Cricket: Triple tragedy has Lloyd in mourning

TAUPO - West Indies cricket manager Clive Lloyd hopes his team have a memorable tour of New Zealand to help ease the pain caused by the death of yet another former test player.

Lloyd was yesterday coming to terms with the sudden death of former West Indies fast bowler Sylvester Clarke, aged 44, at his home in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Clarke's death followed that of prolific batsman Sir Conrad Hunte, 67, on Friday and fast bowler Malcolm Marshall, 41, who died of cancer a month ago.

Lloyd captained Clarke and Marshall in tests and began his test career alongside Hunte in the late 1960s.

He said the deaths were being felt by the West Indies team in New Zealand, and coach Sir Viv Richards, a former test team-mate of Clarke and Marshall.

"The only thing we can do is try and do well here and give everyone a bit of a lift," said Lloyd. "The fellows are feeling it, losing three great players."

Lloyd was finding it tough personally, having had so much to do with Clarke, Hunt and Marshall.

"Malcolm was ill and we knew that but when death comes you're still shocked by it all. Conrad and Sylvester were big shocks."

Clarke took 42 wickets in 11 tests in the early 1980s, and Lloyd said it was tough for him because of the strength of the West Indies bowling at the time.

"He came in at a time when we had some real top-class fast bowlers so he didn't play a lot for us. Had he been playing now he would have been one of the first picked. He was a tremendous cricketer."

The death of Hunte, who suffered a heart attack while playing tennis, shocked Lloyd because he appeared fit and healthy at Marshall's funeral.

"Conrad was a hell of a nice guy, we became very good friends and kept in touch. He never looked ill, he was always pretty fit."

Hunte played 44 tests, scoring 3245 runs at an average of 45.06. He hit eight centuries.

He was an instant success in his first test series, against Pakistan in 1957-58, amassing 622 runs at an average of 77.75. That included 142 in the first test and 260 in the third at Kingston - his highest test score. - NZPA