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(Part seven.) Hail the King!
Injury ruled him out of the tournament but it would be a travesty, with 44 days to go to the West Indies’ triumph at the 1975 World Cup, not to devote one day of this series to Sir Garfield Sobers: the greatest all-round cricketer of all time, bar none.
Of course, he deserves a series all his own. But suffice to say that this legendary Bajan’s impact on the game goes way beyond the bare statistics of his 20 years as an international cricketer. And, make no mistake, those stats are phenomenal in their own right.
In 93 Tests, the multi-talented left-hander amassed 8,032 runs, more than anyone else at the time, at 57.78 with 26 centuries. His first century came at age 21 with an unbeaten 365—admittedly against a seriously depleted Pakistan attack—at Sabina Park in Jamaica in 1958, which stood as the highest individual Test score for 36 years until eclipsed by Brian Lara in 1994.
On batting alone, Sobers stands as an all-time great.
(via Wisden.)
But add 235 wickets at 34.03 in three styles—seam/swing, orthodox and wrist-spin—together with 109 catches and you have the complete cricketer.
If his captaincy wasn’t as peerless as other elements of his game, it probably had something to do with that gambler’s instinct and unflinching belief in his own ability to conjure something out of nothing.
This trait tended to offer opponents a chance, most notably when two declarations at Queen’s Park Oval in 1968 helped England to the lone victory in a series, which signalled the start of the decline of the great West Indies side of the 1960s.
(Copyright Getty Images.)
Sobers was the first to hit six sixes in an over in a proper competitive match, and compiled 254 for a Rest of the World XI at Melbourne in 1972, which Sir Donald Bradman described as the finest innings seen in Australia.
As an 18-year-old makeshift opener, he took on the fearsome Aussie duo of Lindwall and Miller in 1955. The highlights are never-ending.
For many who saw him in his prime, he remains the greatest batsman they ever laid eyes on. Their only regret was that his many other gifts deflected attention from batsmanship of power, panache and steely determination, when necessary, which made even the very best around him look decidedly ordinary.
(via Hindustan Times.)
One who did see him at his best, the outstanding English writer Neville Cardus, offered this appreciation in the aftermath of the 1966 series, when Sobers topped the batting and bowling as captain in the five-match series in England:
“He is, in fact, more famous than Bradman ever was; for he is accomplished in every department of the game, and has exhibited his genius in all climes and conditions.
“[…] We can safely agree that no player has proven versatility of skill as convincingly as Sobers has done, effortlessly, and after the manner born.”
Next: We start our focus on the 1975 West Indies 14-man World Cup squad.
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Fazeer Mohammed is a journalist/broadcaster with almost 40 years’ experience across a range of media.
His interest in cricket, and particularly its history, started at home via his father’s small collection of autobiographies and magazines, offering perspectives and context which have informed his commentary and analysis on contemporary issues in the game.
