Irish spinners get lesson from the master, Gibbs

GORGETOWN, Guyana, Mar 27 (Reuters) Former West Indies off-spinner Lance Gibbs, the first spinner to take 300 test wickets, tutored some of Ireland's players at Bourda on Monday ahead of their first Super Eights match.

Ireland play local rivals England on Friday at Providence Stadium with both teams aiming to record their first points in the table having progressed with none.

The input of Gibbs, 72, who played for West Indies between 1958 and 1976, will no doubt add to Ireland's preparations for what is probably the most important match of their history.

Gibbs, born in Guyana, spoke to Ireland's captain Trent Johnston and off-spinners Kyle McCallan and Andrew White.

''Fellows like to be associated with players that have been around the game for a while and it was interesting,'' Gibbs told Reuters.

''I told them how to grip the ball and different things. I showed them my spinning finger and I stopped playing in '76 and it's still deformed so if they are spinners they should have some indication that they're spin bowlers.

'FIND WEAKNESSES' ''Spin bowling is an art, you have got to vary your pace, your flight and you can't bowl the same way all the time.

''I told them you must be able to assess the batsman's strengths and weaknesses and if you can find a weakness in a batsman you should prey on that and not give them a chance to hit you around the field.'' The Irish players were certainly grateful for the surprise tutorial from one of the game's greats, who was at the Bourda Ground, Guyana's former international venue before the Providence Stadium was built.

''It's always great to meet one of the legends of the game,'' White said. ''He passed on a few tips to me and Kyle (McCallan).

''He certainly gripped the ball a lot differently from what we have ever been taught. It's something that I'll work on in practice and during the season.

''I'm not sure if the week leading up to the England game in the World Cup is the best time to experiment.'' REUTERS SAM RS1926