Pratham Chhabria | 1:27pm BST 26 May 2025
Part 4
Pratham: Well, after that outstanding series, you went with the rest of the West Indian team topay a return visit of some sort because you went to Pakistan. But before that, you went to India.
Pratham: If I’m not mistaken, this was your first time travelling outside of the Caribbean? Is thiscorrect?
Lance Gibbs: Well, yes.
Pratham: So during the tour, you got to visit two countries, India and Pakistan. And I wascurious. What did you notice in terms of similarities and differences as somebody coming fromyou know, the outside?
Lance Gibbs: Cricket was their bread and butter for both of them. You know, if you could helpthem in any possible way, you would try to help. We from the Caribbean like to help oneanother.
Pratham: And in India, when you toured there…
Lance Gibbs: They were more friendly.
Pratham: Speaking of India, you only played in one Test of that series that was in Kanpur.
Pratham: Did you feel that was justified?
Pratham: Now I know Hall and Gilchrist were having a pretty good time clearing up a lot ofIndian batsmen…but did you feel that they should have put more emphasis on spin or had moreselections in that vein for that side?
Lance Gibbs: They saw that they played spin better than the quick bowlers. They were afraid ofthe quick bowlers.
Pratham: So you felt they were best exploiting that particular weakness of that batting lineup?
Lance Gibbs: Right.
Lance Gibbs: The team selecting the side…if we were selecting a side to be successful againstIndia at that time or Pakistan, you had to have genuine quickies.
Pratham: Makes sense. And definitely Hall and Gilchrist fit that bill.
Pratham: Speaking of Roy Gilchrist, he was a very controversial figure throughout his life. Butyou had the chance to be in a side with him. Was he as fiery tempered as people suggested?
Lance Gibbs: He was. Very fiery, very fiery tempered! But that was part of what made hissuccess, being fiery.
Pratham: Watching some of the footage, he had a bit of a windmill action…
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, yeah.
Pratham: Were you aware of the exact circumstances of how he left the tour halfway? There’s astory that he had bowled a bunch of beamers to an Indian batsman…
Lance Gibbs: He was told not to…
Pratham: Yeah, by your captain Gerry Alexander. And that he ended up threatening Alexanderand then Alexander told him to take the next flight home. Is that true?
Lance Gibbs: Yeah I wouldn’t know about that part of it.
Pratham: I see. So you weren’t there when that went down?
Lance Gibbs: I was there on that tour. But not when that happened.
Pratham: Now in that Kanpur game I was mentioning on that Indian tour, you didn’t take awicket.
Pratham: And it was actually the first time where you hadn’t taken a wicket in either innings of aTest match.
Pratham: What do you chalk that performance down to? Were there reasons that you couldidentify why you weren’t able to pick up a wicket in that particular game? How did you learn fromthat setback?
Lance Gibbs: I didn’t bowl a lot. I wasn’t given a chance to bowl enough to sort out my batsman.
(Note: Gibbs’s figures in the match read 21-8-28-0 out of 101.4 overs bowled in the Indianbatting 1st innings & for the 9-4-33-0 out of 101.4 overs bowled in the Indian batting 2ndinnings).
Pratham: You felt the spells that you were given weren’t sufficiently long?
Lance Gibbs: Not long enough, not long enough. They were tossing me the ball and expectingme to get a wicket right away. You know, that doesn’t happen at Test level.
Pratham: So you feel in that game in particular it was more that the spells weren’t long enoughand you were maybe being used to give Wes Hall and Roy Gilchrist some rest?
Lance Gibbs: Mmhhmm.
Pratham: I see. So you didn’t feel you necessarily bowled badly in that game – you just didn’t getan opportunity to strike.
Lance Gibbs: Exactly.
Pratham: Well, in that same game, there were two opposition spinners who played against theWest Indian lineup – those being Subhash Gupte and Ghulam Ahmed.
Lance Gibbs: Ghulam?
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, he had gotten on a bit. We were youngsters in comparison.
Pratham: He was approaching the end of his career.
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, yeah.
Pratham: There are some who still consider those two to be some of the best spinners that Indiaproduced. Gupte and Ahmed certainly have records that are quite impressive, given the amountof games they were given at the time.
Pratham: What did you make of the two?
Lance Gibbs: Subhash, I’d rate him as the best leg spinner I’ve ever seen. Ahmed, I don’tremember much of him.
Pratham: So you rate him as the best leg spinner you had seen – now why is that? What werethe aspects that made him so special compared to the others?
Lance Gibbs: Well, he was successful all the time. If you could take nine against the power ofour batting (referring to that Kanpur Test where Gupte took 9-102 in 34.3 overs), you’resomething special. Cause they were normally hitting it all over the place, you know?
Pratham: I did hear that he had two googles – Sobers would often say this – one was deliveredwith a different angle in arm, and the pace was different on them as a result, and the turn was alittle bit different too…
Lance Gibbs: That’s that variation.
Pratham: Was that something you noticed when batting?
Lance Gibbs: No, I didn’t notice that – but, you know, you start to look at the bowler when sittingdown and watching, and you start to channel what he was doing. It’s sometimes difficult toexplain why this fellow is doing this or that on the field.
Lance Gibbs: But he certainly had those variations.
Pratham: In these early days, you were often partnered up in the spin bowling attack with SirGarry.
Pratham: Cause this was back from my understanding where Sir Garry was still bowling left armorthodox mainly. He went to England where he developed the left arm pace and swing aspect ofhis bowling.
Pratham: What was your experience like bowling with Sir Garry? Did he learn how to bowl thechinaman at this point, or did that come in a bit later? And what did you guys learn from eachother when it comes to the art of spin bowling?
Lance Gibbs: If you study him particularly hard, you are able to tell. As you go around, you seeand add variations along the line, you know? And if they are successful, then you stick to it.
Lance Gibbs: The things that Garry would all of a sudden start doing that he never did before –like bowling those left arm leg breaks, he had never used to bowl before in a Test match.
Pratham: Interesting.
Pratham: Around this time, there was a new law that had started around 1960.
Pratham: There was a new law that was introduced that only allowed you to have two fieldersbehind square on the leg side.
Pratham: I think part of the reason cited behind this was that during the 50s, there was a lotmore of bowling to a leg trap. And there were criticisms of games becoming a bit defensive, youknow? People just blocking and not really being able to score.
Lance Gibbs: Mmhhmm.
Pratham: I know when this law came into place was at the start of your Test career, but you’dbeen bowling in first class for a little bit before then as well.
Pratham: Did you feel this fielding restriction affected the way you bowled?
Lance Gibbs: No.
Lance Gibbs: You see, the individuals who would run cricket, would always come up with someidea or other.
Lance Gibbs: And to the ones that are accepted, it can affect your career. But if you shiftcompletely to follow everything that is made up that they come up with, your loss! The team iseventually lost.
Pratham: I see. So you would have to adapt only accordingly as needed.
Lance Gibbs: Very much so.
Pratham: That makes sense.
Pratham: And did you notice once that rule came into effect – did you start bowling less towardsthe leg stump and more towards the off?
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, and the batsman you were bowling out.
Pratham: Now, away from the subcontinent – if we can turn our focus more towards the otherhemisphere of the world. Australia!
Pratham: There was a series that you were involved in. It’s considered one of the most famousseries of all time: the 1960-61 tour to Australia!
Pratham: I know you weren’t playing in the tied test game. But I’m guessing you were probablynearby.
Pratham: Were you there in the dugout? Did you see the game unfold? What were yourmemories for that particular game in Brisbane?
Lance Gibbs: I don’t remember it out of my head.
Pratham: Was that series the best Test series that you’ve ever played in?
Lance Gibbs: Probably was. Frank Worrell was our captain.
Pratham: Yes!
Pratham: Actually, speaking of Frank Worrell and his captaincy, I was always curious about whathe did to motivate the team.
Pratham: Because there were a lot of moments in that series that were close.
Pratham: It was a close series, and even though the West Indies ended up losing in the end bya very narrow margin, they held their own in a way that was pretty impressive especially giventhe past sides to tour Australia had not done so well.
Lance Gibbs: Yeah there were some dubious decisions that you would like to forget about.
Lance Gibbs: And those decisions probably made the West Indies lose.
Pratham: I see.
Pratham: In terms of your relationship with Worrell on the field & off the field, how did hemanage you as a bowler on the field and then off the field how did he motivate you?
Lance Gibbs: Well, in the end, he never came out and publicly say it, but he made me feel I wasbetter than Ramadhin.
Pratham: So that was the conviction that he placed in you and that was the motivation?
Lance Gibbs: Many a time, many a time.
Lance Gibbs: We were touring England later, and Ramadhin was not even in the team!
Pratham: Yeah, that series was pretty much the last time he played.
Pratham: And so, being able to have the confidence to know that despite having a bowler ofRamadhin’s class, he rated you privately a bit higher than him, that gave you that kind ofmotivation to kick on?
Lance Gibbs: Right, right.
Pratham: That tour was the last time that as we’re talking about two very famous spinners fromthe West Indies – that was the last time they actually took the field together.
Pratham: And these were the gentlemen that had helped win the West Indies a series a decadeearlier in England for the first time in 1950. Valentine and…
Lance Gibbs: Ramadhin, right.
Pratham: Now I know by the time you were in the side, they were getting on in their careers alittle bit.
Pratham: They weren’t quite the same bowlers as they might have been back then during thatEngland tour in 1950, but how did you rate them as spinners and what were their strengths andweaknesses?
Lance Gibbs: Well, they had many strengths and weaknesses.
Pratham: Ramadhin from my understanding didn’t turn his off-break very much?
Lance Gibbs: No, he didn’t.
Pratham: Neither did his leg break?
Lance Gibbs: Mmhhmm.
Pratham: Valentine on the other hand I heard was a pretty big spinner of the ball.
Lance Gibbs: Mmhhmm.
Lance Gibbs: Val was bigger and stronger and really put something into it all the time. Ram wasjust fingers.
Pratham: Did you feel Ramadhin was more difficult to pick from the hand?
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, yeah.
Lance Gibbs: If you decide to go after him and you’re not picking him – yeah it would look bad.
Pratham: Like famously happened in 57…
Lance Gibbs: England, Edgbaston, yeah.
Pratham: And then with Valentine you felt he could actually beat the batsman off just spin…
Lance Gibbs: And majority of the time, he could put it sharp on middle stump and make it goaway from you.
Pratham: So that was his line of attack, middle to off stump.
Lance Gibbs: Yeah.
Pratham: My understanding about both Ramadhin and Valentine – Ramadhin less so – was thatboth of them were relatively quiet and shy men.
Pratham: Did you find them approachable? I know they were the senior spinners of the side atthat point. But were they easy to talk to?
Lance Gibbs: They were approachable.
Pratham: Would they offer advice to you sometimes?
Lance Gibbs: Certainly, yeah! It’s always being given to you on who is batting.
Lance Gibbs: Sometimes it was difficult.
Pratham: Was there one thing you can point to that you learnt from them in particular?Something they told you that you were able to incorporate in your game in due time?
Lance Gibbs: They’d encourage you to do what you do steadily. Make sure you don’t mix it allover the place and all. If he’s weak on his middle stump, don’t go on the leg stump – go wider –you’re giving it away.
Pratham: You picked up your first 5 wicket haul at the SCG, the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Pratham: What did you feel you got right that day in Sydney?
Lance Gibbs: I don’t remember it out of the head. Haha!
Pratham: It’s all good!
Pratham: I know you mentioned you don’t quite remember all the details regarding that 5 wickethaul at Sydney, but there was one figure that you did take the wicket of as part of that 5 wickethaul.
Pratham: An individual by the name of Mr. Neil Harvey…
Lance Gibbs: Left hander.
Pratham: Yep!
Pratham: And he actually went on the record and called you as being one of the best spinnershe had ever seen!
Lance Gibbs: He did?
Pratham: He did.
Lance Gibbs: Hahaha.
Pratham: As somebody who has watched a lot of footage of Neil Harvey batting, one of thethings that was very noticeable was that he really enjoyed coming down the track to playspinners.
Pratham: Sometimes, he’d rock onto the backfoot and cut as well.
Pratham: But he seemed very much somebody who would like to take the charge against aspinner.
Pratham: Did you feel that provided an advantage for you against him? You mentioned to me inthe first part of the interview we did a couple of years back that you liked a batsman…
Lance Gibbs: When he’s coming down the track, yeah.
Lance Gibbs: I didn’t really care if you were an established batsman. If you were coming downthe track to Lance Gibbs, you got a chance of getting out.
Pratham: So you felt it brought more dismissals into play.
Lance Gibbs: Exactly.
Pratham: So you felt maybe, you know, getting him stumped or getting him to hole out to thedeep…
Lance Gibbs: That was my aim.
Lance Gibbs: Harvey was not successful against us. He was trying to come down and drive andthen was out.
Pratham: That’s true. He had some success in the 55 series before – quite a bit of success infact!
(Note: Harvey scored 650 runs in 5 Tests he played in at an average of 108.33 in the 1955Australian tour to the West Indies).
Pratham: But in this series, he had his moments but didn’t quite shine.
(Note: Harvey scored 143 runs in the 4 Tests he played in at an average of 17.88 in the 1960-61 series at home versus the West Indies)..Pratham: He did score 85 in the SCG game against you when you took a 5-fer.
Lance Gibbs: He did?
Pratham: He did, he did.
Lance Gibbs: He got 85 before I came on.
Pratham: Haha! (Both chuckle)
Pratham: In the final two Tests of that series, you took 11 wickets. One played at Adelaide in thatseries and the final one was at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, MCG.
Pratham: Do you remember anything about the pitches? The nature of the surfaces that wereprepared for both of those games?
Lance Gibbs: They were…not much different. Trying to recall the specifics, you know. But theywere not pacy.
Pratham: Well, that series ended – we were talking about umpiring decisions earlier – that seriesended in a bit of a nail biter of a situation and there was some concern over the umpiring.
Pratham: Wally Grout…
Lance Gibbs: Yeah, I remember they were calling me…Gerry Alexander, who was the captainand wicketkeeper, calling a ball he (Wally Grout) hit to square leg.
Lance Gibbs: And he was caught…
Pratham: And it was declared not out.
Lance Gibbs: Yeah.
Pratham: And so did you feel that deflated the team morale or spirit somewhat?
Lance Gibbs: Yeah.
Lance Gibbs: I wanted to prove that he had hit the ball – so I threw the ball over Sobers’s headand they signalled runs!
Pratham: Ahhh…. As to say they (umpires) were contributing to it.
Lance Gibbs: Exactly.
Lance Gibbs: I remember that quite clearly.
Pratham: It clearly left a lasting impression on you. I’m guessing you and your teammatesweren’t particularly pleased with that whole episode.
Lance Gibbs: Mmhhmm.
Pratham: Well, in spite of all of that, that was a great series.
To be continued ………
