Cricket: Lloyd refuses to blame defectors

Big Bash star Chris Gayle could still play test cricket, says Clive Lloyd. Photo / Getty Images

West Indies chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd bears no ill-will towards players opting to take part in Australia's domestic Twenty20 tournament rather than play test cricket.

Windies stars Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo and Samuel Badree have put in a series of eye-catching performances in the Big Bash League this season, while the West Indies have struggled to compete with Australia in their three-test series.

West Indies great Lloyd said he understood the motivation of those preferring the shorter format of the game to the longest.

"You can't fault them," he said. "We're from the islands and the point is, with the money being paid in these shorter games, it's obvious players are looking towards their future and unfortunately we're missing out.

"All those guys who we groomed have left. So we're left with a vacuum and we now have to fill that."

Lloyd said he believed the core of the side that trail Australia 0-2 ahead of the third and final test starting at the SCG today had the potential to be competitive in years to come.

But the absence of stars such as Gayle, Russell, Simmons and Bravo was hurting them badly.

Lloyd left the door open for Gayle, 36, to return from his effective retirement from test cricket.

"That's up to him, you have to play in our four-day competition before you're selected for the longer game," Lloyd said. "If he chooses to play one-dayers, then that's his choice.

"But to play in the one-day game, you have to play in the one-day competition and to play in the test matches, you have to play in the longer form of cricket at home."

- AAP