Allan Lamb Explains What Made Clive Lloyd Greatest Test Captain Ever

What makes a great captain? Ability to lead a side, to bring out the best out them or to keep them together as an unit. For England great Allan Lamb, West Indies’ Clive Lloyd, was a true example of a ‘great captain’. Clive Lloyd led the West Indies for a decade from 1975 to 1985, a period when the Caribbean side, gathered massive success in world cricket.

Under his leadership, the West Indies grew to become one of the most dominant side in Test cricket, and clinched victory in 27 matches, including 11 matches in the trot — only a solitary match during this phase was captained by Viv Richards. Lloyd recorded 77.71 per cent win record during his extra-ordinary captaincy stint, where the West Indies won 64 out of there 84 matches with only 18 losses.

Allan Lamb: Clive Lloyd made the best side

Allan Lamb, whose best record came against the West Indies, said Lloyd had the ability to make the best side. Many would say, he had the ammunition and firepower in his ranks, but Lamb believes it was still up to Lloyd to bring out the best out of them, which made him a ‘great captain’.

“Well, I think it’s going to be Clive Lloyd, you know, because Clive Lloyd in that generation, everyone said he had the best side, but he made the best side and for captain you got to have respect and you go to be winning and you go to have team support…. getting the best out of your team, he led that team the best,” Allan Lamb said in an exclusive interview to Cricket Addictor.

“I would say, he would probably be, definitely be by far the greatest Test captain. Everyone says to me, he had the quick bowlers, batters, I said he still had to get the best out of them, he made them to a professional side after the Kerry Pecker series, it was him,” he explained.

Besides being a great captain, Lloyd with his Hulk-esque figure, was a brilliant middle-order batsman and a part-time bowler. He led the West Indies in three World Cups and was the first player from his nation to earn 100 international caps.