Garfield Sobers
Encyclopedia
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers AO
, OCC
(born 28 July 1936) is a former cricket
er who captained West Indies. His first name of Garfield is variously abbreviated as Gary or Garry. He is widely regarded as one of cricket's greatest ever all-rounder
s, having excelled at all the essential skills of batting
, bowling
and fielding
. He was knighted
by Queen Elizabeth II
in 1975 for his services to cricket. He became a dual Barbadian-Australian citizen through marriage in 1980. By an act of Parliament
in 1998, Sobers was named as one of the ten National Heroes of Barbados
.
, Barbados
, and was the fifth of six children. At birth he had two extra fingers
, one on each hand, which he removed himself during childhood with the aid of catgut and a sharp knife. Sobers was only five when his father died at sea in January 1942, after his ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat.
From an early age, Sobers demonstrated the talent and ability to play with great skill almost any sport involving a ball, particularly cricket, football and basketball. He and his similarly talented brother Gerald helped their Bay Street Boys' School team to win the primary school Inter-School Cricket championship for three consecutive years. When he was 13, he was recruited to play for two cricket teams. These were the Kent St Philip club in the Barbados Cricket League (BCL) and the Wanderers
club, located at Bay Land, in the Barbados Cricket Association
(BCA). Garnet Ashby, captain of Kent St Philip, told him that this was his opportunity to play cricket with "the big boys".
Sobers gained useful experience by bowling to Wanderers batsmen, including West Indies Test player Denis Atkinson
, at practice in the nets and soon developed his great skill as a left arm spin bowler. More importantly for his career, he was observed by Inspector Wilfred Farmer, captain of the Police team in the BCL First Division. Farmer offered Sobers a chance to play for Police in the 1951–52 season while he was still only 15. In the 1952–53 season, Sobers was invited to the Barbados trials for the colony's tour match against the Indian touring team at Kensington Oval
, Bridgetown
. He was initially selected as 12th man but then made the team itself when Frank King
was forced to withdraw. He therefore made his first-class
debut on 31 January 1953, aged only 16. Batting at number nine, he scored 7 not out in his only innings but made an immediate impression as a bowler, taking 4/50 and 3/92.
A full year passed before Sobers, now 17, made his second first-class appearance, again playing against a touring team. He batted at number five against Marylebone Cricket Club
(MCC), scoring 46 and 27; and took two wickets in the match. He had shown enough talent in these two matches to be selected for West Indies and his third first-class appearance was his Test
debut.
in Kingston, Jamaica
for the Fifth and final Test, after Alf Valentine
had fallen ill. Sobers was selected as a bowler, despite only mediocre performances against England for Barbados. He made a good impression by taking 4/75 in England's first innings, including a wicket in his opening over. Sobers also scored 14 not out and 26 batting at number nine; however, England won the match by nine wickets.
Australia toured the West Indies in 1954-55, and their all-rounder Keith Miller
thought that Sobers would become a better batsman than bowler despite batting in the lower-order. Sobers was not selected for the First Test, which the West Indies lost by nine wickets. However, he regained his place for the Second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The match was a high-scoring draw, with Sobers scoring 47 and eight not out. He was barely used with the ball, bowling three overs for ten runs, as Australia amassed a first-innings total of over 600. Sobers was given a further opportunity in the next Test in Georgetown, Guyana
(British Guiana at the time) in South America
. Despite scoring only 12 and 11 with the bat, he took three wickets in the Australians' first innings. Nevertheless, Australia won by eight wickets. West Indian captain and opening batsman Jeff Stollmeyer
twisted his ankle after treading on a ball ahead of the Fourth Test in Barbados, "triggering huge debate about who should open." Eventually, Sobers was chosen to open the innings after Australia had amassed another total of over 600. Sobers had a suspicion he might be asked to do the job. "I couldn't see them sending in anyone else — I was a bowler with a little ability as a batsman and they wanted someone to help see off the shine and protect the three W's." Sobers struck his first three deliveries for boundaries, all from the bowling of Miller. In the fast-bowler's second over, Sobers hit him for another three fours. He was eventually dismissed for 43 out of a first-wicket partnership of 52 with JK Holt. The match was drawn, and Sobers took one wicket in the Australians' only innings, before scoring 11 in the West Indies second innings. The home team were again defeated in the Fifth and final Test in Jamaica. Sobers performed with the bat, however, scoring 35 not out and 64.
Sobers went on his first overseas tour in the early months of 1956 when, aged 19, he was part of the West Indian tour of New Zealand
. The series was not successful personally for Sobers, who struggled on the foreign batting wickets. West Indies pitches had little or no grass to speak of, while in New Zealand the pitches were green. "I took one look and asked myself how I could possibly bat on that? How could I make runs? I was out before I even walked to the crease," Sobers later wrote. Playing in all four Tests, he totalled 81 runs and two wickets. As a batsman, Sobers needed time to develop at Test level and, in nine Tests as a teenager, he scored only one half century, and averaged 29.33 with the bat.
He was sent home from New Zealand early to play an unofficial Test match against an England team that included feared fast-bowler Frank Tyson
. After struggling to cope with Tyson's pace, Sobers managed to score a half-century, raising hope that he would be selected for the upcoming tour to England, something he considered unlikely after his lack of form. In the first trial match to help select the squad for the upcoming tour, Sobers scored a century in Trinidad. The matches also saw Sobers get his first look at West Indian cricket politics. Wes Hall
and Frank Mason
were competing for a single place in the touring party, and Sobers and Everton Weekes
decided they "would take on Mason and knock him out of the firing line to try and get our fellow Bajan (countryman) Wes in the team." The pair attacked Mason, while they defended Hall in a tactic that paid off with Hall selected, despite Sobers believing Mason was the better bowler at the time.
Sobers toured England for their summer in 1957
. He played his first match against the Jim Swanton XI in April, and was surprised about how cold the conditions were, often causing him to wear two or three jumpers.
His performances with the bat throughout the five Test series were classed as mediocre, scoring 320 runs at 32, with three half centuries. On the bowling front, Sobers struggled, taking five wickets at 71. It was in the final Test at The Oval
that Sobers gained the attention of critics with defiant batting amid a disappointing team performance. The condition of the pitch was subject to criticism and described by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
as "a strange sight". After England had scored 412, the West Indies were easily dismissed for 89 and 86 by the Surrey
spinners Jim Laker
and Tony Lock
, who were playing on their home ground. Batting at number 3, Sobers made 39 and 42, while none of his colleagues passed 30 in either innings. In its summary of the tour, Wisden said: "(of the newcomers) Collie Smith
, Sobers, Rohan Kanhai
and Roy Gilchrist
were particularly impressive"; adding that "to Sobers, a tall left-handed all-rounder, fell the distinction of hitting the highest score of the tour: 219 not out against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge
. Sobers undoubtedly was a very fine stroke-player who should go far".
in Kingston and expanded it to an unbeaten 365, breaking the world record Test score of 364 set by England's Len Hutton
in 1938. Sobers batted for 614 minutes and scored 38 fours but, unusually in such a large total, no sixes. At 21 years and 216 days, he is the youngest player to break the individual scoring record in Tests, and remains the youngest triple-centurion. He made 824 runs with three centuries in the five Tests against Pakistan, and followed this with 557 runs and three more centuries on the West Indies tour of India
in 1958-59. Sobers underwent trauma following the death of Collie Smith in September 1959, but he continued to play cricket successfully. In the home Test series against England in 1959-60, he scored three centuries in five matches, totalling 709 runs.
Largely inspired by new West Indies captain Frank Worrell
, who was a close personal friend, Sobers had an outstanding 1960-61 series in Australia
. He scored a celebrated 132 on the first day of the First Test at Brisbane Cricket Ground
, the match which resulted in the first Tied Test
. Wisden confirmed that "some observers considered it the best hundred they had ever seen". Sobers scored 430 runs in the series, which Australia won 2-1, with two centuries; his fielding was outstanding and he took 12 catches. He felt he had "had a good series, starting badly but then coming on" and a very positive outcome for him was to receive an invitation from Don Bradman to play for South Australia in 1961–62.
Sobers took 15 wickets in the 1960-61 series, including a best analysis of 5/120, at an average of 39.20, and his bowling allowed Worrell to play an extra batsman in the final three Tests, thus using Sobers for the first time as a designated all-rounder, a role in which he became the dominant player in world cricket over the next decade, being awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
title (retrospectively) eight times in 13 years. Sobers was never a prolific wicket-taker in Test cricket, and his average of three wickets per game in this series typified his whole career. Overall, he took 235 wickets in his 93 Tests at an average of 34.03 and was more effective when operating as a pace bowler. His best performance was 6/73 and, although he achieved five wickets in an innings six times, he never took ten in a match.
His success continued in the next two series at home to India in 1961-62 and away to England in 1963. He was elected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1964, and then succeeded Worrell, who had retired, as West Indies captain for the 1964-65 home series against Australia.
. This was the first time West Indies had beaten Australia in a Test series.
He enjoyed spectacular success in England in 1966 and was widely acclaimed as "King Cricket". In the five Tests he scored 722 runs at an average of 103.14 with three centuries, and had 20 wickets at 27.25, as well as taking 10 catches. West Indies won the series 3-1, with one match drawn. His status was celebrated at that time by the Trinidadian calypso
artist Mighty Sparrow
, with his song "Sir Garfield Sobers".
In 1966-67, Sobers captained the West Indies team to India in 1966-67 and they won the series 2-0 with one match drawn.
He lost a series for the first time in 1967-68 when West Indies were surprisingly beaten at home by England. Four matches were drawn and England won the Fourth Test at Queen's Park Oval
following a controversial declaration by Sobers which enabled England to score the necessary 215-3 to win at just four runs an over.
In 1968-69, Sobers captained the West Indian cricket team in Australia in 1968-69
but they lost the series 3-1 and then drew a three-Test series in New Zealand 1-1.
In 1969, West Indies lost 2-0 in England with one match drawn.
Sobers captained West Indies for the five-Test home series versus India in 1970-71. India won the series 1-0 with four matches drawn. A year later, Sobers led West Indies in five home Tests against New Zealand and all five were drawn.
Sobers was succeeded as West Indies captain by Rohan Kanhai for the 1972-73 home series against Australia. Sobers did not play in that series but returned to play under Kanhai in England in 1973. He played his last Test in March 1974 at Queen's Park Oval against England.
In 1970, captaining the Rest of the World XI against England, he took 6/21 on the opening day of the First (unofficial) Test at Lord's with pace bowling, the ball swinging and seaming at high speed. He then scored "a magnificent" 183 and helped bowl out England in the second innings using his left arm wrist spin. In the Fourth Test at Headingley
, Sobers scored 114 and 59 as his team won by two wickets.
In January 1972, in the Third (unofficial) Test between Australia and the Rest of the World XI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
, Sobers played an innings of 254 which was described by Don Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia". He reached his century in 129 balls and after a rest day, reached 254 in 326 balls. It was "one of the most magnificent innings seen on the Melbourne Cricket Ground" and his "superb display of forceful cricket" lasted 376 minutes and included two sixes and 33 fours.
and became the professional at Radcliffe Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League, staying for five seasons from 1958 to 1962. This experience enabled him to hone his skills in varying conditions and Sobers says that playing in the league furthered his cricket education. He enjoyed considerable success at Radcliffe. In 1961, he achieved a rare "double" by scoring 1008 runs and taking 144 wickets, his performances being instrumental in Radcliffe winning both the league's championship title and its supplementary Wood Cup competition.
While he was engaged at Radcliffe, Sobers underwent emotional trauma after a road accident in September 1959 on the A34 near Stoke-on-Trent
which resulted in Collie Smith's death. Sobers was driving a car in which Smith and another West Indian Test player Tom Dewdney
were passengers. Smith's back was broken by the collision and he died three days later. Sobers could not recall much about the crash and was fined 10 pounds for driving without due care and attention. He "began drinking more" and there were concerns, expressed by himself and others, that the experience might affect his cricket career. He got over the trauma by deciding that he would be letting his country down if he "disappeared into the mists of an alcoholic haze" and he resolved to play not just for Garfield Sobers but for Collie Smith as well, thus setting himself the task of playing for two men. He recovered well and, after an outstanding home Test series against England in 1959–60, he returned to Radcliffe where he continued as club professional for the next three seasons.
Sobers gives an insight into the life of the club professional in his autobiography. He was paid £500 a season by Radcliffe. That was a reasonable wage but he relied on matchday collections to augment it and a good performance would boost the collection. He sometimes received as much as £50 in a collection and "that represented a massive bonus". Radcliffe placed no restrictions on him and, when they had no game, he could play as a guest professional in other leagues throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire. He particularly liked playing in Yorkshire when he could because they would pay him £25 per appearance with a collection on top if he did well.
After touring England with West Indies in 1963, he moved to the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League
in 1964 to play for Norton Cricket Club, who duly won the league title. Sobers made 549 runs in 18 innings at 49.90, finishing second in the league averages behind only his amateur brother Gerald, also playing for Norton, who averaged 50.12. Gary Sobers did even better with the ball, his 97 wickets at 8.38 heading the league averages. 1965 saw a repeat performance with Norton again winning the league and, though Sobers only averaged 25.38 with the bat, he again topped the league bowling averages with 76 wickets at 8.03. Norton lost the league title in 1966 while Sobers was touring England with West Indies but regained it in 1967 when he returned. He was fourth in the 1967 league batting averages with 41.83 and third in the bowling with 95 wickets at 9.37 (the two bowlers with better averages took only 22 and 24 wickets).
, Sobers and his West Indian colleagues Wes Hall
and Rohan Kanhai
returned to Australia to take part in the Sheffield Shield. Sobers played for South Australia and had an enormous impact on attendances, causing an 89% increase with gate receipts rising "by two and a half times". He topped both the batting and bowling averages at South Australia, his best performance being against champions New South Wales at the Adelaide Oval
when he scored 251 and took 3/51 and 6/72.
He was even more outstanding in 1963–64 when, largely due to his efforts, South Australia won the Sheffield Shield. Sobers was the season's leading runscorer with 973 at 74.84 and the leading wicket taker with 47 at 28.27.
Sobers spent three seasons with South Australia and in two he achieved the rare double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets.
, it was agreed that each county club could immediately sign a non-English player for the 1968 season. Seven clubs approached Sobers and, on 14 December 1967, Nottinghamshire announced that he had signed for them and had been appointed club captain. Sobers stated that, although he had enjoyed his time in league cricket, he had a definite preference for the first-class game and he looked forward to restoring Nottinghamshire's fortunes. Though details were undisclosed, Wisden 1968 speculated that his contract would run for three years and be worth £7000 a year (a very high income at the time), including an apartment and a car.
of six consecutive balls in first-class cricket
. The feat consisted of five clean hits for six and one six where the ball was caught but carried over the boundary by Roger Davis
. Sobers was playing as captain of Nottinghamshire
against Glamorgan
in Swansea
; the unfortunate bowler was Malcolm Nash
. This tally of 36 runs in an over broke a 57-year-old record of 34 runs, held by Ted Alletson
. In 1984–85, Indian batsman Ravi Shastri
equalled the record by scoring six sixes in an over while playing for Bombay versus Baroda
.
. As a fielder
he was usually stationed close to the wicket but he was also a very capable outfielder.
Richie Benaud
described Sobers as "the greatest all-round cricketer the world has seen". Sobers, wrote Benaud, was "a brilliant batsman, splendid fielder
, particularly close to the wicket, and a bowler of extraordinary skill, whether bowling with the new ball, providing orthodox left-arm spin or over-the-wrist spin".
Fred Trueman
enjoyed a great rivalry with Sobers and later described him as a "sublime left-hand batsman" who was "one of the greatest cricketers ever to have graced the game, certainly the greatest all-rounder". Trueman went on to say that Sobers as a batsman "has a great cricketing brain and his thought processes are lightning quick".
C L R James, when describing the batsmanship of Wilton St Hill
, commented upon St Hill's ability to judge the ball early in its flight and so quickly decide which stroke to play. In James' view, only Don Bradman and Sobers were comparable with St Hill in having this capability of "seeing" the ball. Wisden 1969 described the "lightning footwork" of Sobers as he got into position for his stroke. Commenting upon Sobers' six sixes in an over against his team in 1968, Glamorgan
captain Tony Lewis
said: "It was not sheer slogging through strength, but scientific hitting with every movement working in harmony".
As a bowler, Sobers began as an orthodox left arm spinner (SLA) and later developed the ability to bowl left arm wrist spin or chinaman and googlies. Sobers could also operate as a seamer, sometimes using medium pace, but he was much more effective when he bowled fast. With the new ball, he could make the delivery curve late in flight at high speed; his action being a loose, springy run followed by a "whiplash" delivery.
Though he mostly fielded close to the wicket, Sobers was an exceptional outfielder who was seen on one occasion, when he had fielded the ball on the boundary, to "bend his hand back almost parallel with his arm before flipping the ball a full seventy yards to the wicketkeeper".
Following his success as captain of West Indies on the 1966 tour of England
, the 1967 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
declared that for Sobers "(the 1966 Tests) were one triumph after another with bat and ball, as well as in the field as a master tactician and fantastic catcher close to the bat". Sobers' exploits in 1966 earned him the media-bestowed sobriquet of "King Cricket", which soon afterwards became the title of a book about him.
after he met her on the 1966-67 tour of India. He married Pru Kirby, an Australian, in September 1969. They had two sons, Matthew and Daniel, and an adopted daughter, Genevieve. The marriage ended in divorce in 1990 after the couple broke up in 1984; however, Sobers acquired dual Australian citizenship through marriage in 1980.
He says that his was a multi-sporting family who were all good at football
, basketball
, table tennis
and tennis
. His own favourite sport is golf
and he has been an enthusiastic gambler. He is the author of a children's novel about cricket, Bonaventure and the Flashing Blade, in which computer analysis helps a university cricket team become unbeatable.
List, Queen Elizabeth II
created Sobers a Knight Bachelor
for his services to cricket. The award was made in the British Diplomatic and Overseas section of the list, rather than on the nomination of the Government of Barbados, which had stopped putting forward recommendations for British honours. This caused the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
some unease, as shown by papers released by The National Archives in 2005. However, since Barbados had not yet introduced its own system of honours, the Prime Minister of Barbados
was pleased that an honour would be forthcoming for Sobers.
The award was originally intended to be made in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours
, but since there was a royal visit to Barbados planned for February 1975, it was moved forward to the New Year list so that Sobers could be knighted by the Queen in person during the visit. The very short turnaround between the decision to make the award and its announcement meant that the Governor-General of Barbados was not informed of the award before the public announcement, which caused some hurt feelings between London and Bridgetown.
Sobers was made a National Hero of Barbados
by Prime Minister Owen Arthur
in 1998. He is one of only ten people to have received this honour and the only recipient still living.
Sobers coached internationally, during a one time stint with Sri Lanka. In 2003 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, where he had played many first-class games for South Australia
.
In 2000 Sobers was named by a 100-member panel of experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century
. He received 90 votes out of a possible 100. The other four cricketers selected for the honour were Don Bradman
(100 votes), Jack Hobbs
(30), Shane Warne
(27) and Viv Richards
(25).
In 2004, the International Cricket Council
(ICC) inaugurated the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy
which is awarded annually to the player selected by ICC as its Player of the Year. The recommendation to name the award after Sobers was made by a panel consisting of Richie Benaud
, Sunil Gavaskar
and Michael Holding
, who were asked by the ICC "to select an individual with whom to honour cricket's ultimate individual award".
In 2007 Wisden retrospectively selected the Leading Cricketer in the World
for every year dating back to 1900, Sobers was selected for eight years (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964–66, 1968 and 1970). Only Sobers and Bradman (10) received the accolade more than three times.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, OCC
Order of the Caribbean Community
The Order of the Caribbean Community is an award given toThe award was initiated at the Eighth Conference of Heads of State and Governments of CARICOM in 1987 and began bestowal in 1992. Decisions as to award are taken by the Advisory Committee for the Order of the Caribbean CommunityThe Insignia...
(born 28 July 1936) is a former cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who captained West Indies. His first name of Garfield is variously abbreviated as Gary or Garry. He is widely regarded as one of cricket's greatest ever all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
s, having excelled at all the essential skills of batting
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
, bowling
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
and fielding
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1975 for his services to cricket. He became a dual Barbadian-Australian citizen through marriage in 1980. By an act of Parliament
Parliament of Barbados
The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. The Parliament is bicameral in composition and is formally made up of: HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados The Parliament of Barbados is the...
in 1998, Sobers was named as one of the ten National Heroes of Barbados
Barbadian national heroes
Barbadian National Heroes are the designees of the Order of National Heroes Act, as passed by the Parliament of Barbados in 1998. The act formally recognized the stature of ten major figures in the history of Barbados....
.
1936–1954: Early years
Sobers was born Garfield St Aubrun Sobers on 28 July 1936 to Shamont and Thelma Sobers of Walcott Avenue, Bay Land, St Michael, BridgetownBridgetown
The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, and was the fifth of six children. At birth he had two extra fingers
Polydactyly
Polydactyly or polydactylism , also known as hyperdactyly, is a congenital physical anomaly in humans, dogs, and cats having supernumerary fingers or toes....
, one on each hand, which he removed himself during childhood with the aid of catgut and a sharp knife. Sobers was only five when his father died at sea in January 1942, after his ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat.
From an early age, Sobers demonstrated the talent and ability to play with great skill almost any sport involving a ball, particularly cricket, football and basketball. He and his similarly talented brother Gerald helped their Bay Street Boys' School team to win the primary school Inter-School Cricket championship for three consecutive years. When he was 13, he was recruited to play for two cricket teams. These were the Kent St Philip club in the Barbados Cricket League (BCL) and the Wanderers
Wanderers Cricket Club
Wanderers Cricket Club is a Barbadian cricket club. The club plays in the Barbados Cricket Association Upper Intermediate Division, having been relegated from Division 1 in 2010....
club, located at Bay Land, in the Barbados Cricket Association
Barbados Cricket Association
The Barbados Cricket Association is the ruling body for cricket in Barbados. The BCA was sstablished in 1933 by an Act of Parliament to replace the Barbados Cricket Challenge Cup Committee, which had administered Barbadian cricket since its formation in 1892...
(BCA). Garnet Ashby, captain of Kent St Philip, told him that this was his opportunity to play cricket with "the big boys".
Sobers gained useful experience by bowling to Wanderers batsmen, including West Indies Test player Denis Atkinson
Denis Atkinson
Denis St Eval Atkinson was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches as an all-rounder, hitting 922 runs and taking 47 wickets. He also played first-class cricket for Barbados and Trinidad...
, at practice in the nets and soon developed his great skill as a left arm spin bowler. More importantly for his career, he was observed by Inspector Wilfred Farmer, captain of the Police team in the BCL First Division. Farmer offered Sobers a chance to play for Police in the 1951–52 season while he was still only 15. In the 1952–53 season, Sobers was invited to the Barbados trials for the colony's tour match against the Indian touring team at Kensington Oval
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket...
, Bridgetown
Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...
. He was initially selected as 12th man but then made the team itself when Frank King
Frank King (cricketer)
Frank McDonald King was a West Indian cricketer who played in 14 Tests between 1953 and 1956.Born in Delamere Land, Brighton, St Michael, Barbados, King was a hostile right-arm fast bowler who opened the bowling for the West Indies in three consecutive home series in the early 1950s...
was forced to withdraw. He therefore made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut on 31 January 1953, aged only 16. Batting at number nine, he scored 7 not out in his only innings but made an immediate impression as a bowler, taking 4/50 and 3/92.
A full year passed before Sobers, now 17, made his second first-class appearance, again playing against a touring team. He batted at number five against Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
(MCC), scoring 46 and 27; and took two wickets in the match. He had shown enough talent in these two matches to be selected for West Indies and his third first-class appearance was his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut.
1954–1957: Early Test career
Sobers had progressed quickly and made his Test debut in March 1954, aged 17, against England at Sabina ParkSabina Park
Sabina Park is the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica and is often referred to as "The Holiday Home of Cricket"....
in Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
for the Fifth and final Test, after Alf Valentine
Alf Valentine
Alfred Louis Valentine, April 28, 1930–11 May 2004 , was a West Indian cricketer in the 1950s and 1960s. He is most famous for his performance in the West Indies' 1950 tour of England, which was immortalised in the Victory Calypso.-The 1950 tour:...
had fallen ill. Sobers was selected as a bowler, despite only mediocre performances against England for Barbados. He made a good impression by taking 4/75 in England's first innings, including a wicket in his opening over. Sobers also scored 14 not out and 26 batting at number nine; however, England won the match by nine wickets.
Australia toured the West Indies in 1954-55, and their all-rounder Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
thought that Sobers would become a better batsman than bowler despite batting in the lower-order. Sobers was not selected for the First Test, which the West Indies lost by nine wickets. However, he regained his place for the Second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The match was a high-scoring draw, with Sobers scoring 47 and eight not out. He was barely used with the ball, bowling three overs for ten runs, as Australia amassed a first-innings total of over 600. Sobers was given a further opportunity in the next Test in Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
(British Guiana at the time) in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Despite scoring only 12 and 11 with the bat, he took three wickets in the Australians' first innings. Nevertheless, Australia won by eight wickets. West Indian captain and opening batsman Jeff Stollmeyer
Jeff Stollmeyer
Jeffrey Baxter Stollmeyer was a Trinidad and Tobago cricketer and footballer. He played 32 Tests for the West Indies, captaining 13 of these....
twisted his ankle after treading on a ball ahead of the Fourth Test in Barbados, "triggering huge debate about who should open." Eventually, Sobers was chosen to open the innings after Australia had amassed another total of over 600. Sobers had a suspicion he might be asked to do the job. "I couldn't see them sending in anyone else — I was a bowler with a little ability as a batsman and they wanted someone to help see off the shine and protect the three W's." Sobers struck his first three deliveries for boundaries, all from the bowling of Miller. In the fast-bowler's second over, Sobers hit him for another three fours. He was eventually dismissed for 43 out of a first-wicket partnership of 52 with JK Holt. The match was drawn, and Sobers took one wicket in the Australians' only innings, before scoring 11 in the West Indies second innings. The home team were again defeated in the Fifth and final Test in Jamaica. Sobers performed with the bat, however, scoring 35 not out and 64.
Sobers went on his first overseas tour in the early months of 1956 when, aged 19, he was part of the West Indian tour of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The series was not successful personally for Sobers, who struggled on the foreign batting wickets. West Indies pitches had little or no grass to speak of, while in New Zealand the pitches were green. "I took one look and asked myself how I could possibly bat on that? How could I make runs? I was out before I even walked to the crease," Sobers later wrote. Playing in all four Tests, he totalled 81 runs and two wickets. As a batsman, Sobers needed time to develop at Test level and, in nine Tests as a teenager, he scored only one half century, and averaged 29.33 with the bat.
He was sent home from New Zealand early to play an unofficial Test match against an England team that included feared fast-bowler Frank Tyson
Frank Tyson
Frank Holmes Tyson is an England cricketer of the 1950s who became a journalist and cricket commentator after he emigrated to Australia in 1960. Nicknamed "Typhoon Tyson" by the press he was regarded by many commentators as one of the fastest bowlers ever seen in cricket and took 76 wickets in...
. After struggling to cope with Tyson's pace, Sobers managed to score a half-century, raising hope that he would be selected for the upcoming tour to England, something he considered unlikely after his lack of form. In the first trial match to help select the squad for the upcoming tour, Sobers scored a century in Trinidad. The matches also saw Sobers get his first look at West Indian cricket politics. Wes Hall
Wes Hall
Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969...
and Frank Mason
Frank Mason
Frank Herbert Mason was an American painter and teacher.Mason was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the Music and Arts High School in New York until he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Art Students League of New York with Frank DuMond...
were competing for a single place in the touring party, and Sobers and Everton Weekes
Everton Weekes
Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE is a leading former West Indian cricketer. Along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket.-Youth and early career:...
decided they "would take on Mason and knock him out of the firing line to try and get our fellow Bajan (countryman) Wes in the team." The pair attacked Mason, while they defended Hall in a tactic that paid off with Hall selected, despite Sobers believing Mason was the better bowler at the time.
Sobers toured England for their summer in 1957
West Indian cricket team in England in 1957
The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1957 season to play a five-match Test series against England.England won the series 3-0 with two matches drawn...
. He played his first match against the Jim Swanton XI in April, and was surprised about how cold the conditions were, often causing him to wear two or three jumpers.
His performances with the bat throughout the five Test series were classed as mediocre, scoring 320 runs at 32, with three half centuries. On the bowling front, Sobers struggled, taking five wickets at 71. It was in the final Test at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
that Sobers gained the attention of critics with defiant batting amid a disappointing team performance. The condition of the pitch was subject to criticism and described by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
as "a strange sight". After England had scored 412, the West Indies were easily dismissed for 89 and 86 by the Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
spinners Jim Laker
Jim Laker
James "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, known for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, when he took nineteen wickets in England's victory against Australia...
and Tony Lock
Tony Lock
Graham Anthony Richard Lock was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in forty nine Tests for England taking 174 wickets at 25.58 each.-Life and career:...
, who were playing on their home ground. Batting at number 3, Sobers made 39 and 42, while none of his colleagues passed 30 in either innings. In its summary of the tour, Wisden said: "(of the newcomers) Collie Smith
Collie Smith
O'Neil Gordon 'Collie' Smith was a West Indian cricketer....
, Sobers, Rohan Kanhai
Rohan Kanhai
Rohan Bholalall Kanhai is a former West Indian Cricket player of Indo-Guyanese descent. He is widely considered as one of the best batsmen of the 1960s. Kanhai featured in several great West Indian teams, playing with, among others, Sir Garfield Sobers, Roy Fredericks, Lance Gibbs, and Alvin...
and Roy Gilchrist
Roy Gilchrist
Roy Gilchrist was a West Indian cricketer who played 13 Tests for the West Indies in the 1950s. He was born in Saint Thomas, Jamaica and died of Parkinson's disease in St Catherine, Jamaica at the age of 67....
were particularly impressive"; adding that "to Sobers, a tall left-handed all-rounder, fell the distinction of hitting the highest score of the tour: 219 not out against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
. Sobers undoubtedly was a very fine stroke-player who should go far".
1958–1964: 365 not out
At this stage of his career, Sobers had frustrated his admirers by failing to convert good starts into high scores. He had reached double figures in 18 of his 22 Test innings, although his highest score was still only 66. But, in the three years following the 1957 tour, he fulfilled his promise. In his next 24 Tests, he scored 2,250 runs at the exceptionally high average of 93.75. In 1958, he scored his maiden Test century against PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in Kingston and expanded it to an unbeaten 365, breaking the world record Test score of 364 set by England's Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
in 1938. Sobers batted for 614 minutes and scored 38 fours but, unusually in such a large total, no sixes. At 21 years and 216 days, he is the youngest player to break the individual scoring record in Tests, and remains the youngest triple-centurion. He made 824 runs with three centuries in the five Tests against Pakistan, and followed this with 557 runs and three more centuries on the West Indies tour of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1958-59. Sobers underwent trauma following the death of Collie Smith in September 1959, but he continued to play cricket successfully. In the home Test series against England in 1959-60, he scored three centuries in five matches, totalling 709 runs.
Largely inspired by new West Indies captain Frank Worrell
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
, who was a close personal friend, Sobers had an outstanding 1960-61 series in Australia
West Indian cricket team in Australia in 1960-61
The West Indies cricket team toured Australia in the 1960-61 season under the captaincy of Frank Worrell. Both Worrell and his opposing captain, Richie Benaud, encouraged their teams to play attacking cricket. The first Test of the five match series ended in a dramatic tie, the first of only two...
. He scored a celebrated 132 on the first day of the First Test at Brisbane Cricket Ground
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
, the match which resulted in the first Tied Test
Tied Test
Tied Test refers to a rare result in Test cricket. Only two ties have occurred in the 2,000 Tests played since 1877. The first was in 1960 and the second in 1986...
. Wisden confirmed that "some observers considered it the best hundred they had ever seen". Sobers scored 430 runs in the series, which Australia won 2-1, with two centuries; his fielding was outstanding and he took 12 catches. He felt he had "had a good series, starting badly but then coming on" and a very positive outcome for him was to receive an invitation from Don Bradman to play for South Australia in 1961–62.
Sobers took 15 wickets in the 1960-61 series, including a best analysis of 5/120, at an average of 39.20, and his bowling allowed Worrell to play an extra batsman in the final three Tests, thus using Sobers for the first time as a designated all-rounder, a role in which he became the dominant player in world cricket over the next decade, being awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
The Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World award was introduced in 2004 to complement the long-standing Wisden Cricketer of the Year awards, which are still given to five players each year....
title (retrospectively) eight times in 13 years. Sobers was never a prolific wicket-taker in Test cricket, and his average of three wickets per game in this series typified his whole career. Overall, he took 235 wickets in his 93 Tests at an average of 34.03 and was more effective when operating as a pace bowler. His best performance was 6/73 and, although he achieved five wickets in an innings six times, he never took ten in a match.
His success continued in the next two series at home to India in 1961-62 and away to England in 1963. He was elected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1964, and then succeeded Worrell, who had retired, as West Indies captain for the 1964-65 home series against Australia.
1965–1974: West Indies captaincy
Sobers enjoyed immediate success as West Indies captain when his team defeated Australia by 179 runs in the First Test at Sabina Park. West Indies went on to win the series 2-1 and so claim the new Frank Worrell TrophyFrank Worrell Trophy
The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded for the winner of the West Indies - Australia Test match series in cricket.The trophy is named after the former West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell, and was first awarded at the end of the 1960-61 series...
. This was the first time West Indies had beaten Australia in a Test series.
He enjoyed spectacular success in England in 1966 and was widely acclaimed as "King Cricket". In the five Tests he scored 722 runs at an average of 103.14 with three centuries, and had 20 wickets at 27.25, as well as taking 10 catches. West Indies won the series 3-1, with one match drawn. His status was celebrated at that time by the Trinidadian calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
artist Mighty Sparrow
Mighty Sparrow
Mighty Sparrow or Birdie is a calypso singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World," he is one of the most well-known and successful calypsonians...
, with his song "Sir Garfield Sobers".
In 1966-67, Sobers captained the West Indies team to India in 1966-67 and they won the series 2-0 with one match drawn.
He lost a series for the first time in 1967-68 when West Indies were surprisingly beaten at home by England. Four matches were drawn and England won the Fourth Test at Queen's Park Oval
Queen's Park Oval
Queen's Park Oval, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, is currently the largest capacity cricket ground in the West Indies and has hosted more Test matches than any other ground in the Caribbean. It also hosted a number of matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. It is privately owned by the...
following a controversial declaration by Sobers which enabled England to score the necessary 215-3 to win at just four runs an over.
In 1968-69, Sobers captained the West Indian cricket team in Australia in 1968-69
West Indian cricket team in Australia in 1968-69
The West Indies cricket team toured Australia in the 1968-69 season and played a five-match Test series against Australia.Australia won the series 3-1 with one match drawn.-Test series summary:* at Brisbane Cricket Ground – West Indies won by 125 runs...
but they lost the series 3-1 and then drew a three-Test series in New Zealand 1-1.
In 1969, West Indies lost 2-0 in England with one match drawn.
Sobers captained West Indies for the five-Test home series versus India in 1970-71. India won the series 1-0 with four matches drawn. A year later, Sobers led West Indies in five home Tests against New Zealand and all five were drawn.
Sobers was succeeded as West Indies captain by Rohan Kanhai for the 1972-73 home series against Australia. Sobers did not play in that series but returned to play under Kanhai in England in 1973. He played his last Test in March 1974 at Queen's Park Oval against England.
Rest of the World XI
When South Africa was banned from international cricket because of the country's apartheid policy, the team's two lucrative tours to England in 1970 and to Australia in 1971–72 were cancelled. The cricket authorities responded by forming Rest of the World teams to play unofficial Test series in lieu and these teams included some leading South African players. Sobers was invited to captain the Rest of the World in both series.In 1970, captaining the Rest of the World XI against England, he took 6/21 on the opening day of the First (unofficial) Test at Lord's with pace bowling, the ball swinging and seaming at high speed. He then scored "a magnificent" 183 and helped bowl out England in the second innings using his left arm wrist spin. In the Fourth Test at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, Sobers scored 114 and 59 as his team won by two wickets.
In January 1972, in the Third (unofficial) Test between Australia and the Rest of the World XI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, Sobers played an innings of 254 which was described by Don Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia". He reached his century in 129 balls and after a rest day, reached 254 in 326 balls. It was "one of the most magnificent innings seen on the Melbourne Cricket Ground" and his "superb display of forceful cricket" lasted 376 minutes and included two sixes and 33 fours.
League cricket in England
Sobers spent several seasons in English league cricket. Having completed his first tour of England with West Indies in 1957, he followed the advice of his mentor Frank WorrellFrank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
and became the professional at Radcliffe Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League, staying for five seasons from 1958 to 1962. This experience enabled him to hone his skills in varying conditions and Sobers says that playing in the league furthered his cricket education. He enjoyed considerable success at Radcliffe. In 1961, he achieved a rare "double" by scoring 1008 runs and taking 144 wickets, his performances being instrumental in Radcliffe winning both the league's championship title and its supplementary Wood Cup competition.
While he was engaged at Radcliffe, Sobers underwent emotional trauma after a road accident in September 1959 on the A34 near Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
which resulted in Collie Smith's death. Sobers was driving a car in which Smith and another West Indian Test player Tom Dewdney
Tom Dewdney
David Thomas Dewdney was a West Indian cricketer who played in nine Tests between 1955 and 1958. He was in the car driven by Garry Sobers when it collided with a truck and caused the death of fellow test player Collie Smith...
were passengers. Smith's back was broken by the collision and he died three days later. Sobers could not recall much about the crash and was fined 10 pounds for driving without due care and attention. He "began drinking more" and there were concerns, expressed by himself and others, that the experience might affect his cricket career. He got over the trauma by deciding that he would be letting his country down if he "disappeared into the mists of an alcoholic haze" and he resolved to play not just for Garfield Sobers but for Collie Smith as well, thus setting himself the task of playing for two men. He recovered well and, after an outstanding home Test series against England in 1959–60, he returned to Radcliffe where he continued as club professional for the next three seasons.
Sobers gives an insight into the life of the club professional in his autobiography. He was paid £500 a season by Radcliffe. That was a reasonable wage but he relied on matchday collections to augment it and a good performance would boost the collection. He sometimes received as much as £50 in a collection and "that represented a massive bonus". Radcliffe placed no restrictions on him and, when they had no game, he could play as a guest professional in other leagues throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire. He particularly liked playing in Yorkshire when he could because they would pay him £25 per appearance with a collection on top if he did well.
After touring England with West Indies in 1963, he moved to the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League
North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League
The North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire area of England. Since 2001 it has been a designated ECB Premier League.-Winners:-External links:...
in 1964 to play for Norton Cricket Club, who duly won the league title. Sobers made 549 runs in 18 innings at 49.90, finishing second in the league averages behind only his amateur brother Gerald, also playing for Norton, who averaged 50.12. Gary Sobers did even better with the ball, his 97 wickets at 8.38 heading the league averages. 1965 saw a repeat performance with Norton again winning the league and, though Sobers only averaged 25.38 with the bat, he again topped the league bowling averages with 76 wickets at 8.03. Norton lost the league title in 1966 while Sobers was touring England with West Indies but regained it in 1967 when he returned. He was fourth in the 1967 league batting averages with 41.83 and third in the bowling with 95 wickets at 9.37 (the two bowlers with better averages took only 22 and 24 wickets).
Sheffield Shield with South Australia
In the 1961–62 Australian season which followed the 1960-61 West Indies tourWest Indian cricket team in Australia in 1960-61
The West Indies cricket team toured Australia in the 1960-61 season under the captaincy of Frank Worrell. Both Worrell and his opposing captain, Richie Benaud, encouraged their teams to play attacking cricket. The first Test of the five match series ended in a dramatic tie, the first of only two...
, Sobers and his West Indian colleagues Wes Hall
Wes Hall
Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969...
and Rohan Kanhai
Rohan Kanhai
Rohan Bholalall Kanhai is a former West Indian Cricket player of Indo-Guyanese descent. He is widely considered as one of the best batsmen of the 1960s. Kanhai featured in several great West Indian teams, playing with, among others, Sir Garfield Sobers, Roy Fredericks, Lance Gibbs, and Alvin...
returned to Australia to take part in the Sheffield Shield. Sobers played for South Australia and had an enormous impact on attendances, causing an 89% increase with gate receipts rising "by two and a half times". He topped both the batting and bowling averages at South Australia, his best performance being against champions New South Wales at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
when he scored 251 and took 3/51 and 6/72.
He was even more outstanding in 1963–64 when, largely due to his efforts, South Australia won the Sheffield Shield. Sobers was the season's leading runscorer with 973 at 74.84 and the leading wicket taker with 47 at 28.27.
Sobers spent three seasons with South Australia and in two he achieved the rare double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets.
Shell Shield with Barbados
Sobers played intermittently for Barbados throughout his first-class career. He made his first appearance in the new Shell Shield competition in February 1966. His last appearance for Barbados was in the 1973–74 Shell Shield match against Jamaica at Kensington Oval.County Championship with Nottinghamshire
At the end of the 1967 English cricket season1967 English cricket season
The 1967 English cricket season saw a double England triumph as they won both of two home series.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire*Gillette Cup - Kent*Minor Counties Championship - Cheshire...
, it was agreed that each county club could immediately sign a non-English player for the 1968 season. Seven clubs approached Sobers and, on 14 December 1967, Nottinghamshire announced that he had signed for them and had been appointed club captain. Sobers stated that, although he had enjoyed his time in league cricket, he had a definite preference for the first-class game and he looked forward to restoring Nottinghamshire's fortunes. Though details were undisclosed, Wisden 1968 speculated that his contract would run for three years and be worth £7000 a year (a very high income at the time), including an apartment and a car.
Six sixes in an over
In 1968 Sobers became the first batsman ever to hit six sixes in a single overOver (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
of six consecutive balls in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
. The feat consisted of five clean hits for six and one six where the ball was caught but carried over the boundary by Roger Davis
Roger Davis (cricketer)
Roger Clive Davis is a former county cricketer who played for Glamorgan for 13 years as an all-rounder. While having a quiet career from his debut in 1964 until 1970, he then enjoyed five years of greater success, including scoring over 1,000 runs in the 1975 season, before a rapid decline in 1976...
. Sobers was playing as captain of Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
; the unfortunate bowler was Malcolm Nash
Malcolm Nash
Malcolm Nash, is a Welsh cricket coach and former first-class cricketer.- Glamorgan Cricketer :Born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Nash was a left arm medium pace bowler who played largely for Glamorgan....
. This tally of 36 runs in an over broke a 57-year-old record of 34 runs, held by Ted Alletson
Ted Alletson
Edwin Boaler Alletson, , played English county cricket for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club during the early years of the 20th Century. He was predominantly selected by Nottinghamshire as a right-handed batsman and a not-very-successful fast bowler and, with one exception, his career was...
. In 1984–85, Indian batsman Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
equalled the record by scoring six sixes in an over while playing for Bombay versus Baroda
Baroda cricket team
The Baroda cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the city of Vadodara. The home ground of the team is the Moti Bagh Stadium on the palace grounds. The team is run by the Baroda Cricket Association. It has been one of the most successful teams in the Ranji Trophy in the new millennium...
.
Style and technique
An outstanding all-rounder, Sobers was left-handed as both batsman and bowler. His versatility enabled him to bowl all varieties of left-arm bowling from spin to fast-mediumFast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
. As a fielder
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
he was usually stationed close to the wicket but he was also a very capable outfielder.
Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
described Sobers as "the greatest all-round cricketer the world has seen". Sobers, wrote Benaud, was "a brilliant batsman, splendid fielder
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
, particularly close to the wicket, and a bowler of extraordinary skill, whether bowling with the new ball, providing orthodox left-arm spin or over-the-wrist spin".
Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
enjoyed a great rivalry with Sobers and later described him as a "sublime left-hand batsman" who was "one of the greatest cricketers ever to have graced the game, certainly the greatest all-rounder". Trueman went on to say that Sobers as a batsman "has a great cricketing brain and his thought processes are lightning quick".
C L R James, when describing the batsmanship of Wilton St Hill
Wilton St Hill
Wilton H. St Hill was a West Indian cricketer who played in West Indies' first Test match during their inaugural Test tour of England. A right-handed batman who played in a variety of batting positions, he represented Trinidad in first-class cricket between 1912 and 1930 and played in three Test...
, commented upon St Hill's ability to judge the ball early in its flight and so quickly decide which stroke to play. In James' view, only Don Bradman and Sobers were comparable with St Hill in having this capability of "seeing" the ball. Wisden 1969 described the "lightning footwork" of Sobers as he got into position for his stroke. Commenting upon Sobers' six sixes in an over against his team in 1968, Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
captain Tony Lewis
Tony Lewis
Anthony Robert Lewis CBE is a former Welsh cricketer, who went on to become the face of BBC Television cricket coverage in the 1990s, and become president of the MCC. Lewis attended Christ's College, Cambridge and played for Cambridge University. He also played county cricket for Glamorgan, and...
said: "It was not sheer slogging through strength, but scientific hitting with every movement working in harmony".
As a bowler, Sobers began as an orthodox left arm spinner (SLA) and later developed the ability to bowl left arm wrist spin or chinaman and googlies. Sobers could also operate as a seamer, sometimes using medium pace, but he was much more effective when he bowled fast. With the new ball, he could make the delivery curve late in flight at high speed; his action being a loose, springy run followed by a "whiplash" delivery.
Though he mostly fielded close to the wicket, Sobers was an exceptional outfielder who was seen on one occasion, when he had fielded the ball on the boundary, to "bend his hand back almost parallel with his arm before flipping the ball a full seventy yards to the wicketkeeper".
Following his success as captain of West Indies on the 1966 tour of England
West Indian cricket team in England in 1966
The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1966 season to play a five-match Test series against England. West Indies won the series 3-1 with one match drawn....
, the 1967 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
declared that for Sobers "(the 1966 Tests) were one triumph after another with bat and ball, as well as in the field as a master tactician and fantastic catcher close to the bat". Sobers' exploits in 1966 earned him the media-bestowed sobriquet of "King Cricket", which soon afterwards became the title of a book about him.
Personal life
Sobers was briefly engaged to Indian actress Anju MahendruAnju Mahendru
-Personal life and education:Mahendru was born in Dehradun. She is famed for her relationship with famous Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna and was briefly engaged to cricket player Gary Sobers.-Career:...
after he met her on the 1966-67 tour of India. He married Pru Kirby, an Australian, in September 1969. They had two sons, Matthew and Daniel, and an adopted daughter, Genevieve. The marriage ended in divorce in 1990 after the couple broke up in 1984; however, Sobers acquired dual Australian citizenship through marriage in 1980.
He says that his was a multi-sporting family who were all good at football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. His own favourite sport is golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and he has been an enthusiastic gambler. He is the author of a children's novel about cricket, Bonaventure and the Flashing Blade, in which computer analysis helps a university cricket team become unbeatable.
Honours and legacy
In the 1975 New Year HonoursNew Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
List, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
created Sobers a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for his services to cricket. The award was made in the British Diplomatic and Overseas section of the list, rather than on the nomination of the Government of Barbados, which had stopped putting forward recommendations for British honours. This caused the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
some unease, as shown by papers released by The National Archives in 2005. However, since Barbados had not yet introduced its own system of honours, the Prime Minister of Barbados
Prime Minister of Barbados
The Prime Minister of Barbados is a very influential position as head of government of Barbados. According to Barbados Constitution, the Prime Minister must always be a member of Parliament, and is appointed by the Governor-General who is responsible for conducting parliamentary elections, and for...
was pleased that an honour would be forthcoming for Sobers.
The award was originally intended to be made in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
, but since there was a royal visit to Barbados planned for February 1975, it was moved forward to the New Year list so that Sobers could be knighted by the Queen in person during the visit. The very short turnaround between the decision to make the award and its announcement meant that the Governor-General of Barbados was not informed of the award before the public announcement, which caused some hurt feelings between London and Bridgetown.
Sobers was made a National Hero of Barbados
Barbadian national heroes
Barbadian National Heroes are the designees of the Order of National Heroes Act, as passed by the Parliament of Barbados in 1998. The act formally recognized the stature of ten major figures in the history of Barbados....
by Prime Minister Owen Arthur
Owen Arthur
Owen Seymour Arthur, MP was the fifth Prime Minister of Barbados who was in office from 1994 to 2008 and is the current Leader of Opposition in Barbados. To date, he is the longest serving Barbadian Prime Minister....
in 1998. He is one of only ten people to have received this honour and the only recipient still living.
Sobers coached internationally, during a one time stint with Sri Lanka. In 2003 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, where he had played many first-class games for South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
.
Cricket awards
Among the awards that Sobers won during his playing career were:- West Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year: 1958–59
- Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1964
- The Cricket Society Wetherall Award for the Leading All-Rounder in English First-Class Cricket: 1970
- Walter Lawrence Trophy winner: 1974
- Wisden Cricketer of the Century: 2000
In 2000 Sobers was named by a 100-member panel of experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century
Wisden Cricketers of the Century
The Wisden Cricketers of the Century are five cricketers who were judged to be the most prominent players of the 20th century, as selected by a 100-member panel of cricket experts appointed by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2000...
. He received 90 votes out of a possible 100. The other four cricketers selected for the honour were Don Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
(100 votes), Jack Hobbs
Jack Hobbs
Sir John Berry "Jack" Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches from 1908 to 1930....
(30), Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
(27) and Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
(25).
In 2004, the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
(ICC) inaugurated the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy
Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy
The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy is a cricket trophy awarded annually by the International Cricket Council to its chosen world player of the Year. It was first awarded in 2004 to Rahul Dravid....
which is awarded annually to the player selected by ICC as its Player of the Year. The recommendation to name the award after Sobers was made by a panel consisting of Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
, Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
and Michael Holding
Michael Holding
Michael Anthony Holding is a former West Indian cricketer. One of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket, he was nicknamed 'Whispering Death' by umpires due to his quiet approach to the bowling crease...
, who were asked by the ICC "to select an individual with whom to honour cricket's ultimate individual award".
In 2007 Wisden retrospectively selected the Leading Cricketer in the World
Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World
The Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World award was introduced in 2004 to complement the long-standing Wisden Cricketer of the Year awards, which are still given to five players each year....
for every year dating back to 1900, Sobers was selected for eight years (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964–66, 1968 and 1970). Only Sobers and Bradman (10) received the accolade more than three times.
Performance graphs
External links
- Garfield Sobers from the BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
Government Information Service - Sir Garfield Sobers, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) website