Sir Clive bestowed with Order of Caribbean Community

Months after the major announcement, legendary Guyanese cricketer Sir Clive Lloyd, CBE, AO, CM, was, over the weekend, bestowed with the prestigious Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) during the 47th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom, being hosted in Grenada.
Sir Lloyd’s intended reception of the award was announced back in March by Guyana’s President, Dr Irfaan Ali during the hosting of the 46th edition of the Caricom meeting in Georgetown, Guyana.
The award was presented to Sir Lloyd by Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, after which the Cricket World Cup-winning West Indian Captain shared, “At this juncture, I’m compelled to recognise your astuteness in identifying our beloved sport of cricket as a viable vehicle and conduit for social- economic development and regional integration. Indeed, my predecessors, in receipt of this prestigious honour, Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards, Brian Lara, is testament to your insighted leadership.”

Lloyd went on to remark during his acceptance speech, “To quote a late, lamented leader of Caricom and an OCC recipient, Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manly from his book A History of West Indies Cricket, published in 1988, quote ‘Cricket is the most completely regional activity undertaken by the people of the Member States of the Caribbean Community. It is also the most successful cooperative endeavour and as such, is a constant reminder to people of otherwise wayward insularity of the value of collaboration.
“It is this notion, that in retrospect, inspired my ambition as did the legacy of dearly-departed Sir Frank Worrell, when I had distinct honour to serve as Captain of the West Indies team. Sir Frank’s grace, his dignity and astuteness in leadership, as well as his relentless pursuit of quality and fair play, provided a blueprint for my stewardship. My goals were mainly to rekindle team spirit, dispel our endemic cavalier image, and establish a winning attitude.
“As I proudly accept this iconic award, my wish is that my parents, Sylvia Thelma Lloyd and Christopher Lloyd were present to see me this evening. More particularly, my mother, who would’ve perhaps finally appreciated my forgoing lunch while chasing a cricket ball, day in, day out, in the searing heat at my field of dreams, the Demerara Cricket Club,” the former West Indies Captain said, reflecting on his boyhood.
Having led West Indies to two World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979; Sir Clive is considered one of the most successful Test Captains in the history of West Indies cricket. During his captaincy, his side had a run of 27 matches without defeat, which included 11 wins in succession. He was the first West Indian player to earn 100 international caps.
In 2009, Sir Clive was inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket Hall of Fame and was knighted in 2022.