Clive Lloyd 'Convinced' West Indies Will Be Competitive Again

Clive Lloyd 'Convinced' West Indies Will Be Competitive Again

Clive Lloyd singled out Andre Russell for special praise

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Former captain and current WICB Director Clive Lloyd says that the West Indies are moving in the right direction and will eventually be in a position to compete with the best sides in the world.

He was talking after they beat Bangladesh by 229 runs to seal a 1-0 series win - a first overseas since 2003 - in a game which saw young batsmen Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo excel.

"I have seen the signs, I am seeing the ‘green shoots’ in players like Kirk Edwards and Andre Russell who have come on to the scene and done well and shown that they are quality players who can compete against any team around the world," Lloyd said.

"I can safely say that we have about 15 to 20 players than we can call on who can compete with the best in the world, what we need is for all hands to be on deck and for the senior players to be there to mentor and guide them in a positive way.

"Once these young guys get that mentoring and guidance from committed senior players in addition to the wonderful work being put in by the coaching staff I’m convinced that our cricket will step up to a level where we are competitive against any side in the world," he added.

Lloyd, who captained the West Indies to unprecedented success between 1974 and 1985, went on to identify other young players as well as Edwards and Russell who will eventually provide competition for places in the national side.

"The boys in the background are a solid group as well, Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel who are at the Sagicor HPC are two in particular that have bright futures," he said.

"I’m impressed with Krishmar Santokie and Garey Mathurin seems an intelligent bowler and left arm spinners are an integral part of the game now.

"Devendra Bishoo is a very good bowler who is improving with every game and Darren Bravo has to continue converting scores to hundreds, so all in all we have the core, we have bowling in pace and spin and batting.

"It is now just a matter of all these guys continuing to gel together; our one day squad seems to be quite good, we have good batting and adequate bowling.

"And once you start winning one day games it’s only a matter of time that you’ll be winning Test matches consistently. We look like we’re forming a formidable team in the limited overs versions and the way forward looks rosey to me."

An even bigger test awaits the West Indies following their tour of Bangladesh, where they also won the One-Day International series 2-1 but lost the Twenty20 International, when they play India.

The tour begins on 6th November with the first of three Tests in Delhi. The two sides will also play five One-Day Internationals.

© Cricket World 2011