Clive Lloyd wasn’t in Kingston when the West Indies were bundled out for 27, yet the scoreline landed on his phone within seconds. A day later, Cricket West Indies (CWI) had invited him, Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara to an emergency summit. The brief: help work out how a side once feared for its stubborn batting could fall within one blow of Test cricket’s lowest total.
“We have to examine all aspects of West Indies cricket from grassroots to the international level,” Lloyd said. “Everything must be looked at closely and carefully. West Indies cricket is an institution. It has given so much to the people of this region and we must do all we can to revive it.”
The collapse at Sabina Park, completed inside 15 overs on the third afternoon, left West Indies just one run clear of New Zealand’s 26 all out from 1955. Jayden Seales’ last-gasp single following a misfield spared them the outright record, yet it hardly softened the blow.
Australia, dominant throughout the series, required only nine overs to mow down the 28 they needed to win the Test and seal a 3-0 scoreline. Brandon King’s 75 in Grenada ended up as the highest score by either team; more telling, King and tail-ender Anderson Phillip were the only West Indians to average north of 20. Head coach Daren Sammy kept saying the side planned to “score faster if batting time became tough”, but speed without substance offered little protection.
“I’m always available to help in any way,” Lloyd added. “How we can marry the ideas we have with what is necessary and have healthy discussion on the way we move forward, that’s what I’m thinking. It has been nearly 100 years since we have been playing top-class [Test] cricket and we have to get it right.”
Lloyd’s worry is not restricted to technique. He believes batting surfaces across the Caribbean, often slow and two-paced, must take some responsibility. Sammy floated a similar concern earlier in the tour, noting how many domestic tracks encourage stroke-making but rarely demand long hauls at the crease.
“We need a couple of Larry Gomes, more batsmen like him,” Lloyd said. “We need batsmen who put a heavy price on their wickets and when they get in look to stay in. There is nothing wrong with digging in and ‘batting ugly’. We have to find ways of fighting, occupying the crease, and staying in for long periods to wear down the bowlers. We have not been doing that.
“Obviously, the mental side of our game needs to improve. We have to go back to the basics. We have to look at schools’ cricket, club cricket, first-class cricket – are we playing enough; we also have to look at the pitches – how are we preparing them and how they are playing.”
CWI president Dr Kishore Shallow wants the summit to produce concrete recommendations before the next World Test Championship window. West Indies have finished eighth in each of the three cycles so far and now face successive away series against India and New Zealand, arguably the two toughest batting assignments around.
The timing is awkwardly symbolic. Only a fortnight ago, CWI celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1975 World Cup triumph, captained by Lloyd himself. Back then, his thunderous hundred at Lord’s dismantled Australia. Today, the same opponents have exposed a batting order stuck between eras – aggressive by instinct, fragile under pressure.
A full-scale review will not bring back Michael Holding’s lightning pace or Gordon Greenidge’s granite forward defence. But, as Lloyd and his fellow greats gather with administrators, coaches and groundsmen, the message feels blunt enough: if West Indies cricket can own its problems, it might still own its future.
