Pratham Chhabria | 1:27pm BST 26 Might 2025
Half 6
Pratham: So in that vein, you’d overwhelmed England, you’d overwhelmed India within the sequence earlier than, you’d
misplaced to Australia was shut. Have been you upset there wasn’t a sequence that was scheduled until
1965?
Lance Gibbs: Nicely, there’s a gaggle of groups and all of them needed to be thought-about. And in the event that they
weren’t thought-about (protecting in thoughts their very own schedules) early on they’d by no means have come
down (to the Caribbean) later.
Pratham: I see.
Lance Gibbs: You bought to provide them an opportunity.
Pratham: So there’s that hole between ‘63 and ‘65. And Australia lastly stuffed that hole. They tour
the Caribbean in ’65.
Pratham: We talked about how Charlie Griffith had been accused over his bowling motion by
members of the Australian staff. Them saying he probably chucked and all.
Pratham: You talked about to me earlier such as you couldn’t inform for sure whether or not he chucked or
not…
Lance Gibbs: No no no…If I’m fielding within the gully I can’t actually inform for certain…except it’s taped
and also you take a look at it again and again and over…
Pratham: Truthful sufficient.
Pratham: Nicely, the First Take a look at truly noticed you bowl little or no…as a result of Wes Corridor had one in every of his
finest ever video games. He took 9 wickets. He did extremely effectively.
Pratham: What had been his major expertise as a quick bowler?
Lance Gibbs: He would simply run in and bowl, again and again.
Lance Gibbs: I keep in mind him…Kanhai dropped a catch. Wes Corridor was bowling at Leeds? And
Kanhai was at midwicket. And Wes Corridor run, ship the ball. And (The batsman) hit it up within the
air to midwicket. And Wes Corridor run all the best way from the place he was and ended up the place Kanhai
had been! You do not forget that?
Pratham: I don’t! I’m listening to it for the primary time truly.
Lance Gibbs: Out of Kanhai’s hand – a sitter!
Pratham: In order a quick bowler, his major expertise had been what – the stamina side of it.
Lance Gibbs: Yeah yeah.
Lance Gibbs: Early on within the innings he may swing it – get it to go away from the batsman. However
after that, he can’t do something with the ball.
Pratham: So mainly he’d transfer the brand new ball upfront and swing it – however he wasn’t a lot of a
swinger of the ball when it was outdated…
Lance Gibbs: That’s proper – he would inform you in particular person.
Pratham: Nicely, you ended up taking your one centesimal wicket within the Third deciding Take a look at of that sequence at
Bourda. And also you took 9 wickets in that sport. What do you keep in mind about reaching that
landmark?
Lance Gibbs: It doesn’t come again to me in any respect, the reminiscence.
Pratham: All righty, effectively, not an issue.
Pratham: Then there was the Take a look at after that – the Fourth Take a look at. That was the Take a look at the place famously
Invoice Lawry and Bob Simpson within the first innings…the rating 650 for six declared, each of them
scored double centuries adopted by Bob Cowper who scored one other 100.
Pratham: And in that 4th Take a look at within the first innings, you bowl 73 overs!
Lance Gibbs: How a lot?
Pratham: 73 overs. Which is so much!
Pratham: 73 overs could be so much to bowl over the course of a complete match…
Lance Gibbs: By the tip, I had a bruised finger.
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, my fingers you used to eat off, man!
Lance Gibbs: Present me one thing else, man (Each chuckle a bunch)!
Lance Gibbs: I bowled 73 overs for the way a lot?
Pratham: 73 overs for 168 runs. With 2 wickets to your title.
Lance Gibbs: Jesus.
Pratham: Nicely, I used to be going to ask you simply usually?
Pratham: When you will have a scenario the place you will have batsmen on a flat pitch – these two had been prime quality batsmen, averaged 45 in Take a look at match cricket, the each of them.
Pratham: And you’ve got simply an absolute, , pancake of a floor, proper. There’s a bit
little bit of bounce to it – however there’s just about nothing for the bowlers by way of motion or
something.
Pratham: If you’re in that type of zone the place the pitch isn’t doing something for you and
you’ve acquired two batsmen who’re dominant, how do you look to attempt to cease them?
Lance Gibbs: It’s a must to attempt doing varied issues. I’d go to the captain and inform him to do this
and check out that and do that and check out that. And if he’s smart, he’ll agree with you as a result of you’ll be able to’t
do the rest.
Pratham: So do you assume truly at instances should you preserve making an attempt issues in these situations its higher
then simply bowling constantly one line & one size?
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, yeah.
Pratham: That efficiency apart, the West Indies did find yourself profitable that sequence at house and
defeated Australia for the primary time in a Take a look at sequence due to that.
Pratham: You’ve overwhelmed Australia at house, you’ve overwhelmed England in England, India you’ve
overwhelmed earlier than house and away. South Africa you didn’t play for apparent causes.
Pratham: So, West Indies had an excellent declare at this level that they had been the most effective staff within the
world, for certain, proper. Trigger you beat Australia.
Pratham: Shifting on from this Australia West Indies sequence, you revisited England in a sequence that
was determined by the identical margin that you just toured whenever you went in 63.
Pratham: Which is to say, West Indies received in ‘63 by 3-1. In ‘66, you additionally received by 3-1, the West
Indies.
Pratham: However, my understanding is that though Wes and Charlie had been very massive in ‘63 – they
had been at their peak or near it. That they had been actually important threats.
Pratham: For this tour (1966), they weren’t as a lot of a risk, notably Charlie. Wes nonetheless
had some moments however…
Lance Gibbs: Everyone was telling him he was a chucker.
Pratham: And so that you assume it acquired to him?
Lance Gibbs: I believe it acquired to him, yeah.
Pratham: So that you assume he intentionally dropped his tempo?
Lance Gibbs: Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Pratham: I see.
Pratham: Now their decline didn’t issue as a lot into the consequence, because of Sobers who had one
of his finest sequence ever each with the bat and the ball and within the area too.
Pratham: On this ‘66 tour, was he at this level completely bowling left arm tempo? Did he alternate
a lot with spin at this level or was he simply bowling seam?
Lance Gibbs: He was half and half (bowling tempo and spin).
Pratham: Now there’s one factor about this sequence that was paying homage to the earlier one, not
solely by way of the consequence, but additionally how the primary match went.
Pratham: The primary match at Previous Trafford was once more performed on a very good pitch to bat on. Conrad
Hunte once more scored a century.
Pratham: After which there was a ten wicket haul that you just had, like within the First Take a look at of the ‘63 tour.
On a sporting pitch that you just used to bowl out the opposition.
Pratham: I’ve some footage of your bowling in that ‘66 sequence truly.
Pratham: And one of many issues that may be very hanging to me is the way you had been various your tempo a
lot.
Pratham: On surfaces like this, the place there’s extra put on and tear, did you attempt to intentionally
fluctuate your tempo a bit bit extra to sow extra doubt within the batsman’s thoughts?
Lance Gibbs: Yeah.
Lance Gibbs: Additionally, if I see a spot someplace alongside the road, I can use it.
Lance Gibbs: If there’s extra tempo off the pitch from outdoors the off stump, I’ll begin from the
outdoors. If it’s on the center stump, I’ll begin within the center.
Pratham: Now one factor I seen on this tour and likewise in ‘63 was that Colin Cowdrey, who was a
very well-known batsman from England…
Lance Gibbs: Good participant of spin.
Pratham: Good participant of spin, sure – and but you had been in a position to dismiss him constantly.
Pratham: In ‘57, Ramadhin acquired that 7 wicket haul first up after which Peter Might and him
(Cowdrey) placed on a really massive partnership within the second innings. It was a 400 run stand to save lots of
them after that they had been earlier bowled for affordable.
Pratham: From that, he had developed a status considerably of participating in what is named
“pad play”
Lance Gibbs: Pad first and bat behind the bat?
Pratham: Sure, sure. For those who took an honest sufficient stride, should you had been on the entrance foot, the umpires
wouldn’t offer you out.
Pratham: So he exploited {that a} ton in ’57.
Pratham: Did he attempt to pad play you numerous? Like would he place his pad in entrance and mainly attempt
to counter your risk in ‘63 and ’66?
Lance Gibbs: No, he didn’t attempt to do this to me so much. Trigger he knew that I might grasp that!
Pratham: He’d additionally developed a sort of sweep shot, a paddle sweep, to play in opposition to spinners.
And he’d typically type of simply delicately nudge it to toy with them.
Pratham: Did he attempt to play in opposition to you a good quantity?
Lance Gibbs: No.
Pratham: Do you believe you studied that it was due to the bounce you had been producing that he didn’t
really feel comfy doing that?
Lance Gibbs: The bounce that I might get, and I used to be trickier than a variety of the opposite fellas that
had been gonna bowl at him. He wasn’t going to threat having me get him off the highest edge.
Pratham: Truthful sufficient.
Pratham: In order that ‘66 sequence occurs, and then you definately go to the subcontinent.
Pratham: And also you face India this time -‘66-’67 in India.
Pratham: There have been some figures from the previous that had been recognizable.
Pratham: Chandu Borde was a batsman who had toured the West Indies 6 years again. Farokh
Engineer, the wicketkeeper batsman.
Pratham: They each scored centuries – and Farokh in Madras ended up scoring one virtually by
lunch. He performed a really aggressive knock.
Lance Gibbs: Was he entering into the quick bowlers?
Pratham: Largely! He took a liking to Wes and Charlie in that individual sequence. (Word: Whereas ball
by ball information don’t exist for this Take a look at, the 35 runs conceded by Wes Corridor & 46 runs conceded
by Charlie Griffith in every of their respective first spells within the Third Take a look at at Madras the place
Engineer solely performed in as opener provides some indication of this aggression).
Pratham: He did convey up his 100 with a single off your bowling.
Pratham: What was your impression of Borde vs Farokh? By way of how they combatted your
spin?
Lance Gibbs: They performed in opposition to me otherwise. They didn’t play so much with the pad.
Pratham: So their bat was…
Lance Gibbs: Approach, approach in entrance.
Pratham: And had been both Farokh or Borde primarily taking part in you off the entrance foot or had been they
making an attempt to return?
Lance Gibbs: They performed me off the entrance foot.
Pratham: That ‘66-’67 sequence was additionally the primary time you noticed a bunch of recent bowlers.
Pratham: Now, they didn’t play all collectively as one, however they had been 4 younger spin bowlers from
India. It might have been the primary time you’d seen them and performed in opposition to them.
Pratham: These had been Bishan Singh Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna, and
Srinivas Venkataraghavan.
Pratham: What had been your recollections of them as bowlers? How would you fee the 4?
Lance Gibbs: They had been helpful…however generally they had been afraid to take probabilities.
Pratham: By way of that, who precisely would you seek advice from as extra cautious of the 4?
Lance Gibbs: Bedi was not afraid in any respect – the remaining at instances had been.
Pratham: Bedi would give it a variety of air, a variety of flight.
Lance Gibbs: Bedi would take probabilities.
Pratham: Chandra took a 6-fer in that sequence, truly. Googly was tough for lots of your
batsmen, in line with Sobers.
Pratham: Very fast within the air, was he not?
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, yeah.
Pratham: Did any of them come to you for recommendation?
Lance Gibbs: Oh yeah – man, all cricketers speak, man. I couldn’t keep in mind in my thoughts what I
precisely stated to them – however I do keep in mind having a chat.
Pratham: After this, you had a sequence at house in ‘68 versus England.
Pratham: One of many major companions by way of bowling lengthy spells, David Holford, was paired up
with you.
Pratham: Now, he was a leg spinner – and we mentioned partly 1 (of this interview) the way you
bowled some leg spin whenever you had been a lot youthful and the way you’d often…
Lance Gibbs: Bowl one in Checks, yeah.
Pratham: So that you each had been totally different types of bowlers – however did you attempt to mentor him given you
had been now the senior spinner on the facet? And should you did mentor him, what had been the type of
belongings you had been telling him?
Lance Gibbs: I appreciated bowling leg breaks. I believe you beat the batsman extra typically then the
off-spinner as largely you’d have proper handers. For those who’re bowling on your staff, you’re usually
pitching outdoors off. For those who’re a leg spinner, you’ll be able to pitch it wherever.
Lance Gibbs: (On Holford) He wasn’t a nasty bowler however…
Lance Gibbs: He’d turn out to be profitable earlier than he actually pushed on, ?
Lance Gibbs: I come on to bowl, I’m coming to bowl instantly at any person I do know that I can
be capable of out.
Lance Gibbs: You possibly can’t be scared whenever you’re taking part in Take a look at cricket. Some fellas, they hear
about this batsman and that batsman – they usually enable that to destroy the thoughts.
Pratham: And also you felt Holford…
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, yeah. As soon as he was listening to issues, he’d lose it.
Pratham: Proper, proper.
Pratham: In that ‘68 tour versus England, Gary was the captain at that time, Garry Sobers.
Pratham: And he decided that was a bit bit baffling for lots of people. It was the 4th
Take a look at and he declared a bit bit sooner than anticipated. And that declaration resulted in going
aggressive and chasing down the goal within the 4th innings.
(Word: In that 4th Take a look at of the 1968
house sequence vs England at Trinidad, West Indies scored 526/7 declared of their 1st innings.
England responded with 404 all out, with the part-time leggie Basil Butcher triggering a collapse,
taking a 5 wicket haul within the course of. His wickets alongside fellow leg spinner Willie Rodriguez
taking 3 satisfied Garry Sobers that England had been vulnerable to one of these bowling. After the
West Indies made 92/2 in 30 overs, Garry Sobers declared the innings. This left England with a
goal of 215 to chase down inside 2 ¾ hours or 54 overs. They received with 8 balls to spare.)
Pratham: Did he seek the advice of anybody earlier than making that call? Did you are feeling it was the precise name to
declare that third innings a bit early?
Lance Gibbs: I don’t recall being consulted.
Pratham: I see.
Pratham: They ended up profitable it, after which the fifth Take a look at was a draw. Talking of that Take a look at,
you took one other 5-fer in Guyana, your own home floor. And there was a well-known final wicket
partnership the place Alan Knott and Jeff Jones they usually blocked out the time in opposition to you to save lots of
the Take a look at match.
To be continued ……….
