FORMER India wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer and West Indies great Clive Lloyd will have stands named after them at Old Trafford by Lancashire, their former county side, during the fourth Test between India and England.
The ceremony is expected to take place on the opening day of the Test on July 23. England lead the five-match series 2-1 after three matches.
Engineer represented Lancashire for nearly a decade, while Lloyd was associated with the club for around 20 years. Both made significant contributions to the county’s history.
“It is a fitting honour for the both legends of the club,” a source told PTI.
Engineer, now 87, played 175 matches for Lancashire between 1968 and 1976, scoring 5,942 runs, taking 429 catches and completing 35 stumpings.
Lloyd, a two-time World Cup-winning captain, joined Lancashire as an overseas player in the early 1970s and played a key role in the club’s success. When Engineer debuted, the club had not won a major title in over 15 years, but he helped them win the Gillette Cup four times between 1970 and 1975.
Engineer and Lloyd will be formally recognised by the club later this week. Engineer does not have a stand named after him at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, where he played most of his domestic cricket.
Recalling his Lancashire days, Engineer told the club website, “They were incredible times, and Old Trafford was a marvellous place to be. People would come for miles to see us play.”
“From the Old Trafford dressing room we could see Warwick Road railway station and before the game we would see packed trains emptying the passengers on the platform. We could hear the chanting and the excited chatter and laughter,” he said.
Engineer also recalled the attention the team received during that period.
“It was amazing, our lockers would be stuffed full of requests for autographs and invitations to parties. Everyone in England was talking about that great team, names like Clive Lloyd, Harry Pilling, Peter Lever and Ken Shuttleworth,” he said.
“That buzz lasted for years and we were the most famous one-day team in the land.”
Engineer settled in Manchester after retiring and continues to live there. Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, currently in the UK on a personal visit, is expected to attend the ceremony, along with senior officials of the club.
(With inputs from agencies)
