5 former West Indies batsmen who would've done well in T20 Cricket
In the recently concluded Test series between India and West Indies, the Indian fast bowlers were all over the Windies batsmen as they found it hard to cope up with their pace and swing. On some occasions, they even hit them with terrific bouncers which undid the Windies batsmen time and again. For a person who had followed the West Indies cricket during their dominance from the 1970s to the 1990s would find it very hard to relate the present condition of the Windies team.
They were by far the most dominant team during this period and all the top teams found it really difficult to beat them even in their own backyard, let alone winning in West Indies. The team was packed with superstars with each and every member of the team capable of destroying their opposition either with the ball or bat.
Though the present West Indies team hasn’t performed to their potential in Tests and ODIs but they are the world beaters as far as T20 cricket is concerned. They have some serious power hitters in their ranks who can decimate any bowling attack on their given day.
So with T20 becoming more and more popular with each passing day you might think how would have the dominant West Indies side from the 1980s performed in the game’s shortest format.
Here we bring you five West Indies batsmen from the older generation who might have excelled even in the T20 format
#5 Clive Lloyd
The first ever captain to win a cricket World Cup, Clive Llyod was one of the most respected cricketers of his generation. With his big glasses, he looked more of a professor than a cricketer on the field, but with the bat in the hand, he literally decimated bowling attacks from all around the world. His astute tactical brain was instrumental in West Indies ruling the cricketing world for two decades.
Llyod’s brilliant century in the 1975 World Cup final against Australia is still considered one of the finest ODI innings. In a generation where other batsmen found it difficult to keep a strike of 60, Llyod scored 102 in a mere 85 balls. His magnificent innings was decorated with 12 fours and 2 sixes. Courtesy of his innings, West Indies won the inaugural World Cup.
The left-hander played a total of 87 ODIs scoring 1977 runs at an impressive average of 39. He also had a brilliant strike rate of 81. Taking his ODI record into account in that generation, Llyod would have definitely succeeded in the shortest format of the game.