richards and Greenidge would top score with strike rates of over 60. It was a thorough beating, one from which the English did not recover for several generations. The West Indies would be their nightmare, even more so than Australia, for many years to come. They had looked good while winning too. The swagger of Richards, the grin of Greenidge, the mask of Roberts and the lithe beauty of Holding. This was a team for the purists and among it all stood the giant, accountant-esque figure Clive Lloyd. He was very much the brains behind the outfit and he was working on something bigger.
Success, even as emphatic as it was against England would not be enough. Lloyd wanted to create a team of brothers and mend the divisions between islands. Rooms were shared accordingly, islanders were mixed and alliances forged. It was with this spirit of brotherhood and swagger that they arrived in Australia and lay waste to all before them. Australia were bowled out for under 300 on 5 occasions and both wins were by large margins. Lloyd had taken all that pent up frustration and unleashed it in a controlled, methodical manner. Gone was the calypso, now there was a team built in a way that would inspire teams of the future, both at home and abroad.
Ultimately, Lloyd’s legacy and influence is unmatched in any other cricket team and possibly all sport. He managed to build a team which would go onto dominate for a decade after his own retirement. The players he moulded would all become true greats in their own right. Two world cup wins and an unbeaten streak unlikely to ever be replicated, let alone surpassed. Clive Lloyd was a man of cricketing principles; upon which he would not compromise. It worked wonders for his nation and the game as a whole.
Captained Tests 74 ODIs 84
Won 36 64
Lost 12 18
Draw/Tie 26 2
