ICC World Cup 2019 | Kane Williamson’s innings one of the best ever, claims Clive LLoyd

06/22/2019

Clive Lloyd was all praise for Kane Williamson after his gritty innings saw off South Africa in a nail biting finish, in what Lloyd described as one of the most wonderful ODI batting performances he has ever witnessed. He went on to discuss his country’s performance so far in the ongoing tournament.

Widely considered by both critics and fans as one of the greatest batsmen of all time with 7000-plus test runs, Clive Lloyd knows a good batsman when he sees one. Hence, his description for Kane Williamson’s unbeaten century against South Africa that took them across the line in a thrilling run chase is some high praise indeed for the Kiwi batsman. Looking at Windies’ batting record in the tournament so far, Lloyd suggested they could a leaf out of Williamson’s book.

“In Kane Williamson, the Black Caps have a terrific captain and an even more impressive batsman. His innings to knock off South Africa was absolutely masterful, one of the finest I have ever seen in an ODI game. He is a fantastic reader of the game and knows how to adapt to what is going on around him. The West Indies would benefit from learning a thing or two from Williamson,” he wrote in his column for the ICC website.

After a statement making win in opener against Pakistan, the Carribean side has failed to register another win and is currently reeling at the seventh position with three points. Their most recent loss came against Bangladesh in what was an emphatic run chase by the Tigers.

“West Indies have themselves to blame if they miss the semi-finals, they should have beaten Australia and they definitely should have seen off Bangladesh as well. But the Bangladesh side did their homework and deserved their victory,” Lloyd wrote.

Lloyd did manage to be optimistic however and tried to find the silver lining though he could not help but criticize the batsmen for their lack of attitude in batsmen and the desire to play match winning innings.

“There have been some positives for the West Indies though. Shai Hope has been playing extremely well for quite a while since he has arrived on the international scene. And it was good to see Evin Lewis get a score at last. I think he is a terrific cricketer. If you have been getting out for small scores, and then get to 70, it is imperative that you cash in. That is the problem with the West Indies batsmen, they are getting good starts and then not capitalising by making big scores. They need to put a higher price on their wicket,” Lloyd added.

Even though their lethal bowling worked wonders in the first couple of matches, batsmen have managed to figure out all their tricks and in an attempt to do too much, they have failed quite miserably to close the deal in the last couple of games.

“With the ball, the bowlers need to stick to a line and length instead of being wayward in both, which leads to leaking runs profusely.If they do that against New Zealand they will be punished, and yet I still believe the West Indies can perform very well against them if they stick to the right script,” he explained.

West Indies will play their next match against New Zealand on Saturday.