OTD | Birth of first spinner to take 300 Test wickets (Lance Gibbs) 

West Indies have produced multiple legendary cricketers who have graced the sport with their magnificent performances. Legendary cricketers like Ian Bishop, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd and many more, dominated the game in their time and today they are regarded as one of the best to ever play the sport.

Meanwhile, another former Caribbean cricketer who etched his name in the annals of cricket history, Lance Gibbs was born on this day, September 29. When we talk about West Indies’ bowling department, the only thing which comes into our mind is the lethal fast bowling history of the 2-time World Champions.

However, Gibbs had shined with his magnificent spin bowling before the Windies became the fast-bowling powerhouse. The legendary right-arm off-spinner was born on September 29 in Queenstown, Guiana, 1934, and today is his 87th birthday. Interestingly, Gibbs started his career as a leg-spinner but found it difficult to control the ball and later decided to become an off-spinner. 

Gibbs made his debut for the West Indies against Pakistan in 1959 and since then he started getting opportunities to play in the team. However, it took him some time to cement his place in the team. The off-spinner came into the limelight in the West Indies tour of Australia in 1961 where he picked up 18 wickets in the series in which a hat-trick was also included.

Since then, he never looked back and became the second bowler to pick 300 Test wickets. However, he was the first spinner to achieve the feat and he achieved this milestone in his last international series in 1975-76. Apart from taking 309 wickets in just 79 Test matches. Gibbs was also known for his tight line and length due to which he ended with an impressive economy rate of 1.98.

The batters of his time used to struggle a lot to score against him which automatically put pressure on the batters. Gibbs also took 18 fifers in his career while talking about his first-class career, he has taken a total number of 1024 wickets.

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