WEST Indies cricket legend Clive Lloyd has been given a knighthood in the New Year Honours List.

The 75-year-old heads a long list names from West Indies cricket to receive the award, with the likes of Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Everton Weekes and Sir Viv Richards all honoured.
Although Lloyd received a CBE in 1993, the belated nature of Lloyd’s award might be explained by his hailing from Guyana, which became a republic in 1966, coincidentally the year in which Lloyd made his Test debut.

While Richards plus the likes of Sir Curtly Ambrose and Sir Richie Richardson in 2014 were knighted directly by the government of Antigua, Lloyd has had to wait for his opportunity.
In addition to his success with the West Indies, Lloyd played for almost two decades for Lancashire, with whom he retains a strong affiliation.

The impact Lloyd had during his playing career at Old Trafford was emphasised by the county’s then captain Jack Bond, who said: “His value to Lancashire cannot be measured by ordinary standards.”

Lloyd was named captain of the West Indies in 1974, three years after being awarded the prestigious title of Wisden Cricketer-of-the-Year.

At the time the West Indies were far from a dominant force in world cricket, and after an embarrassing Test series defeat in Australia in 1976, Lloyd vowed: “I promise we will never get another flogging like this while I am captain.”

Lloyd was true to his word as he went on to establish the West Indies as a global force, as well as returning statistics which make him one of the finest Test captains of all time.
He led the West Indies in 70 Tests of which they won 36. He also led them to two World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979 and was the first West Indies player to achieve 100 international caps.

After retirement, Lloyd became a respected international ICC referee and also served as both a director of the West Indies Cricket Board and briefly as its chairman of selectors. (Evening Standard; Additional reporting by the Press Association)