Sir Garry Sobers, the peerless West Indies cricketer who excelled at all aspects of the game, has died aged 89. Never before has there been an all-rounder such as Sobers, and never again is it likely that one will appear. In 2000, Wisden named Sobers as one of the five cricketers of the last century.
A complete cricket machine
From his first international appearance in 1954 as a 17-year-old until his retirement two decades later, Sobers was the complete cricket machine: his versatility unique, his style and panache unsurpassed, and his exuberance contagious. None of the other acclaimed all-rounders – from WG Grace to Ben Stokes – could match the supreme skills Sobers displayed.
As a left-handed batsman, he was the finest the game has seen. In 98 Tests, he scored 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78 with 26 centuries – a number at that time exceeded only by Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar. At Swansea in 1968, while playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan, he made history by striking Malcolm Nash for six successive sixes in a single over, the first to achieve the feat at first-class level.
Bowling and fielding prowess
He bowled too, and until Wasim Akram there had been no finer left-arm exponent of the new ball. His run-up belied the blistering pace generated from an action that enabled him to swing the new ball excessively and late. He began as a slow orthodox left-arm finger-spinner and also employed wrist-spin and googlies.
In the field, he stood at slip to pacemen and at short leg to spinners. The scorecard entry “Caught Sobers, Bowled Gibbs” was for many years the most frequent fielder-bowler combination in Test history. He took 109 catches – at retirement more than anyone but Wally Hammond and Colin Cowdrey.
Captaincy and records
He captained West Indies in 39 Tests, with a sense of adventure. His all-round feats were prodigious: in the 1957-58 series against Pakistan he scored 824 runs at an average of 137.33. In the 1966 tour of England, which he captained, he scored 722 runs and took 20 wickets at 27.25 each, plus 10 catches.
At Sabina Park in 1958, at age 21, he scored 365 not out, overtaking Len Hutton's Test record. That record stood for 36 years until Brian Lara broke it in 1994.
Personal life and legacy
Born Garfield St Aubrun Sobers in Bridgetown, Barbados, he was the sixth of seven children. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975 and named a National Hero of Barbados in 1998. He is survived by three children and six grandchildren.
