Whoa, okay. So there’s this chat between Pratham and Lance Gibbs, right? Dive into sports history with me for a sec. We’re talking about Australia after this England thing in ’68-69. I mean, Wes and Charlie had their last hurrah, poor guys.
Pratham jumps right in about Brisbane. Lance, do you remember that killer eight-wicket stunt you pulled? Lance? Nope, not a clue. Ha!
And that was like the only win they got. Australia just mowed them down 3-1. Lance jokes about maybe drinking or something—gotta love his honesty.
Pratham digs into how it wasn’t a sunshine-and-roses tour. Sir Garry muttering about dropped catches—thirty of them! I mean, how do you even do that in four Tests? Lance? Memory’s fuzzy, bud. Maybe that’s a good thing, who knows.
Then we hit a rough patch—69 to 71. Lance stumbles a bit form-wise. There’s New Zealand, England, India—the works. His bowling stats? Let’s just say they took a vacay.
Thing is, Lance’s finger had this gnarly bulge. Yeah, the index finger—big deal for a spinner. Could that be why things didn’t click back then? Maybe, maybe not. But injuries don’t help, right?
Fast forward a bit, Lance’s form takes a nosedive, gets sidelined in ‘71. Jack Noreiga takes his spot. India actually pulls off their first overseas win. Crazy times. Lance gets dropped after a wicketless game, but he’s like, “Nah, I’ll bounce back.” And he does—1973, baby!
Australia smashes West Indies 2-0, but guess who’s back in form? Lance, grabbing 26 wickets all like “Y’all thought I was done, huh?”
Then, Doug Walters, batting like a daredevil. Ian Chappell moves down the order with a twisted ankle, and Doug steps up, batting at #4—100 in a session. Wow. Lance describes Doug—this maverick, taking risks and rocking them.
And before you know it, we’re in ‘73 England. Lance talks about Warwickshire. Different game, different world. Birmingham becomes his home. His kids? Loving it there too. Daughter even becomes a lawyer. Go figure.
Wisden notices—calls Lance one of the Five Cricketers of the Year. Talking about English spinners and some cool drift maneuver Lance picks up. It’s all about evolving, right? Lance sees potential, grabs it, spins it—no pun intended.
Anyway—I mean, there’s more, but we’ll hit pause. To be continued… whenever, whoever finds the time to listen, right?
