GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Legendary West Indies captain Sir Clive Lloyd has voiced sharp criticism of Cricket West Indies (CWI) over its recent appointment of 33-year-old Jomel Warrican as vice-captain of the regional Test side, arguing that the leadership mantle should have been handed to a younger, more future-ready player.
His remarks come in the wake of CWI’s announcement naming Roston Chase, also 33, as the new Test captain—marking him as the 10th Barbadian to assume the role.
“You can’t appoint two 33-year-olds”: Lloyd calls for visionary planning
Speaking candidly on WESN TV’s Face of Sports on Friday, Sir Clive expressed concern that the dual leadership appointments lacked long-term strategic thinking.
“That is where Cricket West Indies went wrong,” said Sir Clive. “You can’t give a 33-year-old and another 33-year-old [the captaincy and vice-captaincy]. You should have gone for a 26-year-old so that, in two years’ time, he would have all of that experience and then he’d be able to take over the mantle. That is what I would have done.”
Sir Clive’s comments suggest that age and leadership succession planning are being overlooked at a critical moment in West Indies cricket, when cultivating emerging talent is essential to revitalizing the team’s Test fortunes.
Joshua Da Silva seen as a wiser choice
Though Sir Clive did not name Jomel Warrican directly in his critique, he implicitly pointed to Joshua Da Silva, the 26-year-old Trinidadian wicketkeeper-batsman, as a more suitable choice for the vice-captaincy.
Da Silva was reportedly one of six candidates interviewed for the Test captaincy. At a stage in his career where leadership experience could be both formative and instrumental, Sir Clive appeared to back him as a missed opportunity for CWI to lay a more sustainable leadership foundation.
A message of encouragement to the young contenders
Despite his disapproval of the current appointments, Sir Clive extended words of encouragement to the younger players who were considered—and ultimately passed over.
“Well, I hope that they are not disillusioned. Keep the faith, what is for you is for you,” he said.
“My mother always used to say that, if you don’t get it now, you will get it just now. So the youngsters have to keep the faith.”
The former World Cup-winning captain’s words underscore his ongoing investment in the next generation of Caribbean cricket stars—a generation he believes must be groomed early for leadership, not just performance.
A call for strategic succession in West Indies cricket
Sir Clive’s critique adds to growing discussions across the cricketing community about how best to develop leadership within the West Indies setup. By calling attention to the ages of the newly appointed leaders, he is sounding an alarm for Cricket West Indies to invest in long-term vision and nurture the future torchbearers of the Test side today.
As the regional team seeks to rebuild its standing in world cricket, voices like Sir Clive’s carry both weight and wisdom—urging administrators not only to choose for the present, but to prepare for what lies ahead.
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