Clive Lloyd is in the news once again. He has said that Michael Vaughan is a rude and uncouth lad and much more and blah blah.
I feel that Clive Lloyd, very much in the style of Bishen Singh Bedi is seeking to hog the limelight in any which way he can. This is not the first occasion he has done something like this and definitely won't be the last. Due to some strange reasons known only to the ICC, the players are treated like naughty children who need to be punished and ticked off at any slight offence while the umpires and the match referees have some God-like aura about them that no matter how pathetic their performance no one can utter a word against them let alone punish them for their deeds.
Before the Michael Vaughan incident, Clive Lloyd had pulled up Ganguly for slow over rate and again made some inane comments after his verdict was overturned by higher authoriy (thank God there is some means of appeal now) and exactly a year ago he had hauled up the most gentlemanly of the modern day players Rahul Dravid for "cheating".
Clive Lloyd was a great batsman and captain which is why it pains me when I have to say that he is behaving like an absolute lunatic and is best ignored. (The same goes for Bishen Singh Bedi when he speaks anything).
Looking at the broader picture I think the concept of match referee has been a big curse to this wonderful game. For over a hundred years the game could do without them and it went on just fine. Over the past 10 years or so that they have been introduced they have done immeasurable harm to the game. While those intent on misbehaving will continue to find ways to do so, all this match referee thing has managed is to either create robotic characterless cricketers or to punish the polite and dignified (Dravid, Vaughan, Tendulkar (remember the Mike Denness affair ?)) while letting the offenders (Donald, McGrath etc) carry on their own sweet talk. They have on at least one occasion led World Cricket on the verge of being divided on racial lines.
Of course, there are the few decent people who genuinely have the interests of cricket at heart. Mike Proctor for example has done a splendid job as match referee simply by remaining inconspicuous. That is how a match referee should perform (if at all he should). Like a wicket-keeper his job is well-done when he is not in the limelight. Unfortunately the Lloyds and Denneses of this World go all out seeking it tarnishing reputations of great cricketers and making fools of themselves.
The World would be a better place without match referees.
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