GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Clive Lloyd will become the fourth West Indies captain to receive the Order of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), the highest honour of the regional trading bloc.

The announcement was made during the 46th regular meeting of the conference of heads of government of Caricom, taking place in the capital of his native Guyana.

The 80-year-old, affectionately known as “The Big Cat”, follows in the footsteps of Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards, and Brian Lara, and he will formally receive the honour when the heads of government meet again in July in Grenada.

Lloyd is widely regarded as one of the greatest captains of all time in the sport, having led West Indies in three ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups, winning twice in 1975 and 1979, while losing the 1983 final to India.

He captained West Indies between 1974 and 1985, and he masterminded their rise to become the most successful Test and One-day International sides of the 20th century.

Lloyd was one of the most successful Test captains of all time, leading a side that had a streak of 27 matches without defeat, which included 11 wins in succession; and he was also the first West Indies player to earn 100 international caps.

He scored 7,515 runs at an average of 46.67 in 110 Tests, and 1 977 runs at 39.54 in 87 ODIs.

Lloyd was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009, and he was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II four years ago for his contribution to the sport.