Clive Lloyd receives knighthood from Duke of Cambridge; now 13th West Indian honoured for cricket

Editor Wednesday 12 January 2022 Cricket, Volley 1 Comment

Arise, Sir Clive Lloyd.

Legendary former West Indies cricketer Clive Lloyd, one of the game’s most successful captains of all time, today received a knighthood from the Duke of Cambridge for “services to the game of cricket”.

Lloyd was due to receive his award last year, only for the ceremony to be delayed owing to Covid-19. He is the 13th West Indies cricketer to be knighted since Sir Frank Worrell first received the honour in 1964.

Photo: Sir Clive Lloyd shows off his OBE medallion.
(via CWI Media)

The 77-year-old Lloyd, born in Georgetown, Guyana, is already an ICC Cricket Hall of Fame inductee. The hard-hitting left-handed middle- order batsman led West Indies to victory in the 1975 and 1979 Cricket World Cup tournaments but saw his team emerge runners-up in 1983.

Since that defeat almost 39 years ago this year, the West Indies have not managed to lift the prestigious 50-overs trophy.

Lloyd played in 110 Tests and 87 One-day Internationals and, during his captaincy, the West Indies managed an unprecedented run of 27 Test matches without defeat—including a sequence of 11 wins in a row.

He is also a former West Indies team manager and selector as well as serving as an ICC match referee.

“On behalf of CWI and everyone involved in West Indies cricket, I want to offer heartiest congratulations to Sir Clive on this tremendous honour,” said Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt. “Sir Clive holds a special place in cricket history, as the first man to lift the Cricket World Cup, which brought tremendous pride and joy to West Indians all over the world.

Photo: West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd lifts the 1975 Cricket World Cup trophy at Lord’s in London.

“That victory at Lord’s was a hugely significant moment in West Indies cricket when we demonstrated we were the best team in the world, with the unifying style of Sir Clive’s leadership standing out.

“Sir Clive has made a massive contribution to the growth of the game in the West Indies and globally, and cricket fans everywhere should welcome this most fitting accolade.”

Lloyd was eligible for knighthood on account of his British passport since Guyana, like Trinidad and Tobago and, most recently, Barbados, are no longer part of the British Empire.

Beside Sir Frank and Sir Clive, the other 11 West Indians who have been knighted for services to cricket are Curtly Ambrose, Gordon Greenidge, Charlie Griffith, Reverend Wes Hall, Conrad Hunte, Vivian Richards, Richie Richardson, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Clyde Walcott and Everton Weekes.

Photo: Sir Learie Constantine was the first black man in history to take a seat in the British House of Lords. That was in London on 26 March 1969.
Lord Constantine, once one of the world’s great cricket players, served as High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago in London from 1962 to 1964.
(Copyright AP)

Sir Learie Constantine, who represented West Indies cricket with distinction when he toured England in 1928, was born in Diego Martin, Trinidad, but became a British peer. He was subsequently knighted in 1962—just before the tw0-island republic formally cut ties with Britain in August of that year.

However, his knighthood was granted primarily for his work as a lawyer, politician and diplomat.

There are 20 West Indies cricketers inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

They are Ambrose, Constantine, Joel Garner, Lance Gibbs, Greenidge, Hall, Desmond Haynes, George Headley, Michael Holding, Rohan Kanhai, Brian Lara, Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Richards, Roberts, Sobers, Walcott, Courtney Walsh, Weekes and Worrell.

Editor

Clive Lloyd receives knighthood from Duke of Cambridge; now 13th West Indian honoured for cricket

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