World Cup 2015: Clive Lloyd advises WI to bounce India out

Chris Gayle calls himself 'World Boss'. It's impossible to counter that claim, really. But if there's one man who can stare the Jamaican batting superstar into submission, it's Clive Hubert Lloyd.

At the team's Caribbean-style welcome party on Sunday, Gayle gave some journalists a fair idea of the high esteem he held the 70-year-old legend in. "He's the boss. Never say no to boss. He's the only one I listen to," Gayle said in his inimitable twang before letting out a wide grin.

He had good reason to say so. For, no one has ever messed with Lloyd. How else do you think he 'handled' fast and furious blokes like Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and Michael Holding; or, for that matter Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes? With two World Cups and countless series wins across continents and formats, Lloyd presided over the most gifted and successful cricket team all of time with hitherto unseen aplomb.

Lloyd has brought all that experience to drive home the point in his role as the West Indies Cricket Board's chief selector. If showing players like Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard the door wasn't enough, Lloyd stunned the cricketing world by thrusting Jason Holder, all of 23, into the captain's saddle. His next challenge is to get this "sporadic" team to put up a princely performance against India at the WACA on Friday.

On Monday, Lloyd was all business as the West Indies team held an optional practice session at the wowing but impossible-to-locate Sports Oval on the Murdoch University campus. Like a ruler surveying his kingdom, Lloyd kept a close watch on the 12 players who turned up. Gayle, Darren Sammy and Jerome Taylor opted out of training. After the two-hour session, which saw bowling coach Curtly Ambrose roll his arm over though with a nothing run-up, Lloyd addressed the media.

"It will be a good game. India are pretty good opponents. They have been playing well. We have been sporadic in our play, but I hope the pitch will suit our team quite well. I hope it will be an exciting game," he said. For the record, the West Indies will go into the match with a 2-2 scoreline in the competition. India, of course, are sitting pretty on top of Group 'B' with three wins from as many games.

Lloyd knows the only way his boys can beat India is by thwarting them with quality pace. The likes of Kemar Roach, Taylor, Sammy and Holder are capable of turning in a fiery performance, and Lloyd wants them to do so at the lively WACA pitch.

"The point is we have a good bowling attack and some good batsmen. India have a good, all-round side. We have to make enough runs to put them under pressure. We will get constant bounce in Perth, (so we want to make sure our bowlers make good use of it)," he added.

Lloyd dismissed the notion that the West Indies were "overly dependent" on Gayle, although he acknowledged the Jamaican's "strong presence" and the "impetus" he can give the side. Reacting to a query on the never-ending transitional phase the West Indies seem to be going through, he said, "It's quite obvious that we would love to have Roberts and Holding and Ambrose and Walsh (in the team). But that doesn't happen in any country.

We have one or two good players coming through and you will hear about them in another year or so."

During his time, Lloyd was known as the hardest hitter of the cricket ball. And he loves watching modern-day batsmen do "all sorts of different things" in one-day cricket. "AB de Villiers is doing so many things to his advantage. You tend to invent one or two things. You have to do it," he said.

Lloyd refused to accept that India have game-changers. "I wouldn't say India have game-changers, but they have a strong middle-order. They have (Virat) Kohli and some other good cricketers. Dhoni could do anything he wants on any day against any side. That's why you guys are the champions. But in ODI cricket, it all depends on who plays better on the day."

Come Friday, Lloyd will bank on that theory.