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Former World Cup-winning captain for West Indies Sir Clive Lloyd, in a recent interview with the Telegraph have talked about the nightclub controversy involving Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were they were involved in a physical altercation after which they were suspended from the team for one match, and thus, after returning to the side, Stokes called an end to his international career.
Apart from that, he also talked about West Indies cricket and the future of cricket in the country, which had taken some loans from the International Cricket Council (ICC) during their tough times, and also talked about T20 cricket and the diminishing future of Test cricket.
"I wouldn’t want to embarrass"- Sir Clive Lloyd on Ben Stokes nightclub controversy
While speaking with The Telegraph, Sir Clive Lloyd stated that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) should have kept the news inside them only despite the controversy. Sir Clive believes that they could have given him a fine and a warning and let him go without any severe punishment. Sir Clive believes the suspension turned out to be an embarrassment for Ben Stokes.
“I really think with the Ben Stokes stuff they should have kept it in-house. Then you avoid all this. Yes, the rules were broken, but you fine people, give them a warning and move on. How many people have broken a curfew, had a drink too many? Come on.”
“I wouldn’t want to embarrass somebody publicly who’s done quite a lot for English cricket. If you are a coach and a manager you have to sit down and work things out, not throw everything out there. Handle things. That’s why you manage.”
What happened in the nightclub and post that?
Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were involved in a physical fight with a former Rugby Player and, for breaching curfew and also being involved in a fight, both were dropped from the second Test match against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.
Despite being back in the third and final Test match, Ben Stokes announced his international retirement, which caused a stir in the cricketing world, and many believe that Ben Stokes was disrespected and thus he retired from the game.
"Young guys are left exposed"- Sir Clive Lloyd on the future of Test Cricket
Speaking on West Indies cricket, Sir Clive Lloyd stated that the ICC loaned Cricket West Indies almost £10m after the board reported a net loss of £21m for 2025. The Windies recently beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in a two-Test home series; it is their only victory in their last 10 Tests, which has been a concern for them, and Sir Clive is worried about the youngsters being involved more in T20 than Test cricket.
“It’s the youngsters that I’m worried about,” Lloyd says. “We were lucky enough to play with Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Lance Gibbs and Rohan Kanhai. They don’t have that because most of our senior guys, the best players, don’t play Test cricket. They’re playing franchise cricket, so these young guys are left exposed, and that’s the unfortunate thing.
“I also thought it would have been much better for us to play two Tests against New Zealand instead of just one-day games. That gives you a much better chance of gauging exactly how good you are. It would have given these guys a proper run and a real test of their abilities because T20 is entertainment; Test cricket is an examination.
