Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd and ex-chairman of selectors has urged West Indian cricketers to refocus on formats outside of the Twenty20 game.
Lloyd, who made his Test debut 50 years ago, lamented the state of the region’s cricket and called on players to balance money-making with the pride of the maroon colors in longer formats of cricket.
He believes that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the international Twenty20 stars need to compromise to find a way of returning to play regional cricket outside of leagues such as the Indian and Caribbean Premier Leagues.
He told ESPN during an interview that “we have to give our best One-Day players a reason to come home when the Twenty20 competitions are over. Our guys tend to stay away when the franchises are over.”
He said Test cricket has to be an attractive proposition to West Indians.
“We are people from islands and territories and our experience has always taught us that we need to make as much money as we can as fast as we can. So I fully accept that these men have to be paid properly.”
Lloyd has remained optimistic that Test cricket would not die in the West Indies once players dedicated the same Twenty20 passion to the longer formats.
