BRIDGETOWN, April 22: Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd retired as an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee on Saturday, the same day as Brian Lara quit international cricket.

Lloyd, 62, served as match referee in 53 Tests and 133 One-day Internationals and was praised for his services in a ceremony during the last World Cup Super Eights match between the West Indies and England at the Kensington Oval.

Lloyd, who led the West Indies to World Cups win in 1975 and 1979 when the team dominated global cricket, was lauded by ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed.

ICC president Percy Sonn praised Lloyd's contribution as referee.

“When Clive hung up his boots as a player he did not disappear from the game but became a fine administrator with the West Indies Cricket Board and subsequently an excellent match referee,” said Sonn.

“Just like when he played the game, Clive brought his own integrity and sense of fair play to his role as referee. He had the rare ability to forge good relations with the players and he always managed to retain their respect, which is so vital for match officials.”

As an aggressive left-hander Lloyd scored 7,515 Test runs.

He was West Indies' most successful captain in history, leading his team in 74 Test matches with a remarkable run of 26 Tests without defeat and 11 successive wins.

Lloyd thanked the ICC for their acknowledgement of his services.

“This is a wonderful gesture by the ICC and I feel proud to have served them for such a long while. We all come to the end eventually and this is my time but it was a pleasure to have been involved with them.

“The transition from player to referee was not that difficult for me because if you believe in discipline it's obvious that you would fit quite easily into the role. I have always felt strongly about discipline in the game.”

Lloyd is currently serving as manager of the West Indies team.—AFP