EDWIN SEERAJ
SHORTLY after British Guiana gained political independence from the English on May 26, 1966, Clive Hubert Lloyd made his international debut for the West Indies against India in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the first Test of a three-match series to become the first Guyanese to debut at the highest level in post-independent Guyana.He was a tall, powerfully structured left-handed middle-order batsman, fielder supreme and the most successful West Indies captain who represented the region in a distinguished career involving 110 Test matches and 87 One Day Internationals between 1966 and 1985.
His early days were spent at the Chatham High School and the Demerara Cricket Club, from where he graduated to the national senior team for his debut game against Jamaica at Bourda in 1964.
The bespectacled giant made only 11 in a resounding Guyanese victory by an innings and 61 runs and when he faltered a year later against the visiting Australians in his second big game, he had to wait a further 12 months for a third chance.
It came in the inaugural Shell Shield tournament against Barbados at the Kensington Oval in 1966 when he followed a first-innings duck with a second-innings century. In the very next game he made a pugnacious 194 at Sabina Park and was duly selected to tour India with the senior regional team later that year.
Lloyd played in all three Test matches but was most impressive in his debut game in Bombay with scores of 82 and an unbeaten 78, which carried West Indies to an emphatic six-wicket victory.
When the Englishmen toured the Caribbean in 1968, he struck his maiden Test century (118) in Trinidad and followed up with another hundred (113 not out) in Barbados. On the subsequent tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1968-69, he laced a commanding 129 in the first encounter in Brisbane, but other useful scores could not prevent the tourists from going down 3-1.
He struggled on the New Zealand leg and in the five-Test home series against the Indians in 1971 and when he was stretchered off the field while effecting one of his spectacular interceptions (which earned him the sobriquet ‘Supercat’) for the Rest of the World against Australia “Down Under” in 1971-72, his career was at the crossroads.
In fact, Lloyd was not even invited to be a part of the squad to contest the five Tests against New Zealand on their first visit to these parts in early 1972. It was an initiative taken by the then Prime Minister, Forbes Burnham, to bring him home (Guyanese dubbed Lloyd “Burnham Magic”) and an exhilarating century for Guyana against the touring team that caused the selectors to include him for the final games in Georgetown and Trinidad.
He did little of note and when he was included in the squad in preparation for the Aussies visit to the Caribbean in 1973, there was a hue and cry from certain quarters for his replacement.
In the meantime, he was signed by Lancashire where he dominated with his powerful batting assaults, magnificent fielding, subtle medium pace and later his inspiring leadership.
He sat out the first two Tests of the Australian series, but was brought in for the third match in Port-of-Spain not only to bat in the middle, but also to share the new ball as well. His performance was below par — no wicket for 24 off 10 overs and scores of 20 and 15 — but it all happened for him in the next game in front of his home fans in Georgetown.
Coming to the wicket on the first day with the score 56 for two, the powerhouse proceeded to crack a shot-filled 178 out of a total of 366. With another half-century in the final Test and an excellent tour to England mid-year he was firmly establishing himself as a high-calibre player.
After the drawn home encounter against the English in 1974 under Rohan Kanhai, the now experienced Lloyd, aged 30, was appointed captain and undertook his first assignment to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1974-75 with a young team including Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Gordon Greenidge and Leonard Baichan.
He aggregated a grand 636 runs at 79.50 per innings including scintillating knocks of 163 in the first Test at Bangalore and a series-winning, undefeated 242 (his highest Test score) in the final game in Bombay.
In 1975 he led the side to victory in the first-ever World Cup competition with a high-octane century against Australia at Lord’s. Four years later he was at the helm again as England were defeated, but he was bitterly disappointed when the Indians turned the tables and snatched the title from a reckless Windies in 1983.
He also suffered the indignity of leading the team to a 5-1 drubbing against Australia in 1975-76, although he was consoled by the fact that he accumulated 469 runs at 46.90 per innings and his younger charges were gaining much-needed experience.
Witnessing first-hand how the Aussies employed their four-pronged pace attack to great effect, the skipper dedicated himself to follow suit, especially when the young spinners were not good enough to stop the Indians romping to a famous victory at the Queen’s Park Oval in 1976.
With a string of high-profile fast bowlers at his disposal, a formidable batting line-up and a bunch of skilled, athletic fielders, the West Indies under Lloyd consistently dominated every major cricketing nation for several years at both the Test and One Day levels, notwithstanding a few hiccups in between.
On the eve of the Georgetown Test in 1978 against the Australians, Lloyd and his team opted out of the remainder of the series in disagreement with the West Indies Cricket Board over the Kerry Packer World Series cricket issue and the second-string side was led by Alvin Kallicharran.
The original party returned for the successful defence of the World Cup title in mid-1979 and won a Test series “Down Under” for the first time in 1979-80. However, the short visit to New Zealand which followed was shrouded in controversy over alleged biased umpiring and unsportsmanlike behaviour by a few West Indian players.
This was the last time the Caribbean boys lost a series for the next 15 years and Lloyd was at the helm for the first five.
England and Pakistan were both defeated at home 1-0 in 1980 and in 1980-81 respectively; England were once again on the losing end at 2-0 in the Caribbean in 1981; the Aussies played to a 1-1 draw at home in 1981-82; the visiting Indians were steamrolled 2-0 and then 3-0 at home in 1983; the touring Australians were destroyed 3-0 in early 1984; the English were “blackwashed” 5-0 on their home soil in mid-1984; and the “Kangaroos” were demolished 3-1 in 1984-85 before Lloyd called it a day.
During his tenure as captain, the stalwart grew in confidence as a batsman, registering 5,233 runs at 51.30 runs per innings and compiling 14 of his eventual 19 Test centuries.
He often pulled his side out of difficult situations with his forthright batting and wealth of experience as he did against India in 1983 in Trinidad, when he arrived at the wicket with the team one run for three wickets.
In tandem with Larry Gomes (123), he added 237 runs for the fourth wicket eventually falling for a superbly fashioned 143 which earned his team a draw.
He was the first West Indian to play 100 Tests and led the side in 74 matches, which included 36 victories. In the One Day arena, he skippered 84 games and was victorious on no less than 64 occasions. All told, he scored 7,515 runs in Tests at an average of 46.67 and 1977 runs in ODIs at 39.54 runs per innings.
At the end of his playing days, the highly respected icon managed the West Indies team from 1996 to 1999 and then officiated as an ICC match referee for several years. He is currently the chairman of the West Indies panel of selectors.
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