{"id":194357,"date":"2026-07-18T00:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T06:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194357"},"modified":"2026-07-18T00:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T06:18:18","slug":"michael-holding-pays-tribute-to-garry-sobers-calls-him-crickets-greatest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194357","title":{"rendered":"Michael Holding pays tribute to Garry Sobers, calls him cricket\u2019s greatest"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

The late Garry Sobers \u201cstood out\u201d even among cricket\u2019s greats but remained humble despite his standing in the game, former West Indies bowler Michael Holding told AFP<\/i> on Friday.<\/p>\n

The Barbados-born Sobers, who has died at the age of 89, featured in 93 Tests between 1954 and 1974, amassing 8,032 runs and taking 235 wickets.<\/p>\n

Holding, 72, never played with Sobers but said he was struck by the way he was revered in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong the great cricketers he stood out,\u201d the former paceman told AFP<\/i> by phone from his Cayman Islands home.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at his numbers, and they are impressive, but he too was impressive. I know other cricketers whose numbers are good but who I would not be impressed by.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holding, who was part of a fearsome West Indies pace attack in the 1970s and 1980s, said, “People who played against him said he was number one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIan Chappell, whom I saw on a regular basis when we worked for Channel 9<\/i> in Australia, said, \u2018Mikey do not worry about the question, Is Garry Sobers the best all-rounder? He was more than that\u2014he was the best cricketer that ever lived.’<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are big words coming from someone who was a former Australian captain and lived in Australia, the country that Don Bradman came from.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ: West Indies legend Garry Sobers passes away at age 89<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Holding, who took 249 wickets in 60 Tests, said he had enjoyed Sobers\u2019 company.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was always good to be around Sir Garry,\u201d he said. \u201cOne thing I noticed is he never spoke about himself. There are so many cricketers who do and start with \u2018In my time.’<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did not like to talk about the game a lot unless he was asked a question. He was a very humble man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sobers averaged an impressive 57.78 with the bat and 34.03 with the ball in Test cricket.<\/p>\n

He also captained West Indies in 39 Tests between 1965 and 1972, winning nine and losing 10.<\/p>\n

And his career was littered with extraordinary feats.<\/p>\n

In 1958 he broke Len Hutton\u2019s record for the highest individual Test score by making 365 not out against Pakistan, a mark that stood for 36 years.<\/p>\n

He was also the first player to hit six sixes in an over in a First Class match when he played for English county Nottinghamshire.<\/p>\n

Holding said that while Sobers may have inspired young West Indians to take up the game, they would have been crazy to imagine it was possible to emulate him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody could do what he did. If you did try, you would fall flat on your face,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could look up at him on the pedestal and be proud he is from the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Published on Jul 18, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The late Garry Sobers \u201cstood out\u201d even among cricket\u2019s greats but remained humble despite his standing in the game, former West Indies bowler Michael Holding told AFP on Friday. The Barbados-born Sobers, who has died at the age of 89, featured in 93 Tests between 1954 and 1974, amassing 8,032 runs and taking 235 wickets….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HSP175280.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":194233,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194233","url_meta":{"origin":194357,"position":0},"title":"Tributes pour in post passing away of cricket legend Sir Garfield “Garry” Sobers","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Tributes have poured in from across the world after the death of Sir Garfield \u201cGarry\u201d Sobers, with players, administrators, teams and boards describing his passing as an \u201cirreplaceable loss\u201d and celebrating him as one of the sport\u2019s greatest icons. Cricket West Indies led the tributes, posting: \u201cA great innings has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":194823,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194823","url_meta":{"origin":194357,"position":1},"title":"Cricket\u2019s original triple threat – Sportstar","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Garry Sobers played for West Indies, his home island of Barbados, Nottinghamshire and South Australia. | Photo Credit: Satish Acharya Garry Sobers played for West Indies, his home island of Barbados, Nottinghamshire and South Australia. | Photo Credit: Satish Acharya Source link","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/July20second202026-Sportstar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/July20second202026-Sportstar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/July20second202026-Sportstar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/July20second202026-Sportstar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/July20second202026-Sportstar.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":194261,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194261","url_meta":{"origin":194357,"position":2},"title":"\u2018The greatest cricketer of all time\u2019 \u2014 When Don Bradman paid tribute to Sir Garfield Sobers","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Garry Sobers, arguably the greatest all rounder of all time, has died aged 89 West Indies Cricket announced on Friday. \u201cA great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers,\u201d West Indies Cricket posted on X above a photograph of him titled \u2018Legend.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Sobers_Obit_39_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Sobers_Obit_39_1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Sobers_Obit_39_1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Sobers_Obit_39_1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Sobers_Obit_39_1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":194907,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194907","url_meta":{"origin":194357,"position":3},"title":"Brian Lara calls for celebration of \u2018father figure\u2019 Garry Sobers","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Brian Lara has urged the \u201cwhole of the Caribbean\u201d to celebrate Garry Sobers following the death of the West Indies legend. Sobers, widely regarded as cricket\u2019s most outstanding all-rounder, died aged 89 on Friday, sparking a flood of tributes from all over the world. Among his many achievements, Sobers\u2019s 365\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/LARA.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/LARA.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/LARA.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/LARA.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/LARA.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":194305,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194305","url_meta":{"origin":194357,"position":4},"title":"West Indies legend Garry Sobers passes away at age 89","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"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. 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HS4886.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HS4886.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HS4886.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HS4886.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HS4886.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":194539,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194539","url_meta":{"origin":194357,"position":5},"title":"Kapil Dev: Many cricketers will emerge, few will entertain like Garry Sobers","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Legendary Sir Garfield Sobers was a trend-setting revolutionary who altered cricketers\u2019 mindset and approach to the sport, reckoned former India skipper Kapil Dev. Sobers, 89, died at his home in Barbados on Friday. During an illustrious career, the West Indian had amassed 8032 runs in 93 Tests at an average\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-18T192502.836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-18T192502.836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-18T192502.836.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-18T192502.836.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-18T192502.836.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgnRh4-OyN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=194357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/194358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=194357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=194357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=194357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}