Sir Garfield Sobers, widely regarded as the greatest all-round cricketer in history, passed away yesterday.
He was born on 28 July 1936 in St. Michael, Barbados, in the British West Indies. According to Cricket West Indies, he died in Barbados 11 days before his 90th birthday.
During his career, Sobers played for Barbados, Nottinghamshire in England, and South Australia. He held the world record for the highest individual Test score of 365 not out for many years. The record was later broken by fellow West Indian Brian Lara.
Sobers played 93 Test matches, scoring 8,032 runs in 160 innings. His highest score was 365 not out, and he remained unbeaten 21 times.
As a bowler, he delivered 21,599 balls in 159 Test innings, gave away 7,999 runs, and took 235 wickets.
One-Day International (ODI) cricket was still new during Sobers' playing days, so he played only one ODI. It was against England on 5 September 1973. In that match, he bowled 63 balls, conceded 31 runs, and took 1 wicket.
The West Indies team included famous players such as Alvin Kallicharran, Roy Fredericks, Rohan Kanhai, Keith Boyce, Lance Gibbs, and Clive Lloyd. Sobers did not score any runs in that match, and England won by one wicket. It was the first and last ODI of his career.
In August 1968, while playing for Nottinghamshire in a county match at Swansea, England, Sobers became the first player to hit six sixes in one over. He achieved this against bowler Malcolm Nash of Glamorgan. Years later, India's Ravi Shastri equalled the record in a Ranji Trophy match by hitting six sixes in an over bowled by Tilak Raj.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to cricket, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Sobers a knighthood in 1975.
Sobers also made an important contribution to Sri Lankan cricket. He served as the coach of the Sri Lanka team during the 1983 Prudential Cricket World Cup and helped the team develop during its early years on the international stage.
– Aruna Lakshman Fernando