Clive Lloyd’s abilities as captain slated

Press, 14 August 1980, Page 30

Clive Lloyd’s abilities as captain slated

NZPA London Clive Lloyd’s abilities as a captain are harshly slated in a book by his team-mate for the last six years, the opening West Indian batsman, Gordon Greenidge. Lloyd, criticised in New Zealand for his seeming inability to lift his side on the field and to keep it out of controversy, will not go down in history as one of the game’s inspirational leaders, Greenidge wrote in his recentlypublished biography, “Man in the Middle.”

Inspite of the success of the West Indies in the last two years, a more natural leader could have turned the side into the most outstanding of post-war teams, he said. “When we were losing so heavily and so disappointingly to Australia in 1975-76, Lloyd found it impossible to lift us individually or collectively and was as bemused and shattered as the rest of ;us when Australia went on to win, 5-1, with as much " ease as the scoreline sug-; gests.”

Lloyd does not rank with either of the two recent England captains, Tony Greig or Mike Brearley, as a skipper Greenidge said, “although he was a better player than the pair of them put together.” , “It is easy to captain a winning side,” he said “the measure of a real skipper is his ability to motivate a losing one. Clive was not always able to do .this”- . - Greenidge also wrote that Lloyd was severely reprimanded for abusing

Pakistani players and calling them cheats after the West Indies scraped home against them in . the 1975 world cup. Lloyd had been out for 53 in what Greenidge said were controversial circumstances', (he did not elabo- ' rate) and returned to tlia pavilion a far-from-happy man. “He slammed the door of the dressing room behind him in’ a fit of uncontrollable temper and threw hisT)at all around the room,” said Greenidge. When the West Indies

won, Lloyd went out- into the stand. “That will teach you . ; , you cheats,” screamed poor Clive with a mixture of ecstatic relief and blind fury over his dismissal.'. - Greenidge also criticised Lloyd for making " comments j in newspapers about him, particularly one comment in Australia that he was only in the test side for his catching. He said he knew that he could not confide in Lloyd nor ask for his advice. “He had done nothing to help or reassure me in Australia, reserving his

comments about me for the newpapers or for team meetings when he dished out nothing but criticism.” Greenidge confessed that he was not popular with his team-mates during the 1976 tour of England and “I did not feel especially welcome in the company of some of them Gfeenidge’s book, which includes a career “World XI” with Greg Chappell as captain rather than Lloyd, was written before the West Indies’ incident-laden tour of New Zealand.