50 years ago, Clive Lloyd – bespectacled, brave, and brilliant – stood at Lord’s and was heralded as cricket’s ultimate champion. It was the summer of ’75, the sun was shining, and the weather was sweet. The left-handed Lloyd batted with aplomb which catapulted the West Indies to victory in the first-ever Cricket World Cup final at Lord’s.
Fifty years later, Clive Lloyd – bespectacled, brave, and brilliant – returned to the ‘Home of Cricket’ as he was celebrated with pomp to commemorate the lasting legacy of his heroics in ‘75.
Last week, I had the honour of meeting with Sir Clive as he was hosted and feted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as part of his official appearance schedule at Lord’s.
The grand occasion was the ICC’s World Test Champions final at cricket’s ancestral home. South Africa and Australia were deep in battle for the pride of being crowned the kings of Test cricket and a whopping prize purse of US$3 million was on the table.
Sir Clive vividly recalled his team’s duel against the Australia which ended just before sunset on a sun-kissed summer day half a century ago. The hearts were filled with pride and after the sun set, the coronation came at minutes-to-eight-o’clock when he was handed the actual “World Cup” by the Duke of Edinburgh.
Lloyd took home the Man-of-the-Match award for his blazing century and later collected a ‘winner’s bounty’ on behalf of the team and the then West Indies Cricket Board of Control.
“It’s always special to be back here… Lord’s is special for several reasons … it’s our Broadway. When you step into that amazing pavilion, when you walk the corridors, down the stairs and into the Long Room, you know that want to do well. You wanted to do well, because when you do well here, you get you name up on that wall among the greatest players to ever walk the face of this earth. People admire you for what you do at Lord’s.
“We have done well here over the years, and it is quite wonderful. This is the cricketer’s stage to perform. It is the cricketer’s platform to showcase all he worked hard for so the world can see. It brings back the wonderful memories of the 1975 and 1979 wins in the World Cup, when we were the best team in the world. Being the first captain to win the World Cup was magical and I am proud to be back here to again lift the World Cup on behalf of the other great men who played alongside me and represented the people of the West Indies,” Sir Clive said.
“I think we did well…” Lloyd assessed matter-of-factly, an opinion that would get universal approval.
“What I liked most about all that we did, all that we achieved, is that most of the players I had around me, these fantastic gentlemen who gave their all every time I called on them, they went on to become very great players. They were all household names and became legends of the game, tremendous iconic figures and ambassadors for the West Indies and cricket around the world. Cricket really got a lift from us winning the World Cup and our West Indian people were the happiest people in the world. You could say we revolutionized cricket, both Test cricket and one-day cricket. We were proud West Indians. We were the best in the world!”
“That day, June 21st 1975, it was an extremely tense situation. It was the first-ever World Cup. It was the final – we were stepping into the unknown. Nobody expected us to reach the final, but here we were, in battle with the Australians; always strong, uncompromising and we knew they would not take a backward step. After the game against Pakistan, which we won by one wicket, that gave us the impetus. I came together with Rohan (Kanhai) and we were able to sure up the situation. Apart from doing well with the bat, we fielded exceptionally well and won what, to me, was one of the greatest games of cricket ever played!”
The winning squad included several all-time icons who are members of the ICC Hall of Fame and all recipients of the prestigious Wisden Cricketer of the Year award: Lloyd, Kanhai, Lance Gibbs, Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, and Andy Roberts.
The other teammates showcase Caribbean cricketing brilliance: Alvin Kallicharan, Roy Fredericks, Deryck Murray, Collis King, Keith Boyce, Bernard Julien, Vanburn Holder and Maurice Foster.
Standing six-foot-four with his giant frame, Sir Clive commanded the space inside and outside the ICC’s plush hospitality ballroom.
I accompanied the cricketing colossus as we traversed the pristine environs. Sir Clive beamed as he saw references to his immense achievements and those of “his team” on the walls. A sense of nostalgia was in the air and glorious memories came flooding back. It became clear this legend was totally “at home” in the grandeur at St John’s Wood.
His appearance was cheered by the young generation who caught a glimpse of him and asked respectfully: “Are you the great Clive Lloyd?”. Thereafter, he posed for selfies with the teenagers. He was deified by the older generation – one of whom who spoke of him as “my hero before I spell the word cricket”. Graciously, Lloyd shook hands and shared stories with his generation – their grandfathers – one of whom said, “I’ve never seen anyone bat like you did that day.”
Now at age 80 he is revered and is regarded as one of the eldest statesmen of world cricket. He is rated as the greatest captain in West Indies history and one of the best leaders in the history of all sports.
Not only did he win the World Cup in 1975, his team repeated in 1979. This was during the period of complete global domination when they played unbeaten and were, in the eyes of their fans, totally unbeatable.
Any conversation on captaincy must take into consideration, the remarkable fact that West Indies was the first team he ever captained at a professional level.
“I took a team to India in 1974 and I was building a strong team, a group of strong men, a world-dominant unit. The players were quite young, and they were very enthusiastic and many were playing this version (limited overs) cricket for the first time. Only those who played county cricket would have experienced it, so we had quite a few who were new to the one-day stuff. While the four fast bowlers’ strategy wasn't born yet, guys like Bernard Julien, Keith Boyce and Vanburn Holder did their jobs admirably. Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards and Alvin Kallicharan were emerging as the core of our batting group, and we were learning to win. Winning, just like losing, is contagious and that significant Pakistan game win helped build our championship ethos.”
Then came June 21st 1975, a day that will forever be remembered in sporting history when Clive Lloyd – bespectacled, brave and brilliant – batted with great aplomb; West Indies ruled the world on cricket’s Broadway stage. Now, 50 years later, we recall those golden memories of ‘cricket, lovely cricket’ at Lord’s.
Philip Spooner is a former media manager of the West Indies team and former Head of Media and Communications at Cricket West Indies.