Selection chief Lloyd wants new mentality in Windies team

Georgetown (Guyana), Aug 13 (IANS/CMC) Newly appointed chairman of selectors, Clive Lloyd, wants to see improvement in batting in the West Indies team and believes this can only be achieved by players adopting a more studied approach to the game.

The legendary former West Indies captain said while there was an abundance of talent in the region, he was concerned by the lack of application and thought which often typified West Indies cricket, reports CMC.

"We need to be more consistent in our play. We have some good bowlers around the place but our batting is the thing that has not been up to par," the 69-year-old Guyanese said.

"But we have some good cricketers here and it is just a matter of getting people who want to bat for long periods. As I've said before, I want to see players bat ugly. There's not every day you're going to be able to drive it around, you're going to have to battle your way out of situations."

"We should not be bowled out in two sessions in any Test match; we should not be beaten in two-and-a-half days in any Test match. I think we're much better than that. It's the consistency and what we need to inject into our young players is that it's a long game especially in the Test matches."

Lloyd was named the new head of selectors last Saturday, replacing fellow Guyanese Clyde Butts. He will be joined by fast bowling legend and former Windies captain, Courtney Walsh, along with ex-West Indies players Eldine Baptiste and Courtney Browne.

Credited with moulding the successful West Indies side of the late 1970s and 1980s, Lloyd brings a long resume to his new post, having also served as team manager, coach and West Indies Cricket Board director since his retirement from the game.

Lloyd said emphasis needed to be placed on youth development and more importantly, imparting the right attributes so the senior team could begin to benefit.

"We have to think properly and if you notice, anytime there is a close game we get beaten, so our thinking has got to be much better," Lloyd pointed out.

"We have to think a lot more of our cricket and I hope that can be injected into our playing and the young players that are coming through because these Under-19 guys will be the future of West Indies cricket and if they can inculcate the right sort of things where this game is concerned, we will have a very good future.

"We have some terrific cricketers around but it's just that we lose a lot of them at a certain stage. We want to harness that talent, keep them there, make sure that the HP (high performance) centres that we have around the place are teaching them the right things and whatever they have learnt from there, they can put it into play when they play for the West Indies."

Lloyd will assume his role with a West Indies team languishing at number eight in the Test rankings and one-day rankings, only above Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

They have now lost their last three Test series, winning just one match in their last eight outings. In India last year, they lost both Tests by innings margins inside three days. Despite this, however, Lloyd believes the West Indies brand is still alive.

"There's a lot of people still watching our cricket, it's not like they've gone in droves. They still believe we have a future and I'm sure that we do. This will probably be my last innings and I hope to get West Indies cricket back on track," Lloyd noted.

--IANS/CMC

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