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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>What about Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd?</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline>From The Sports Desk</SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>with Hartley Anderson
Sunday, January 14, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>WOULDN'T it be a deserved honour if former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd were to be knighted?
History credits the bespectacled Guyanese with being a pioneer of the modern game, with pundits probably recalling his unprecedented four-pronged pace attack that revolutionised the game, starting in 1976, following the West Indies' humiliating 5-1 defeat against Australia the previous year.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Standing a stately 6'5", Lloyd stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries, leading the Windies to a historic 15-year unbeaten run in Tests, which led to their unofficial tag as world champions.<P class=StoryText align=justify>This soft-spoken giant was also a step ahead in the one-day game and led his all-conquering side to back-to-back triumphs in the first two World Cups, and the final of the third, at a time when cricketing nations were still grappling with this new innovation.
Loyd was, in fact, the architect behind the Windies' first World Cup triumph in 1975 when he made a fine century against Australia in the final at Lord's.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is never easy to manage a team with several stars, but Lloyd was peerless in this regard and brought out the best in players like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson, Larry Gomes, Jeff Dujon, Deryck Murray, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Colin Croft.<P class=StoryText align=justify>He fostered within them the ideals of true professionalism and moulded them into an invincible unit.
Lloyd was also like a father figure to players like the young Holding, and showed foresight in selecting the latter, who had limited first-class experience, on the 1975 tour "Down Under".
While his leadership skills cannot be questioned, Lloyd's exploits on the field were also legendary and at times, even spectacular. His fighting knock while injured in the 1983 World Cup final is a prime example.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Lloyd ended his Test career with 19 Test centuries at a creditable average of 46.67, and was the first West Indian to play 100 Tests. Overall, he made 110 Test appearances.
Slightly hunched with a deceptively nonchalant gait, Lloyd has been a worthy ambassador for the sport since his retirement and is highly respected by the world governing body (ICC), for which he still acts as Match Referee. He has also sat on several committees under the aegis of that respected body.<P class=StoryText align=justify>A model of humility, Lloyd was never truculent or autocratic as a leader, and in large measure had a cordial relationship with the WICB. He was articulate, intelligent and a deep thinker, and epitomised the true virtues of a gentleman.
In short, the left-hander with the heavy bat was an individual worthy of emulation and undoubtedly, a role model for many a youngster.<P class=StoryText align=justify>A look at former West Indies players who have been accorded cricket's most lofty accolade include Garfield Sobers, the Three Ws - Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell - and Vivian Richards.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Sobers is still regarded as the greatest all-rounder the game has ever known, while Weekes and Walcott were outstanding with the bat and later, as administrators of the game.
Worrell was a great leader and an outstanding batsman, while Richards' dominance as a batsman and impeccable record as skipper are evident. All made significant contributions to West Indies cricket.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Lloyd's contribution to this great game, however, is comparable to the aforementioned and will forever be entrenched in the annals of West Indian history.
Renowned
<SPAN class=Subheadline>From The Sports Desk</SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>with Hartley Anderson
Sunday, January 14, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>WOULDN'T it be a deserved honour if former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd were to be knighted?
History credits the bespectacled Guyanese with being a pioneer of the modern game, with pundits probably recalling his unprecedented four-pronged pace attack that revolutionised the game, starting in 1976, following the West Indies' humiliating 5-1 defeat against Australia the previous year.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Standing a stately 6'5", Lloyd stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries, leading the Windies to a historic 15-year unbeaten run in Tests, which led to their unofficial tag as world champions.<P class=StoryText align=justify>This soft-spoken giant was also a step ahead in the one-day game and led his all-conquering side to back-to-back triumphs in the first two World Cups, and the final of the third, at a time when cricketing nations were still grappling with this new innovation.
Loyd was, in fact, the architect behind the Windies' first World Cup triumph in 1975 when he made a fine century against Australia in the final at Lord's.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It is never easy to manage a team with several stars, but Lloyd was peerless in this regard and brought out the best in players like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson, Larry Gomes, Jeff Dujon, Deryck Murray, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Colin Croft.<P class=StoryText align=justify>He fostered within them the ideals of true professionalism and moulded them into an invincible unit.
Lloyd was also like a father figure to players like the young Holding, and showed foresight in selecting the latter, who had limited first-class experience, on the 1975 tour "Down Under".
While his leadership skills cannot be questioned, Lloyd's exploits on the field were also legendary and at times, even spectacular. His fighting knock while injured in the 1983 World Cup final is a prime example.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Lloyd ended his Test career with 19 Test centuries at a creditable average of 46.67, and was the first West Indian to play 100 Tests. Overall, he made 110 Test appearances.
Slightly hunched with a deceptively nonchalant gait, Lloyd has been a worthy ambassador for the sport since his retirement and is highly respected by the world governing body (ICC), for which he still acts as Match Referee. He has also sat on several committees under the aegis of that respected body.<P class=StoryText align=justify>A model of humility, Lloyd was never truculent or autocratic as a leader, and in large measure had a cordial relationship with the WICB. He was articulate, intelligent and a deep thinker, and epitomised the true virtues of a gentleman.
In short, the left-hander with the heavy bat was an individual worthy of emulation and undoubtedly, a role model for many a youngster.<P class=StoryText align=justify>A look at former West Indies players who have been accorded cricket's most lofty accolade include Garfield Sobers, the Three Ws - Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell - and Vivian Richards.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Sobers is still regarded as the greatest all-rounder the game has ever known, while Weekes and Walcott were outstanding with the bat and later, as administrators of the game.
Worrell was a great leader and an outstanding batsman, while Richards' dominance as a batsman and impeccable record as skipper are evident. All made significant contributions to West Indies cricket.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Lloyd's contribution to this great game, however, is comparable to the aforementioned and will forever be entrenched in the annals of West Indian history.
Renowned