{"id":194305,"date":"2026-07-17T19:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T01:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194305"},"modified":"2026-07-17T19:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T01:11:11","slug":"west-indies-legend-garry-sobers-passes-away-at-age-89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194305","title":{"rendered":"West Indies legend Garry Sobers passes away at age 89"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Garry Sobers was born with two extra fingers \u2014 one on each hand. He removed them himself as a boy, using catgut and a sharp knife.<\/p>\n

Sobers would go on to become the most complete cricketer to play the game. A graceful and destructive left-handed batsman, \u200ba left-arm bowler equally skilled at delivering pace and spin, and a brilliant fielder in any position, Sobers was named one of the five leading cricketers of the 20th century \u200cby the sport\u2019s Wisden Almanack.<\/p>\n

He came second only to prolific Australian batsman Don Bradman, who himself said of the player in \u200b1988: \u201cI\u2019ve got no hesitation at all in saying that Garry Sobers is the greatest all-round cricketer I ever saw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his achievements, \u2060Sobers often played down the importance of his natural talent. \u201cPeople call me a genius. I don\u2019t know much about geniuses,\u201d he said late in his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I do believe that what I achieved was not just because of the ability that I was born with but also because I worked hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has died aged 89, West Indies Cricket announced on \u200cFriday. No cause was given.<\/p>\n

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A great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers. \ud83d\udda4\ud83c\udfcf pic.twitter.com\/bv2MO1SJgz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018LILLIPUTIAN CRICKET\u2019<\/h4>\n

Garfield St Aubrun Sobers was born in St Michael, Barbados, on July 28, 1936, the fifth of six children of Shamont and Thelma Sobers.<\/p>\n

His father, a seaman working in the Canadian merchant navy, died when German forces sank the boat on \u200cwhich he was serving. Garfield was five years old.<\/p>\n

His mother rose to the task of raising the children by herself. \u201cShe did whatever she had to \u200cdo \u2060and looked after us tremendously well,\u201d Sobers wrote in his autobiography.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to school, we were clean, we had shoes on our \u2060feet and food in our bellies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sobers excelled at many sports, including soccer and basketball, but cricket was his passion. His first memories of the sport were of playing in the road or on the beach, aged eight.<\/p>\n

At first he played \u201cLilliputian cricket\u201d, which required little space and a wicket less than half the normal size. The ball would be fashioned from a lump of tar, the \u200bbat from a piece of fence.<\/p>\n

If the sun melted the tar \u200cball, a rock wrapped in cloth would serve as a replacement.<\/p>\n

When the West Indies team toured India in 1948, and England two years later, Sobers listened in awe to the radio commentaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo a young boy from a humble background, this was something magical,\u201d he recalled in his autobiography. \u201cIt was a wondrous thing to think that if I could develop my skills enough, I might have that same opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sobers made his first-class debut for Barbados at 16.<\/p>\n

He \u200cplayed his first test for West Indies in 1954. At 21, he scored his maiden hundred against Pakistan, finishing on 365 not out, then \u200bthe highest individual test innings.<\/p>\n

He remains the youngest test triple-centurion.<\/p>\n

\u2018HE\u2019S DONE IT!\u2019<\/h4>\n

Sobers took over as West Indies captain in 1965, before joining English County Nottinghamshire. He was batting for them in 1968 when he became the first player to hit six sixes in \u2060one over in first-class cricket.<\/p>\n

Glamorgan medium-pacer Malcolm Nash was the unfortunate bowler as Sobers launched his first four deliveries out of the ground before he was caught in the deep off the fifth.<\/p>\n

In taking the catch, however, the fielder fell on to the boundary rope. The umpire ruled that the ball was over the line and \u200csignalled a six.<\/p>\n

Sobers coolly struck the next delivery over the East Terrace of St Helen\u2019s, the Welsh cricket ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he\u2019s done it! He\u2019s done it! And my goodness, it\u2019s gone … way down to Swansea!\u201d exclaimed radio commentator Wilf Wooller.<\/p>\n

Sobers preferred to focus on how his innings had helped his team win the match.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix sixes are not good cricket,\u201d he said after his feat received worldwide acclaim. \u201cIt was an occasion where we were looking for quick runs. The idea was to try and get as many runs as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecords must not be the focus and that\u2019s the most important thing,\u201d he added. \u201cIt mustn\u2019t come at the cost of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 383 first-class matches, Sobers made more than 28,000 runs and took more than 1,000 wickets.<\/p>\n

\u2018I WASN\u2019T BOTHERED\u2019<\/h4>\n

In 1970, he played cricket in apartheid Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), generating an \u200cinternational backlash.<\/p>\n

Sobers was particularly condemned in the Caribbean, where calls grew for him to be sacked as West Indies captain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had not realised the deep feelings of the West Indian people \u200bin this issue of Rhodesia,\u201d he reacted in a letter to the West Indies Cricket Board. \u201cIf I had known or thought of these matters, I would never have gone to Rhodesia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sobers retained the captaincy.<\/p>\n

From the Sportstar archive: Interviews with Sir Garfield Sobers<\/h4>\n