Cricket West Indies President, Ricky Skerritt says the knighthoods conferred on West Indies legends Clive Lloyd and Gordon Greenidge were “much deserved” in light of their sterling contribution to the “global success” of Caribbean cricket.
Both Lloyd and Greenidge, products of the golden generation of West Indies cricket, were honored with the prestigious titles in the Queen’s New Year list.
Skerrit said all West Indians everywhere should welcome such high level recognition for the outstanding contributions to the development and promotion of the game of cricket by both former stars and “we should all be proud of their much deserved accolades.”
He said Lloyd and Greenidge were two of the finest cricketers ever to represent the West Indies on the global stage and they will join the distinguished list of former West Indian greats who have been previously knighted for giving so much towards the global success of West Indies cricket.
The 75-year-old Lloyd captained the West Indies to World Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979 and was credited for moulding the West Indies side of the late 1970s and 1980s into a dominant force in world cricket.
“Lloyd was a tremendous leader who represented everything that is great about us as a West Indian people. He lifted the ICC World Cup on two occasions — the symbol that we were true kings of the world,” he said.
Greenidge, meanwhile emerged as one of the finest opening batsmen in the history of the Test game, in a legendary alliance with fellow Barbadian Desmond Haynes. The 68-year Barbadian was a member of the 1975 and 1979 World Cup winning sides.
