Clive Lloyd retired from international cricket and the West Indies captaincy at the end of the 1984-85 Australian tour, ending an 11-year reign that included two World Cup finals, the Blackwash, and the most successful captaincy in cricket history at the time.
Lloyd had taken over the West Indies in 1974 and had led them through the World Series Cricket years, the rebuilding of the pace attack, and into the 1980s as the world's dominant side.
The 1984-85 Australian tour was his pre-announced final assignment; West Indies won 3-1.
Lloyd had taken over the West Indies captaincy in 1974 after a chaotic period under Rohan Kanhai. By 1985 he had won two World Cups (1975, 1979), reached a third final (1983), and led West Indies to a record 27-Test unbeaten run including the 1984 Blackwash. He retired after a 3-1 Test series win in Australia, in which he himself made a final Test hundred at Adelaide. The numbers: 110 Tests, 7,515 runs at 46.67, 19 hundreds. As captain: 74 Tests, 36 wins, 12 losses, 26 draws. He left the captaincy and Test cricket at the same moment, handing both over to Viv Richards. The Lloyd era is considered the most dominant captaincy in Test history; the team he built — Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Lloyd, Dujon, Marshall, Holding, Garner, Roberts and others — never lost a Test series under his leadership from 1980 to 1985.
1974 captaincy
1975 and 1979 World Cup wins
1980-85: 27-Test unbeaten run
1984 Blackwash
Final Test in Australia, January 1985
1974
Captaincy from Kanhai
1975, 1979
World Cup wins
1983
World Cup final loss
1984
Blackwash
Jan 1985
Retirement
“I was lucky to lead a great team. We trusted each other.”
“Clive built that side. The rest of us just played.”
Richards inherited a team at its peak; he did not lose a Test series in 50 Tests as captain.
The end of the most dominant captaincy reign in cricket history.
Lloyd's captaincy is widely regarded as the gold standard for Test captaincy — outright dominance, unity in the dressing room and the development of one generational team.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.