Clive Lloyd played a huge part in transforming the fortunes of Lancashire in the early 1970s after arriving as an overseas player. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1971.
Clive Lloyd fulfilled his stated ambition to captain West Indies, taking over in 1974, and leading one of the greatest teams in history. He played in 110 Tests, making 7,515 runs at 46.67.
Few cricketers in recent years have captured the public imagination in the manner of Clive Hubert Lloyd. This tall, bespectacled all-rounder, short-sighted but by no means handicapped by the affliction, joined Lancashire two years ago and has played a leading part in the revival of cricket at Old Trafford where crowds are now big again and enthusiasm is ever growing.
Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, on August 31, 1944, and christened Clive, Lloyd would be the last to proclaim that his signing from the Lancashire League club, Haslingden, had anything more than a passing significance. He would, of course, be wrong. No cricketer has made a greater impact on his county than has Lloyd on Lancashire. He has set an example with the bat, the ball, and in the field, that has inspired every other member of the team and the staff at Old Trafford to strive for similar perfection.
The Lancashire captain, Jack Bond, is ever ready to pay tribute and says: “the very fact of playing alongside Clive has been an inspiration. No fieldsman prowls the covers with greater menace; no man throws with more power or accuracy. With the bat few hit either so hard or so often, and with the ball Lloyd is always likely to break a partnership or snatch a valuable wicket. His value to Lancashire cannot be measured by ordinary standards.”
Averages mean little to him. He reads now and again that he needs so many runs for a special target or so many catches to create a new record but these things never worry him. A career record of over 6,000 first-class runs means nothing to him as yet. His selection for all five Rest of the World matches against England last summer pleased him immensely but caused him to reflect that he had to miss several Lancashire games to do so.
It is not of great importance to Lloyd for whom or where he plays his cricket. It is how he plays that matters most and although well aware of his great pulling power with the crowds he modestly insists that they come to see the team and not him alone. When asked what was the secret of his great cricketing ability, Lloyd said in his lazy West Indian drawl: “If ah can see the ball, ah can hit it.” And that ideally sums up a perfect cricketer and a likeable fellow –a player who likes nothing better than to be classed as one of the boys.
