MANCHESTER, England (CMC) – Legendary World Cup captain Clive Lloyd was among the featured personalities as West Indies players met with several of their supporters and mingled with special guests on Tuesday evening, when they were hosted to a gala dinner by Sandals Resorts – the team’s sponsor.

The squad was joined by members of the Sandals staff, several of Sandals’ valued guests, travel and tour operators, as well as members of the cricketing fraternity in the United Kingdom.

Lloyd, who led the West Indies to their triumph at the World Cup in 1975 and 1979, was joined by Joel Garner, the great fast bowler who played a pivotal role in the 1979 World Cup final with five wickets.

Sandals Resorts also paid tribute to Peter Matthews, the West Indies super fan, who has travelled the globe supporting the team for close to three decades.

David Roper, director of Industrial Relations at Sandals Resorts International, said it was especially pleasing for Sandals to host the team during the prestigious World Cup tournament. 

He pointed out that Sandals had always been a partner of West Indies cricket, with sponsorship dating back to the 1995 tour by West Indies to England.

“When you look around in this room you would see some of the great play­ers of the past and you are now the cur­rent and fu­ture of this brand called West In­dies,” Roper said.

“This is not our first for­ay as far as spon­sor­ing West In­dies crick­et. In fact, it is the third time that we are spon­sor­ing the team and we are very hap­py with the as­so­ci­a­tion.

“Tonight we just want to show you that San­dals care and we are here for you and wish you all the best as the tour­na­ment con­tin­ues.”

West Indies captain Jason Holder introduced the members of the squad to the audience and thanked Sandals for their commitment to this team, to West Indies teams at all levels, as well as to cricket in the Caribbean.

“We appreciate all that they have done for the game, going back many years, and I know they will continue to support the sport and the people of the region,” Holder said.

“Cricket is everyone’s favourite and as we have seen here in England at this World Cup, there is a lot of support and respect for West Indies cricket.”

West Indies have endured a disappointing World Cup campaign, winning only a single match in their seven outings.