JAIPUR: Clive Lloyd drove home the importance of a National academy to harness "the young talent" and "show them direction."

The legendary West Indies cricketer — captain in 74 Tests — has been assigned the tough task of whipping the current team into a "consistently winning unit." As he walked into the media room, with a bat in each hand, Lloyd evoked memories of some of the most lethal innings he had played in the history of the game, not to forget the brilliant unbeaten 102 in the 1975 World Cup final at Lord's, an innings that sealed the fate of the contest.

As chairman of the West Indies Board's cricket committee, Lloyd observed, "it is important to have an academy. In the Caribbean, we are losing youngsters to football because they get paid very well. That means we have another sport to contend with and that's the reason we need to harness the talent that we have. We need to get the domestic cricket on a better footing. We have to get the best talent available and produce a quality team for the future."

Players' fitness

When asked to compare the fitness of the players of his generation with the present lot, and the evolution of cricket, Lloyd said, "overall the rules have changed, the fielding has improved with sliding and all that; the batsmen are playing a few more shots than we did, but nothing more. As far as fitness is concerned, in my time we were blessed with a trainer called Dennis Waite. He lengthened my career by ten years. He was tough, but fair. We were fit."

A noted Match Referee, Lloyd gave his views on the subject quite honestly while referring to The Oval incident involving Pakistan and Darrell Hair. "Had good sense prevailed, we may not have had this problem. The Match Referee has an important part to play."

On Lara

Lloyd supported Brian Lara as the captain of the team. "He knows the game and is quite astute. He is the guy we need at the moment."

On his role, Lloyd was quite forthcoming. "My job is to support the team management. Give them a bit from my experience of playing in India. I have seen some of the players in the opposition and can give some information about them."

The former West Indies captain painted a rosy picture on his team. "I think we have done reasonably well in one-day cricket. In Tests, we need to look at certain areas. We have a good all-round side. The guys are trying hard and learning the trade well."

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