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To avoid interrupting the other thread again - Hi, Richard

Loony BoB

International Captain
Most notable of all, this entire article about Gavin Larsen, entitled "Dibbly-Dobbly-Wobbly"
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/128342.html

Dibbly-dobbly bowlers - Bowlers who are of medium pace, and are effective in the one-day scenario in choking the runs. New Zealand had a famous quartet - Rod Latham, Gavin Larsen, Chris Harris and Nathan Astle - during the 1992 World Cup
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/239756.html

I was interested in the question about New Zealand's "Dibbly-Dobbly-Wobbly" bowling attack, which did indeed come to the fore at the 1992 World Cup. For the record, I think Chris Harris was Dibbly, Gavin Larsen was Dobbly, and Rod Latham - perhaps because of his generous girth - was Wobbly. But there was someone else in on the start of the whole thing - Willie Watson, who was known to the fans as "Wibbly". So to start with it was Dibbly and Dobbly, Wibbly and Wobbly.
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/142104.html

The bowling strategy, which also included an offspinner (Dipak Patel) opening the bowling, revolved around three slowish medium-pacers - Chris Harris, Gavin Larsen and Rod Latham - bottling up the batsmen. That trio became known as Dibbly, Dobbly and Wobbly (I'm not sure anyone ever knew which one was which).
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/143405.html

(Larsen, Chris Harris and Rod Latham were called "Dibbly, Dobbly and Wobbly")
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/133968.html

Man of the Tournament Martin Crowe got them to 248 for 6, and then the dibbly-dobblies took over. Offspinner Dipak Patel opened the bowling, a move that so stunned the Australians that he got through 10 overs for 36, and the military-medium trio of Gavin Larsen, Chris Harris and Rod Latham strangled them with combined figures of 25.1-1-100-5.
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/127094.html

Battle of the dibbly-dobblies. On a slow, low Dunedin track, Messrs Pringle, Reeve and a rotund Botham lined up against Harris, Latham and Larsen in the second one-dayer between England and New Zealand.
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/127087.html

Gavin Larsen, once a card-carrying member of the Dibbly, Dobbly, Wobbly triumvirate, now invited allcomers to bowl to him at lunch (and was promptly skittled).
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/113661.html

The run of success in 1992 was based on New Zealand's mastery of its "dibbly-dobbly" attack of Chris Harris, Gavin Larsen, Rod Latham and Dipak Patel on a dry, slow, low Eden Park pitch.
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/114505.html

He'll be sending down deliveries of a different type than his world-famous dibbly-dobblers.
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/94081.html (article entirely about Larsen)

In fact, one-day cricket's detractors would be able to suggest with some justification that any format that involves Larsen and Chris Harris bowling in tandem has got to be deeply flawed. In the unlikely event of New Zealand ever running out of sheep to count, insomniacs can always fall back on a video of this match, which continues today. Fodder in a Test match becomes indispensable dibbly-dobbling in this type of cricket.
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/81573.html

The guy was freaking named Dobbly. :p In fact, I'd say that outside of Harris, his name is the second-most mentioned name in Cricinfo when you search for "dibbly". To define Dibbly Dobbly, Cricinfo effectively says "like Gavin Larsen"... it doesn't matter how fast he bowled. Whatever speed he bowled, that's dibbly-dobbly speed. Darn tootin'.

I'm sorry, I just couldn't leave that alone after reading such comments regarding ol' Dobbly. :(
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Haha, WTF? :laugh:

Guess dibbly-dobbly to a Kiwi is a different thing to what it is to a Brit.

To me, it's a term that describes a joke-bowler and always has been.

And there's no denying Gavin Larsen was a class-act in ODIs.
 

Swervy

International Captain
Haha, WTF? :laugh:

Guess dibbly-dobbly to a Kiwi is a different thing to what it is to a Brit.

To me, it's a term that describes a joke-bowler and always has been.

And there's no denying Gavin Larsen was a class-act in ODIs.

mmmm...dibbly dobbly I think up here in Yorkshire means gentle medium pace that infuriatingly has the habit of taking wickets, but not neccessarily 'joke' bowling.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Not at all sure about that - such bowlers usually get about 2 wickets a season in my experience.

Mostly due to the fact that they bowl virtually never. :laugh:
 

Swervy

International Captain
Not at all sure about that - such bowlers usually get about 2 wickets a season in my experience.

Mostly due to the fact that they bowl virtually never. :laugh:
not in club cricket, they are the ones that somehow end up with figures of 7 for 19, 5 of them caught on the boundary, and two bowled coz the ball kept low:laugh:
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Oh, God, yeah, in club cricket, but not in A-List (or even Second XI \ Minor Counties) stuff!
 

Goughy

Hall of Fame Member
Haha, WTF? :laugh:

Guess dibbly-dobbly to a Kiwi is a different thing to what it is to a Brit.

To me, it's a term that describes a joke-bowler and always has been.

And there's no denying Gavin Larsen was a class-act in ODIs.
Im English and dibbly-dobbly means a nagging medium pacer to me of no threatening velocity
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Ganguly always pops into my mind when the term dibbly dobbly is mentioned
Bit better than that methinks... bit quicker, too - 75-6-7mph, I always imagine such bowlers to be in the 60-65mph sort of range.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Collingwood is a classic example of a wibbly-wobbly trundler, in my eyes.
Not all trundlers are swing-bowlers though - Collingwood is quick enough (at 75-6mph or so) to be medium-fast, and has only fairly recently added swing to his armoury (and, unsurprisingly, it's made him a better bowler).
 

The Baconator

International Vice-Captain
I've always taken it to mean fairly gentle mid-low 70s stuff, a batsman rolling his arm over. Usually innocuous but could be a partnership breaker.
 

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