England coach Lloyd Stands condemned (3 Sep 1998)

3 September 1998

England coach Lloyd Stands condemned

The Daily News

When England coach David Lloyd, no relation of the one who pelted Goliath, called the world's number one off spinner Muttaiah Muralitharan a chucker, he didn't realise it would spell his own doom. For today Lloyd, the former Lancashire left hander who was a non entity in a short, but inglorious test career stands roundly condemned before the court of world cricket opinion.

However it is heartening to note that the English Cricket Board has not taken kindly to Lloyd's remarks about this remarkable bowler and he will be hauled before representatives of the ECB and asked to explain his comments. This is not the first time that Lloyd has been over the coals.

His record has not been a good one. Earlier he was reprimanded for words he uttered when England played Zimbabwe.

There is no denying the fact that Lloyd's remarks has gone to spoil the good relations that was existing between the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka and their counterparts in England.

It is also on record that he had clashed with television commentator, former England opening batsman Geoff Boycott who in an interview on the Murralitharan affair had asked the England coach to keep his mouth shut.

It is also apparent that all is not well with the England set up after this humiliating defeat by the Sri Lankans. If this is not so how come that the England coach Lloyd and skipper Alec Stewart are at war.

While Lloyd thinks that Muralitheran's action is not right, Stewart is on record as having praised the off spinner saying that he is a quality bowler and very difficult to play.

Also the captain and the team too seem at loggerheads and not on the same wave length. This was obvious to everyone when bowler Fraser especially failed to carry out the orders of his skipper to adopt negative bowling tactics when the Lankans were romping home.

With such a disjointed team there is no need to predict that their Ashes fling against Australia later this year will end in disaster.

The ECB has advised Lloyd that his remarks were inappropriate and insensitive. Indications are that he would be sacked. If that happens Lloyd has no one to blame but himself.

Having been a cricketer Lloyd would have been admired had he admitted like his skipper that Muralitharan was unreadable, unfathomable and unplayable which led to their defeat instead of whingeing, not being able to take defeat in the right spirit.

After their success against the Proteas, Lloyd just could not take this defeat by the rampaging Sri Lankans so his unsporting outbursts.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)