WaybackWire

LONDON, Friday.—Clive Lloyd goes into tomorrow’s final at Lord’s ready to make way as captain of the West Indies. He feels it is time for a younger man, and he has named Viv Richards as the right man to carry on.

“I have kept our cricket going for 10 years and bringing on young players has kept my enthusiasm going. But you can get quite stale in the job. I have still got my enthusiasm but someone like Viv Richards would be just about right to carry on now,” Lloyd said.

He is unlikely to lead the side on a full tour of England next summer, but would be happy to continue as a specialist batsman. He has recently held talks with members of the West Indian board about his future, though nothing concrete has been decided.

Lloyd was first given the captaincy on the 1974-75 tour of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and has since led the West Indies in a record 54 Tests. He took the World Cup at Lord’s in 1975 and again in 1979, and admits that a third victory would be his last “major target” in cricket.

The groin strain will not keep him out. “I’m having treatment for the injury and I’ll give myself a test before the match. But I’m determined to play in what will be my last World Cup final — and I stick by my forecast at the start that we’re going to win,” he said.

LONDON, Friday.—India go into tomorrow’s final as the underdogs, but they are quietly confident they can overturn the form book and beat the West Indies at Lord’s.

Their confidence stems from two victories over the West Indians this year. The captain, Kapil Dev, is unperturbed by the prospect of Lord’s. “We like to fight and the way we have come back throughout the series after being behind gives us confidence. We know we have got to get Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd out early and that will be our main target,” he said.

Kapil has led the fightback himself, rescuing his side with a Cup-record 175 not out against Zimbabwe. India were 40-1 outsiders with the bookmakers before the tournament began, and in their opening match they inflicted on the West Indies their first defeat in a World Cup match.

India are expected to make one change from the side that beat Australia and England. Dilip Vengsarkar has recovered from the gash on his left jaw, which needed five stitches, where a delivery from Malcolm Marshall struck him in the return group game at The Oval last week. He is likely to come in for the opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

“They are getting better all the time playing against fast bowling,” Lloyd said of the Indians.

LONDON, Friday.—Players, umpires and cricket officials fear spectator violence at Lord’s tomorrow, and police and cricket authorities were due to meet in London to plan extra security for the final.

The game is already a sell-out, but thousands are expected to gather outside the ground trying to force entry.

The fears have grown all week. At Chelmsford on Monday Indian spectators stormed the ground and threw bottles and insults at the Australian dressing room, and the Australians needed a police escort to leave. At Trent Bridge umpire David Evans was knocked down by Pakistani supporters after Pakistan beat New Zealand.

At Old Trafford on Wednesday thousands ran on to the pitch with India needing one run. Police and stewards drove them off, and Bob Willis put all his fielders on the pavilion side for a quick exit.

Umpire Don Oslear hit one youth with a stump before three policemen dragged the youth away, and later hit another fan. “If we don’t protect ourselves we will get trampled upon,” Oslear said. He said the police superintendent had told him he did such a good job that he wanted him to join his force.

“It was such a pity a magnificent day had to end like that,” Oslear added.

Several England players have warned privately that competitors’ lives are in danger as cricket crowds in England become more like soccer crowds.

MANCHESTER, Thursday.—“To the surprise of everybody connected with the game,” writes Peter McFarline, cricket writer of The Age in Melbourne, India are in the World Cup final.

To McFarline, India have pulled off a hat-trick of upsets: the West Indies early in the competition, Australia on Monday and England in the semi-final.

But he doubts whether they can master the West Indian pace quartet at Lord’s on Saturday.