No show Lloyd

Captain Brian Lara, coach Sir Viv Richards and all the players were there, but Clive Lloyd wasn't.

The absence of the outgoing team manager necessarily devalued yesterday's special meeting between the West Indies players and coach and the executive committee of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) that discussed the recent calamitous tour of New Zealand.

Chief executive Stephen Camacho said Lloyd, who remained at his home in England after the tour, had informed the WICB he had an important previous engagement that he could not break at such short notice.

Although the former Test captain announced during the tour that he would not be seeking a renewal of his three-year contract, his input at the day-long meeting in the Conchita Room of the Bougainvillea Hotel in Maxwell, Christ Church, would have been crucial.

Like Lara and Richards, he is expected to submit a usual written report on the tour to the WICB.

In addition to the lengthy face-to-face meeting yesterday between the team and the executive committee, headed by WICB vice-president Clarvis Joseph, players reportedly had individual sessions with sports psychologist Dr. Rudi Webster.

Webster, who was appointed to the team for last year's home series against Australia and the subsequent World Cup, had been in Trinidad where he had consultations with Lara after his return from New Zealand.

Wicb representatives were unavailable for comment on the meeting up to late last night. An official statement is due today.

Lara, Merv Dillon, Dinanath Ramnarine, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Reon King were booked on a flight to Trinidad last night so that they would be in time for the Busta Cup third round match between Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, this morning.

The other players will disperse to the other Busta venues today. Jamaica host Barbados at Sabina Park and the Leeward Islands take on the Windwards at the Antiua Recreation Ground.