Interview with Dennis Lillee, Former Australian Cricketer
Tyler Foundation (TF): Dennis, you were recently in Japan (Hokkaido) for the first time. How was your visit?
Dennis Lillee (DL): Well, you talk to people and hear what Japan is like...I expected it to be full of buildings and full of people. But we weren't in the major cities like Tokyo, so. it was more like being in the countryside of Europe!!
TF: Well, we'll show you more than your fair share of people and buildings in Tokyo!! How about Japanese food?
DL: I love it! I think it's a really healthy food. Always liked it and would put my hand up anytime for it.
TF: Your career started with a bang... 5 wickets for 83 against England. Were you nervous when you played in the early stages?
DL: Every single game I played. The nervousness would start around breakfast time. Always a light breakfast because of that. Sometimes on tour it wouldn't start that early, it would start when I was packing for the ground. Very nervous at the ground, very nervous during the little practice. Then again when I was about to open the bowling. Then it all disappeared one ball in.
TF: 355 test wickets... A world record at the time...
DL: Doesn't sound like a lot these days, does it!!!??
TF: Besides the WACA, where did you particularly enjoy playing?
DL: Good question... The MCG was always good for the crowds. The wicket was never that conducive. Sydney was never good to the quickies but it had the old cricket feel, like Lords. For that reason, I liked Lords, the atmosphere was great. At Perth, if you were bowling well, it was a great wicket to bowl on. It was fast and bouncy but very even. It was best to get your wickets in the earlier spells because the wicket flattened out through the test. It was a wicket you expected to get something out of.
TF: No mention of the West Indies. Did you enjoy playing there?
DL: I did ... but the wickets generally - when I played - weren't ones you looked forward to bowling on. But the atmosphere was amazing. Barbados and Jamaica... for different reasons. The crowds had the ability to take the piss out of the players and themselves!!
TF: You bowled at hundreds of batsmen. Who stands out as special?
DL: Hard to single people out... The two Richards... we didn't see enough of Barry. He was certainly special as was Viv. [Clive] Lloyd. The Chapells. Majid Khan. I suppose I'm going to miss some. Lawrence Rowe for a short period there. Greenidge and Haynes.
TF: These guys gave you some headaches from time to time?
DL: Yeah... Gooch and Gower were good players. Gower was the sort of guy I found difficult to bowl to ... he seemed to have a lot of time. Majid Khan was a guy who was an amazing player on all wickets aganist all kinds of bowling.
TF: You made some enemies in your time ... mainly batsmen who had to face you! But you had some great partnerships like Rod Marsh and Jeff Thomson. Are you still in contact with those guys?
DL: Absolutely! They are great mates and always will be. They both meant a lot when I played and still do. For different reasons. Thommo was a laid back, laconic sort of guy who would describe himself as 'sauntered up and went wang!' Rod was a really tough, uncompromising, fight-in-the-trenches guy... Would die for his country. Different but great mates.
TF: A coupe of controversies. Do you want to talk us through the aluminum bat?
DL: The deal there was there had been a lot of changes with bats. Ones with the shoulders cut off, scooped out backs. And my partner came up with this idea of aluminum bats, based on baseball at the time. We were selling them and were approached by the bat manufacturers in England. We thought we were onto something big but we thought, stuff you, we'll do it ourselves. A big mistake because you can't beat the big boys. So what you saw was me in my frustration throwing my bat! If you get a laugh out of it, it should be in the Guinness Book of Records as the only aluminum bat thrown on a cricket field!
TF: There are a few quickies around today. Anyone you rate among the current players?
DL: I think Brett Lee is a fantastic express bowler. McGrath who just bowed out was sensational. Around the world, I suppose... well Donald was a superb bowler. I think the one who stands out of the pack now is Lee. Australia has been lucky because they had McGrath and then there's Warne. He's the guy who we will really miss. We have some handy bowlers like Clark and young Johnson coming through but who is going to take Warne's place. McGill for a couple of years?
TF: Turning to the great West Indian quickies. Was their approach different to yours? How do you relate to those guys?
DL: Well, the reason they were so good is that they all bowled 90 plus [miles per hour]. They all bowled around 91, 92 and the others were around 95 / 96. Holding, Roberts, Marshall were all 95 plus. We haven't seen that again in a team and maybe never will A lot of people probably think, 'yeah, they bowled pretty quick' but let me tell you you're talking Lee plus. That's their uniqueness. The other thing is that they slowed the game down. They only bowled 70 or 80 overs in a day so you were lucky to score 220 in a day and a half... if you managed to survive.
TF: Since your retirement, what kind of things have you been doing?
DL: Well, not since retirement but since I was 23 / 24 [years old] I've been involved in business. We continue that on. At this stage, we run an office full time. We run a variety of businesses which keep us more than busy.
TF: Well Dennis, we're looking forward to seeing you in Japan!
DL: Likewise!
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