By Orin Davidson
He captained almost all of the members on various teams, now the Friends of Former Guyana Cricketers organization, (FFGC), is about to repay Clive Lloyd.
Former West Indies and Guyana captain Clive Lloyd. Photo by Shiek Mohamed
The fast growing New York-based charitable group of ex players and well wishers, has listed the former West Indies and Guyana captain as the next beneficiary on its honors list.
The occasion will be a grand dinner and dance function set for October 27 in Queens, NY, when the “Skipper” as Lloyd is known to many of his teammates, will be presented with a special gift for his contributions to Guyana and West Indies cricket.
Given his accomplishments as leader and those with the bat, Clive Lloyd is one of the most sought after ex cricketers around the globe.
He has given his services to the West Indies Cricket Board in an administrative capacity, likewise the International Cricket Council (ICC) and even the Guyana Government.
Presently Lloyd is spearheading the rehabilitation of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCC), at the behest of the Government, many years after he almost single handedly thrust the country further into the world spotlight on the field with his impeccable leadership of the West Indies team which went on to dominate the world for 15 long years from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s..
Lloyd led by example as an ace middle order batsman, eventually ending his career, with more than 7,500 Test runs with an average of 46.67 runs per innings. At the time of his retirement, Lloyd built a reputation as one of the best captains of all time, which included leading West Indies to a 27 Test-match unbeaten run among other accomplishments. Also included are two World Cup titles and Lloyd went on to become the first West Indian to play more than 100 Test matches.
Derrick Kallicharran, President of the FFGC, said Lloyd was an automatic choice to be honored by the group as his accomplishments speak for themselves.
Kallicharran played under Lloyd’s leadership of Guyana along with a number of other FFGC members, including Clayton Lambert, Milton Pydanna, Sydney Matthews, Leslaine Lambert, Ray Joseph, Terry Etwaroo and Armanauth Ramcharitar.
The dinner and dance will be staged at Richie Rich Banquet Hall, in Atlantic Avenue and starts at 8pm. Tickets cost $30 and Lloyd will be flown in for the weekend, in the process taking a break from his current duties in Guyana. He will be available for photo opportunities with attendees and autograph signing.
Tickets can be had by calling telephone numbers 718- 306-2071, 347- 998-8227 or 718 805-7100.
Earlier this year in July the FFGC, travelled to Guyana where they staged two T20 matches to honor Andrew Lyght, the former Guyana opening batsman who died nine years ago.