T20 cricket destroying Shai Hope’s cricket says Clive Lloyd

Nov 10, 2020 Sports

By Sean Devers

West Indies in the 1980s. Lloyd (sitting 4th from left) & Dennis Waite is at left standing.

At 76, former Guyana, West Indies and Lancashire Captain Clive Lloyd certainly have the authority to comment on West Indies cricket and lamented that T20 games is destroying Shai Hope’s cricket. He spoke on the importance of the ‘A’ team tours to West Indies Cricket.
The pugnacious Lloyd scored 19 centuries including a highest score of an unbeaten 242 from 110 Tests between 1966 to 1984 at an Ave of 46.67. His 7,515 runs included 70 sixes which suggests that he would have dominated T20 cricket.
However, the Guyanese, who grew up in Queenstown and played for the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), does not think out of form West Indies batsman Shai Hope should be playing T20 cricket.

Clive Lloyd & little Shai Hope.

“I don’t think t20 cricket is for Shai Hope ….he would get into bad habits; it’s destroying his cricket. I know it’s like you want to take away money from people but the point is that he should not be playing T20. He should have gone into an ‘A’ team, he should be playing the longer game, he needs to spend more time in the nets with a bowling machine,” Lloyd opined.
The most successful Windies Skipper in Test cricket, Lloyd led West Indies in 74 matches; winning 36 including 11 in row in a 27 streak of unbeaten games between 1974 and 1984.
The powerful Guyanese left-hander led West Indies to the first two World Cup titles (1975 & ’79) before his team lost to India in the Final of the next World Cup in 1983.
“Having West Indies ‘A’ teams are very important. You play against Test players and budding Test players and if we had a good ‘A’ teams and ‘A’ team tours, young Shai Hope would have a stint in the ‘A’ team to help build back his confidence as England did with Nasser Hussainand Mark Ramprakash.

Shai Hope’s only 2 tons were scored in the same game against England in 2017. (cricifo photo)

It’s not a demotion for a Test player it’s just going down it’s like if you playing football in the first division premier league.
If you get injured, you go down to the second team and get your form and confidence back and then you are up there unless you are Ronaldo or that sort of player.
But we should have an ‘A’ team and that team should serve as that County cricket builder,” said Lloyd, the cousin of former West Indies off-spinner Lance Gibbs.
Speaking on the Mason and Guest Radio show in Barbados, Lloyd was asked how he thought the Regional side would perform in the Two Test matches in New Zealand next month.
“We have players that possibly should perform, the ball swings around in New Zealand just like it does in England. It’s just a matter of your mind-set and applying yourself to the task but it would be tough.
I have never done very well in New Zealand apart from the games outside of the Test match and I don’t think a lot of our top players have done well there,” said the bespectacled Lloyd who led Guyana to Regional ‘double’ in 1983.
Known as the ‘Super Cat’due to his brilliance at cover in his younger days, Lloyd said New Zealand are a well-disciplined side and well led by Kane Williamson who is an astute Captain.
“They believe in their talent and they have the home advantage. It’s going to be difficult but the old adage of cricket is a game of glorious uncertainty and if you apply yourself.
You haveto do well in all aspects of the game, we have to be fit enough, take our catches, you have to try and bat long and that’s the problem that we have,” continued Lloyd who made his Test debut against India in 1966.
Lloyd noted this is the first time on any tour that he knew where only have two openers were selected.
“If the opening batsmen are failing who do you turn to?
I thought it was a funny situation that you have the guy {Joshua} de Silva who can act as a good opener, he can be groomed as an opener. He looks a compact player.
When we look at the fast bowlers we have young Holder… the U-19 find. To me he is quite quick.
When do you play him? On tours like this you can’t blood them since touring these days there are not many games outside the Tests matches to do that,” explained Lloyd, who retired from international cricket at 41 after playing his last ODI against Pakistan in 1985.
Lloyd who played 490 First-Class matches and 87 ODIs, said he was unsure if the level of fitness our cricketers is right.
CWI and the Antigua Government partnered to purchase the ground which was repossessed after Texas Billionaire Allen Sanford was incarcerated and it is now being used for Regional training camps.
“I think they need to get fitter and have Coaches at the Stanford ground training the guys,” said Lloyd who recommended Australian fitness trainer Dennis Waite to work with the West Indies team during the glory years of 1980s.