“I THINK our cricketers must start thinking about the West Indies. They need to start showing more loyalty to their country and once that is being displayed, West Indies cricket can move up the ladder. We have the talent here, but we don’t have the players who are disciplined to help the game in the Caribbean return to its glory days.”

Those were the words of former Guyana and West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd during ‘A Conversation about Cricket’ hosted at the Moray House Trust (MHT) on Camp and Quamina Streets last Thursday evening with former England captain Mike Atherton and local historian Dr Winston McGowan.
Present in the audience at the event, which was sponsored by NEW GPC INC/Limacol, the official sponsor of the inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League (LCPL) T20 tournament earlier this year, were past and present cricketers, who also took the time to engage in talks about cricket in the olden days and its changes today.
The left-handed Lloyd who scored 19 centuries from 110 Test matches and led the West Indies to World Cup titles in 1975 and 1979, opined that discipline is perhaps the most critical element for the success of a young cricketer.
“Natural talent is just a part of it. You must have discipline to succeed. You must have discipline in your fitness, training, bowling, batting, fielding and all other aspects of the game,” he emphasised.
He added that a young cricketer must have the discipline to know he is playing in a team, saying such attributes were the hallmark of his teammates he led and they dominated world cricket, making the people in the Caribbean proud.
Meanwhile, the former middle-order batsman stressing on the comparison of Test and limited overs cricket, noted that while some players are well rounded and adapt to all three formats of the game, (Test, ODI and T20), others find themselves limited within the realm of the longer version of the game, either due to fitness or fiscal reasons, declaring that “the limited overs take away from Test Cricket”.
He added, “T20 cricket is an exhibition while Test cricket is an examination. Obviously, people might think that not a lot of intelligence is attached to this format, but T20 isn’t just a matter of hit and giggle. You have to put some thought into your game. Nowadays, players get a lot of information, which wasn’t so before … what’s pleasing is that there’s much improvisation in T20.”

SCHOOL SYSTEM
On the other hand, Lloyd expressed that cricket in the school system is also a critical element for the development of the game, saying that not a lot of school cricket is being played, while calling for the reintroduction of the game in the schools.
Meanwhile, Atherton, who led England in 54 of his 115 Test caps, reinforced that the limited overs format have definitely made it easier for players to earn more without putting in as much work, using as an example, Australian fast-bowler Shaun Tait who is a force to be reckoned with in the limited overs aspects of the game, but is not physically fit to bowl 15 to 20 overs in a day.