Overview
Gary Sobers
(b. 1936) West Indian cricketer
Quick Reference
1936– )
Barbadian cricketer and one of the game's greatest all-rounders of all time. He played 93 times for the West Indies (39 times as captain), scoring more than 8000 runs (including 26 centuries) and taking 235 wickets. He was knighted in 1975.
Born in Bridgetown, Barbados, he went to Bay Street School and first played for his island in 1952. He was only seventeen when he made his first test appearance (1953); four years later, playing against Pakistan, he hit a record test score of 365 not out. He played for his country from 1953 to 1974, captaining the team from 1965. In the early sixties he played for South Australia. He came to England in 1968, captaining the Nottinghamshire team until 1974.
A left-hand bat of exceptional skill and natural talent, in his first-class career he scored 28 315 runs, including 86 centuries. His bowling, whether slow or fast, was equally impressive. In all, he took 1043 wickets and held 407 catches to illustrate the quality of his fielding. For over twenty years Gary Sobers was the undisputed hero of every West Indian boy. He has published several books on cricket.
