Lancashire To Honour Farokh Engineer, Clive Lloyd With Stands At Old Trafford

Former India wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer and West Indies legend Clive Loyd are set to have stands named after them at the iconic Old Trafford ground by their former county side Lancashire on the sidelines of the fourth Test between India and England here.

Engineer played for Lancashire for close to a decade while former West Indies captain Lloyd was with the club for two decades, making indelible contributions to the history of club.

Sources told PTI that the stand-naming ceremony could be held on day one of the Test match that starts July 23. England lead the five-match series 2-1 after three high-intensity games.

"It is a fitting honour for the both legends of the club," said the source.

In 175 matches between 1968 and 1976, the 87-year-old Engineer made 5942 runs, took 429 catches and effected 35 stumpings for Lancashire.

Two-time World Cup-winning West Indies skipper Lloyd, on the other hand, transformed the fortunes of the club after arriving as an overseas player in the early 1970s.

When the Mumbai-born Engineer made his Lancashire debut, the club had not any major title for more than 15 years but he helped them lift the Gillette Cup four times between 1970 and 1975.

Both Engineer and Lloyd would be immortalised in Lancashire history later this week. Interestingly, Engineer doesn't have a stand named after him at Brabourne Stadium where he played most of his cricket.

"They were incredible times, and Old Trafford was a marvellous place to be. People would come for miles to see us play," Engineer had told the club website a few years ago.

"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 recalled.

Engineer also remembered receiving fan mail during his heydays.

"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."

After retirement, Engineer made Manchester his home and continues to live here till date. Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, who is here on a personal visit, is also expected to attend the ceremony alongside the senior officials of the club.