Former West Indies cricket captain Clive Lloyd joined Sunil Gavaskar in condemning sledging and called for stricter rules to curb the on-field menace before it turns more "ugly".

"I fully support Gavaskar's views on sledging," Lloyd declared in Mumbai on Friday, thus joining the debate triggered off by the former India skipper's speech at Lord's during the Colin Cowdrey lecture recently.

Also Read The Colin Cowdrey lecture by Sunil Gavaskar

"Gavaskar might have made those comments after watching the West Indies-Australia Test series recently where there were more than a couple of ugly scenes involving the players," the West Indies great said.

"The ICC's Code of Conduct has clear rules for sledging and match referees must make it very clear to the rival captains to follow the Code strictly or else face the consequences," said Lloyd, who is in Mumbai for a promotional campaign of a sports channel.

Lloyd said it is the responsibility of the big teams to set an example by their on-field behaviour.

"If sledging continues unabated, it might turn ugly in future. For example, if a senior cricketing nation indulges in sledging while playing minnows Bangladesh, then the greenhorns will be demoralised completely and may not perform to their full potential.

"Instead of sledging it would be better if players from senior cricketing sides help out young sides like Bangladesh so that they too can become a force to reckon with in future," Lloyd, who is also an ICC match referee, said.

Gavaskar had slammed "verbal bouncers" on the field, and without naming Australia, blamed them for bringing the game into disrepute by their personal abuse of rival players.

While Gavaskar's comments were widely backed by players, they also evoked strong protest from the Australians, with former speedster Dennis Lillee vehemently denying the charge and current Test skipper Steve Waugh saying the issue was being blown out of proportion.

Turning to the state of West Indies cricket, Lloyd said: "I think it is very heartening to note that Brian Lara is in very good form since he took over as the captain. Carl Hooper had infused new life to West Indies cricket with his gritty batting and imaginative captaincy."

He said he felt that Hooper should have been included for the series against Australia as his experience would have come handy.

"I feel the recent home series against World champions Australia would have been much closer if Hooper would have played. The home team was let down by inexperienced batting during the series. Probably, if Hooper was to play, then the West Indies could have done much better," the most successful West Indian captain said.

"However, the youngsters are showing signs of improvement and, hopefully, the Windies will once again be a major force in international cricket in the near future," Lloyd said.

On the betting and match-fixing scandal that rocked the game a couple of years back, Lloyd said: "The ICC have really tightened the screws and are very serious about curbing this menace. They formed the Anti-Corruption Unit, which is doing its job very strictly."