'If Thomas don't get here then, Lillee must': Who are Denis Lille, Jeff Thompson mentioned by DGMO Rajiv Ghai?

Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, on Monday, during the press briefing on Operation Sindoor made a special mention of Australian greats Denis Lille and Jeff Thompson. During the briefing Ghai was explaining the Multi Layered Counter Drone and Air Defence Grid, that played a crucial role in India's response to the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam last month.

“The diagram which you are seeing, it reminds me of a incident from 1970s. That time Australia vs England Ashes rivalry was at its peak in cricket. During that time, Australia's Jeff Thompson and Denis Lille used to among the most lethal pacers in the world,” Ghai said.

"That time a phrase came out which read, "from Ashes to Ashes and from dust to dust, if Thomas don't get there, then Lille surely must. If you see this layer, you will get to understand what I am trying to say.

“Even if you (Pakistan) have passed all the systems, then someone (airfield or logistics installation system) from this layered grid system will take you down,” added Ghai, who took up the role of DGMO of the Indian Army on October 25, 2024.

Well, for anyone, who is not from cricketing background would be thinking who Lille and Thompson are, as mentioned by Ghai.

Who are Denis Lille and Jeff Thompson?

Both Lille and Thompson are two of Australian greats who ruled cricket with their fiery bowling during seventies and eighties.

A right-arm pacer, Lille was known for his speed and toe-crushing yorkers and was a nightmare for opposition batters. He played 70 Test matches for Australia, taking 355 wickets. Little was later inducted into Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

Like Little, Thompson was too a right-arm pacer and was known for his exceptional speed and ability to deliver extremely fast bouncers. In fact, Thompson's delivery at 160.6 km/h against the West Indies in 1975, was the fastest at that time.

The New South Wales-born pacer played 51 Test matches for Australia, finishing 200 wickets. Thompson was also the part of the Australian team that reached the final of inaugural 1975 Cricket World Cup.

Lille, Thompson tear England apart in 1974-75 Ashes

Ghai was referring to the 1974-75 Ashes series which Australia won 4-1 in the six-Test series. Thompson and Lille finished the series with 33 and 25 wickets respectively, thus occupying the top two spots in the list of most wickets in the series. In fact, Thompson took two five-wicket hauls during that series.

Virat kohli is my favourite: DGMO Rajiv Ghai

Meanwhile, Ghai also mentioned Virat Kohli as his favourite after the latter announced his retirement from Tests earlier on the day. “Maybe today I should talk about cricket too, because I saw that Virat Kohli has retired from Test cricket. Like many Indians, he is my favourite cricketer as well,” said Ghai.