Clive Lloyd

Sir

Clive Lloyd
CBEAOCM

Personal information
Full name	Clive Hubert Lloyd
Born	(1944-08-31)31 August 1944 Georgetown,British Guiana(nowGuyana)
Nickname	Big C, Hubert, Super Cat
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Role	Batsman
Relations	Lance Gibbs(cousin)
International information
National side	West Indies(1966–1985)
Test debut (cap125)	13 December 1966 vIndia
Last Test	30 December 1984 vAustralia
ODI debut (cap9)	5 September 1973 vEngland
Last ODI	6 March 1985 vPakistan
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1964–1983	Guyana/British Guiana
1968–1986	Lancashire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 110 87 490 378 Runs scored 7,515 1,977 31,232 10,915 Batting average 46.67 39.54 49.26 40.27 100s/50s 19/39 1/11 79/172 12/69 Top score 242* 102 242* 134* Ballsbowled 1,716 358 9,699 2,926 Wickets 10 8 114 71 Bowling average 62.20 26.25 36.00 27.57 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 2/13 2/4 4/48 4/33 Catches/stumpings 90/– 39/– 377/– 146/–
Medal record Men'sCricket RepresentingWest Indies ICC Cricket World Cup Winner 1975 England Winner 1979 England Runner-up 1983 England and Wales
Source:Espncricinfo,24 January 2009

Sir Clive Hubert LloydCBEAOCM(born 31 August 1944) is aGuyanese-Britishformercricketerand captain of theWest Indies cricket team.Lloyd is widely regarded as one of the greatest captains of all time. As a boy he went to Chatham High School in Georgetown. At the age of 14 he was captain of his school cricket team in the Chin Cup inter-school competition.One of his childhood memories is of sitting in a tree outside the ground overlooking the sightscreen watchingGarry Sobersscore two centuries for West Indies v Pakistan.Lloyd captained the West Indies in threeWorld Cups,winning in1975(with Lloyd scoring a century) and1979while losing the1983 finaltoIndia.

In 1971 he was named aWisden Cricketer of the Year.He captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the greatestTestandOne Day Internationalteam of the 20th century, only Australia achieved a similar success under the captaincy ofSteve WaughandRicky Pontinglater. He is one of the most successful Test captains of all time: during his captaincy the side had a run of 27 matches without defeat, which included 11 wins in succession (Viv Richardsacted as captain for one of the 27 matches, againstAustraliaatPort of Spainin 1983–84).He was the first West Indian player to earn 100 international caps.

Lloyd was a tall, powerful middle-order batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler. In his youth he was also a strong cover point fielder. He wore his famous glasses as a result of being poked in the eye with a ruler.His Test match debut came in 1966. Lloyd scored 7,515 runs at Test level, at an average of 46.67. He hit 70 sixes in his Test career, which is the 14th highest number of any player. He played for his home nation ofGuyanain West Indies domestic cricket, and forLancashire(he was made captain in 1981) in England. Lloyd was the first West Indian player to take a wicket on his first ball onODIdebut. He is a cousin of spin bowlerLance Gibbs.Since retiring as a player, Lloyd has remained heavily involved in cricket, managing the West Indies in the late 1990s, and coaching and commentating. He was anICCmatch refereefrom 2001 to 2006.

In 2009, Lloyd was inducted into theICC Cricket Hall of Fame.He wasknightedin the2020 New Year Honoursfor services to cricket.

Early life

Lloyd grew up in Georgetown, British Guiana, where his father worked as a chauffeur for a local doctor. He was the second oldest of two boys and four girls. Lloyd was the captain of the Chatham High School cricket team from the age of 14. His father died in 1958, and Lloyd left school to work in the administrative section of the Georgetown hospital to help support the family at age 16.He then played club cricket for Demerara Cricket Club. He first represented British Guiana in 1964.

Career

Lloyd made his Test debut during the West Indian tour to India on 13 December 1966 againstIndia.He scored 82 in the first innings and 78not outin the second.After the tour to India, Lloyd joinedHaslingdenand played in the Lancashire League. Lloyd said of it "It was a real culture shock when I first got there because it was pretty cold. It was windy and raining and I hadn't been that cold in my life". He scored 861 runs in 1967 and then 1226 runs in 1968. He said of the experience "...it gave you a chance to hone your skills and your technique because the conditions were so different than what I was used to".He also played for the Derrick Robin's XI in 1967. He then played for Lancashire from 1968 until 1986.Lloyd scored 521 runs in John Player league matches in 1970 at an average of 57.88and Lancashire won both the John Player's League and Gillette Cup in 1970.

In 1971–72, Lloyd suffered a back injury while playing for aRest of the Worldteam at theAdelaide Oval.He wasfieldingin thecoverswhenAshley Malletthit a lofted drive towards his area. He made an effort to take the catch but it bounced out of his hands when he hit the ground awkwardly. When he went to get up, he felt a stabbing pain in his back and he was unable to move. He spent the next few weeks in an Adelaide hospital flat on his back.Lloyd was able to return to the West Indies in February 1972 and played for Guyana against Barbados on 26 February and scored 60 runs. He then scored 133 and 104 not out for Guyana against the touring New Zealand team.He was recalled to play for the West Indies in the fourth test against New Zealand and was run out for 43 runs in the first innings. This led to bottles being thrown on the pitch. Lloyd had to go to the radio commentary team and broadcast an appeal for calm which allowed the game to be restarted 20 minutes later.

In the fifth test match in Mumbai against India in 1975, Lloyd scored his highest first-class score of 242 not out. This helped the West Indies win the final test match after the series was tied (2-2) after first four matches. Lloyd batted for 429 minutes and had a 250 run partnership withDeryck Murray.Lloyd said of the innings: "I went past 200 and really felt that I could have got to 300 that day had not a crowd riot halted play. What happened was that a lone spectator, a young lad in his teens, jumped the fence and came on to shake my hand after I got 200. Since it was not a mass invasion, I thought nothing of it but the police had other ideas. In front of everyone they used their long bamboo sticks, the lathis, with a vengeance on the poor boy and incensed the crowd to such an extent that, by tea, there was a full-scale riot which left the place looking like a battlefield. We remained in our dressing room and were never in any danger".

In the1975 Cricket World Cup FinalagainstAustralia,theWest Indieswere deep in trouble at 3/50 when Lloyd strode to the crease. He duly made 102 from 85 balls, the onlylimited oversinternational century of his career. Lloyd was described as "more than able to handle everything the Australians threw at him after his team’s sedate start".At one stage during his innings, he hookedDennis Lilleefor six runs.WithRohan Kanhaihe added 149 for the West Indies to win by 17 runs. Play ended at 8:40pm and was the longest day's play ever atLord's.

The1975–76 West Indies tour of Australiawas considered a disappointment for the West Indies as they lost the test series 5–1. Lloyd however had a successful tour with the bat scoring 469 runs at an average of 46.9.

Lloyd captained theWest Indies on their tour of New Zealand in 1979.He said of the tour "We were jaded and Viv Richards had gone home with a sore back". The tour was noted for some controversial umpiring decisions and bad blood between the teams. Lloyd said "They were just bad umpires but we should not have behaved in that manner. I think if I'd had my time over again I'd have handled it differently. I regret it even until this day, that things went so far".

On 22 January 1985, Lloyd was made an honorary Officer of theOrder of Australiafor his services to the sport of cricket, particularly in relation to his outstanding and positive influence on the game inAustralia.

In 2005, Lloyd offered his patronage toMajor League Cricketfor their inaugural Interstate Cricket Cup in theUnited States,to be named the Sir Clive Lloyd Cup. His son,Jason Clive Lloyd,was agoalkeeperfor theGuyana national football team.In 2007, Lloyd's authorised biography,Supercat,was published. It was written by the cricket journalistSimon Lister.

In 2022, Lloyd received a knighthood at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Clive is regarded as one of the greatest captains in the history of the game.

Personal life

Lloyd is a fan of English football clubEverton FC.