Sir Garfield Sobers no more

Saturday, 18 July 2026 05:53 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sir Garfield Sobers

Sir Garfield Sobers, the great West Indies cricketer widely regarded as the finest all-rounder in the sport’s history, has died aged 89. His passing at his home in Barbados only 11 days shy of his 90th birthday was announced by Cricket West Indies on Friday, with the simple line: “A great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers.”

Sobers was the first batter to hit six sixes in an over when playing for Nottinghamshire at Glamorgan’s St Helen’s ground in Swansea in 1968. But it was just one of many feats in an illustrious career that saw him play 93 Test matches for West Indies – including 39 as captain – from 1954 to 1974.

From a humble background, Sobers made his Test debut for West Indies aged 17 in 1954 against Len Hutton’s England at Sabina Park in Jamaica.

His maiden Test century against Pakistan at the same ground in 1958 secured his place in history early: an unbeaten 365 that set the record for the highest individual Test score. It stood for 36 years until Brian Lara’s 375 against England in Antigua broke it in 1994, with Sobers at the ground to congratulate him.

Overall, the left-handed Sobers scored 8,032 Test runs at an average of 57.78 – the fourth-highest average in history among players with over 5,000 runs – and took 235 wickets at 34.03. In 383 first-class matches, he scored more than 28,000 runs and took more than 1,000 wickets, including time with South Australia and Nottinghamshire.