Clive Lloyd urges complete overhaul of West Indies cricket after historic collapse
"We have to examine all aspects of West Indies cricket-from grassroots to the international level. 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," he said.Lloyd, who led the West Indies during their dominant era in the 1970s and 80s, said he remains ready to help however he can. He believes the Test team's batting, in particular, needs urgent attention. Only Brandon King and Anderson Phillip averaged above 20 during the series, with King's 75 in Grenada standing out as the highest individual score from either side. The team's inability to bat for long periods, highlighted by the historic collapse, has exposed serious technical and mental deficiencies.Lloyd stressed the need for more disciplined and patient batters who can "dig in" and value their wickets."We need a couple of Larry Gomes-players who are willing to bat ugly if needed, stay at the crease, and wear down the bowlers. We haven't been doing that. We've lost that ability to fight and stay in," he said.He also echoed head coach Daren Sammy's concerns about the quality of pitches in the Caribbean and the structure of domestic cricket. Lloyd questioned whether enough quality cricket is being played at school, club, and first-class levels, and whether the pitches are helping players develop the skills needed for Test cricket."We have to go back to basics. Are our young players getting the right kind of cricket? Are our pitches helping them learn how to build innings or bowl long spells? The mental side of our game needs to improve too."West Indies have now finished eighth in all three World Test Championship cycles. Their upcoming away tours to India and New Zealand offer little room for quick recovery. Lloyd, who famously led the West Indies to victory in the inaugural Cricket World Cup in 1975, insists the region still has the talent, but bold steps are now essential.advertisement"I'm always available to help in any way. We've been playing top-class cricket for nearly 100 years. We owe it to ourselves to get this right."As the Caribbean reflects on its proud cricketing past, Lloyd's words serve as a clear reminder: legacy alone is not enough. The time for sentiment has passed. The time for rebuilding has begun.- EndsMust Watch
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
'He is milking that injury': Former England cricketer reveals 'consensus' on Rishabh Pant's injury
Rishabh Pant (Pic credit: BCCI) Former England cricketer David Lloyd has criticised Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant , suggesting he was exaggerating his injury during the fourth Test at Old Trafford. Lloyd's comments came after Pant, who suffered a toe fracture while batting on Day 1, returned to bat following Shardul Thakur's dismissal a day later. Pant sustained the injury while attempting to reverse sweep Chris Woakes' yorker, which struck him on his right toe. Despite the injury, he came back to continue his innings at 37, receiving applause from the Manchester crowd. How and why Rishabh Pant's England tour could come to an abrupt end due to toe fracture Lloyd shared the sentiment from the legends lounge at the venue regarding Pant's injury situation. "I've never had a metatarsal, which I think is somewhere in the foot, seeing Rishabh Pant. I have had a smashed hand against Andy Roberts and a broken cheekbone. I couldn't bat on after either, although I think I did continue when I had a broken finger. Pant looked in pain; it was pretty heroic of him to come out, though," Lloyd told talkSPORT Cricket . "I was in that legends lounge today, and the consensus was, 'He is milking that injury. It can't be that bad. He's milked it, coming down those steps, and one or two said, 'He should be timed out." The incident has reignited discussions about allowing substitutes for injuries in Test cricket. Lloyd expressed his views on the matter. "I probably am against runners, but I am pro substitutes for an external injury. It opens up a can of worms, it really does. But if it is an external injury, a break, and medically he isn't going to be fit for six weeks, you could have a like-for-like substitute. So that's something else that you've got to consider. Not like replacing a batter with a spinner, though." For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
Different rules for over-rate penalties in different continents — Does Stokes have a point?
As much as England has led a refreshing approach — an aggressive edge — in Test cricket, its skipper Ben Stokes has been on the offensive while addressing off-field issues. His most recent outburst came against the system that penalises slow over-rate offences. England was docked two World Test Championship (WTC) points and fined 10 per cent of its match fees by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for maintaining a slow over-rate in the third Test against India at Lord's. In the lead up to the fourth Test in Manchester, Stokes urged 'common sense' to prevail when handing out over-rate offences. 'You can't have the same rules in Asia, where spin is bowling 70 per cent of the overs, to have the same laws in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it's going to be 70 or 80 per cent of seam bowling, because the spinner's over takes less time than a seamer's over. 'Common sense would think that you should look at changing how the over-rates are timed in different continents,' Stokes said at the pre-match press conference. England's captain Ben Stokes talks about why there should be a change in the way over-rate penalties are determined in different continents. | Photo Credit: PTI Does Stokes have a point here? There is significant merit to the English skipper's contention that over-rate benchmarks and the corresponding penalties should vary according to conditions. During the 2023-25 WTC cycle, England was docked a whopping 22 points for slow over-rate, and all five of its offences came outside Asia (four at home and one in New Zealand). But the trend isn't unique to England. Of the 12 instances of teams being docked points for slow over-rates during the 2023-25 edition of the WTC, 10 occurred outside Asia and just two in the Indian subcontinent. Nine matches had at least one team penalised for over-rates, and eight were held outside Asia. 'You can't have the same rules in Asia, where spin is bowling 70 per cent of the overs, to have the same laws in New Zealand, Australia, England, where it's going to be 70 or 80 per cent of seam bowling. . .'Ben Stokes, England captain By extension, the system disproportionately penalises fast bowlers, who operate for the larger part of a match outside Asia. In three of the 12 instances, where the fielding team was punished for slow over-rates in the last WTC cycle, the pacers bowled more than 90 per cent of the deliveries during a match. They bowled more than 80 per cent of the overs on three occasions as well, and four times over 70 per cent. Only twice was their share of deliveries less than 70 per cent during a game. The lowest share of deliveries bowled by a penalised team's pacers during a match was 54.41 per cent — Bangladesh was the offender, against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Both teams were handed penalties in that game — the only occasion of teams being docked points for slow over-rates in Asia in the 2023-25 WTC cycle. ALSO READ: Uneven series, unequal chances — WTC's structural problem It is no mystery that the fast bowlers take significantly longer to complete their overs, and their recovery only gets slower over the course of a long series. With England playing a five-Test series more than any other team, the over-rate penalties may have hurt it inordinately. 'You've got fast bowlers bending their backs consistently. Throughout the course of a game, the time of overs is going to come down because you've just got tired bodies. We played for five days. That was our 15th day of cricket,' Stokes said. Jofra Archer, one of England's best seamers in this series, returned to red-ball action at the international level after four years, following his recovering from injury. | Photo Credit: Reuters Of the 22 points England was docked during the 2023-25 WTC cycle, 19 came during a gruelling five-Test Ashes series against Australia at home. Though England fell foul of the minimum required number of overs in the first two Tests, it was docked eight more points over the last two matches of the series. Australia, too, was handed a 10-point reprimand for a slow over-rate in the fourth Test. An era of changing Test cricket patterns The Ashes series in 2023 was a case in point for proponents of a new system for penalising slow over-rates. England and Australia were docked a combined 32 WTC points during what was perhaps the most closely fought series ever. Both teams have been fined one #WorldTestChampionship point and five per cent of their match fee for every over short in the #Ashes: ICC READ: — Sportstar (@sportstarweb) August 2, 2023 The win margins were wafer-thin: Australia won the first Test by two wickets and the second by 43 runs, before England levelled the series by clinching a three-wicket win in the third Test and a 49-run victory in the fifth. The fans were anything but 'robbed' of gripping action due to overs lost and probably didn't mind the bowlers taking longer to set their fields and strategise as the contests got closer. Stuart Broad celebrates winning the fifth Test against Australia at the 2023 Ashes Series. The win helped England draw the series 2-2. | Photo Credit: Getty Images There is also a view that the ever-increasing run rates in Test cricket — which can lead to the fielding side revisiting its plans frequently and thus take longer to complete overs — can influence over-rates. 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'I think there's just so much that influences how your over-rates can be affected, that it can't just be as simple as, 'this is the time, this is what you need to do'. Because you want to keep the quality of cricket as high as you possibly can,' Stokes added. In an era where draws are increasingly rare and teams are pushing for outright wins to consolidate their position in the WTC standings, sacrificing match quality for what seems like a clerical requirement is counterproductive, especially at a time when popularising Test cricket should be a priority.
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
IND vs ENG 4th Test: ‘Playing through pain' - Sachin Tendulkar lauds Rishabh Pant's gritty fifty in Manchester
India's Rishabh Pant comes down for the batting during the second day. (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: In a stirring display of courage and class, Rishabh Pant once again proved why he is India's heartbeat in Test cricket, battling through a toe injury to script a fighting fifty on Day 2 of the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford. The left-hander walked out to bat with a visible limp after Shardul Thakur's dismissal, triggering a standing ovation from the Manchester crowd — and admiration from cricketing legends worldwide. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Pant, undeterred by pain, struck 54 off 75 balls, peppered with three boundaries and two sixes, matching Virender Sehwag's all-time Indian record of 90 sixes in Test cricket. His brave effort, however, was more than just numbers. How and why Rishabh Pant's England tour could come to an abrupt end due to toe fracture India's cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar led the chorus of praise, posting on X: 'Resilience is about playing through pain and rising above it. @RishabhPant17 showed tremendous character by walking back into the game with an injury and delivering a performance like that. His fifty is a powerful reminder of the grit and determination it takes to represent your country.' Former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh echoed the sentiment on Instagram, writing: 'True spirit shows up when the spirit is indomitable! Injury can shake the body but not the mind, good stuff @rishabhpant.' Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma also lauded Pant's grit in an interview with ANI: 'This shows how mentally strong he is. If someone does not give up in life, then they can make a comeback in life.' Poll What do you think of Rishabh Pant's performance despite his injury? Incredible display of courage Just a good innings Should have rested Pant's knock was not only inspirational but historic. He overtook Rohit Sharma to become India's leading run-scorer in the World Test Championship era, now sitting on 2731 runs in 38 Tests. The fifty in Manchester also pushed him past MS Dhoni in 50+ scores for Indian wicketkeepers — Pant now has 14, compared to Dhoni's 13. In pain, but never in doubt, Pant's innings was a celebration of resilience, a moment that left fans and legends alike in awe — and one that will be etched in the folklore of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
