The England coach is making his first visit to the subcontinent and arrived four days ahead of his team, who begin a training camp in Lahore tomorrow, to have a close look at the West Indies in this crucial second Test. What he saw was a shadow of the great Caribbean sides of the past.
West Indies may have made a disciplined recovery from the perils of 58 for four after being put in by Pakistan on a greenish wicket in moist conditions to close on 179 for four. But the reality is that they have been in disarray here and the performance of their leading figure yesterday did little to dispel the gloom inflicted by an innings defeat in the first Test at Peshawar.
Brian Lara, who appears to have the support of the majority of his team-mates in his desire to take over the captaincy from Courtney Walsh, treated the sparsely populated, modern concrete bowl of a ground to a bizarre cameo, which must have filled two pages of the bulging Lloyd notebook. Video evidence will be offered as proof of the unlikely happenings when the coach meets up with his England players before they move on to Sharjah for a one-day tournament.
Lara, emerging with his team at 37 for two, the debutant Philo Wallace looking out of his depth and the ball swinging and seaming for Waqar Younis and Wazim Akram, was expected to provide an example for his cavalier colleagues. Instead he flashed a wild cross-bat at his first two balls from Waqar, then proceeded rapidly to 15 before, having taken 10 from three successive deliveries, he fell victim to what, admittedly, was a wicked Waqar in-swinging yorker that knocked Lara off his feet and the leg-stump out.
Lloyd raised his eyebrows at the display, but was guarded in his appraisal of the West Indies ahead of England's tour, beginning in January. ``We've got to keep our feet on the ground,'' said Lloyd. ``It seems they have found Pakistan a difficult place to tour, but the pride will return when they get home.''
He must know, however, that England will never have a better chance to end that barren Caribbean run, whatever happens to the West Indies during the rest of this three-Test series. Stuart Williams and Carl Hooper looked just as temporary as Wallace yesterday, and it is rumoured that Walsh may retire ahead of the England series if Lara takes charge.
At least two members of their batting line-up showed heart for the fight against a home attack which included the promising debutant Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar-like in his approach to the crease, but with a higher arm action and genuine pace. Sherwin Campbell, in his own quiet way, averages more than 40 in Test cricket and rode his early luck to bat throughout a day shortened by a delayed start because of dew and a premature finish because of bad light. The more celebrated Shivnarine Chanderpaul, meanwhile, provided the best batting of the day as the pair added an undefeated 121 for the fifth wicket. How their side need them to hang around today.
Lloyd was in a far more upbeat mood than the West Indies team. He has just signed an extension to his contract, which takes him through to the millennium, and, 18 mixed months into the coaching job, feels that England ``are further down the road than I thought we would be at this stage''.
He accepts he was naive during the troubled tour of Zimbabwe, but stands by his emotive words at the end of the drawn Bulawayo Test. ``I have kept my counsel about some of the things that went on there, and for now that will continue, but eventually it will all come out,'' said Lloyd. ``I showed a certain naivety, and I regret saying, 'We murdered 'em'. But I stick by it. It was in answer to a question about whether we deserved a draw, but that one word - murder - was focused on and manipulated. It made me realise I have to try to check the passion and emotion in my character, but negativity still annoys me.''
Lloyd is far happier accentuating the positive, and, to that end, revealed that England are setting up a ``mini-academy'' for leg-spinners, initially as a pilot scheme, as part of this winter's development of excellence programme. The highly-rated Chris Schofield of Lancashire will be the first to benefit from one-to-one work with the likes of Australian Peter Sleep, Peter Kippax, formerly of Yorkshire, and Pakistanis Mushtaq Mohammed and Iqbal Sikander. ``I have a plan to create a Test leg-spinner within six years, because it's an integral part of Test cricket now, and we need one,'' said Lloyd, who is also to invite Micky Stewart and Don Bennett, both recently retired, to stay in the game in an observing and talent-spotting capacity.