West Indies great Clive Lloyd has said that the team deserves a bigger share in the International Cricket Council (ICC) considering the fact that they were a force for nearly three decades and fears that they would be stuck in the second tier of the World Test Championship (WTC) for “100 years” if the concept is enforced. A two-tier system for the championship was among the topics discussed during the ICC’s annual conference in July.
The West Indies, far from being the world-beaters they were under Lloyd and later under Viv Richards and Richie Richardson, have finished eighth out of nine teams in each of the three editions thus far. “We have to look at what’s happening at the ICC with the shareout of the money. India, Australia and England get 180 million and West Indies will get 80 million like Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and we are just two years out of being in that group for 100 years,” Lloyd said, according to ESPNCricinfo.
The West Indies lost just two Test series for about two decades between 1974 and 1994, a period in which they fielded teams that are widely regarded among the greatest ever seen in the sport. Since 1995, however, they have been in steady decline particularly in the longest format of the game. They were whitewashed 3-0 at home by Australia in their most recent Test series. It ended in humiliation for them as the West Indies were all out for just 27 runs in the last innings of the series.
Lloyd, however, pointed out that the West Indies were the biggest draw in the world at their peak and this needs to be brought into consideration. “To me, it’s not right. We have to stand up. We have to go to the ICC and ask for special dispensation. Because when we were in the ascendancy, and we were playing so well, everyone wanted to play with us.
“We were playing Australia very often, with England very often, and when we went to Pakistan or India, getting millions of people [to the grounds]. We need to get a better share of the pie, because we were the cash cows for a long time. And we need to get some of that. I am hoping the board follows up on that recommendation where we can be adequately given the money that is needed,” he said.
