Cricketing great Garry Sobers no more
Sports Desk
Garry Sobers, the graceful West Indian cricketer whose world-record test innings of 365 not out as a 21-year-old set him on the path to becoming arguably the sport’s greatest allrounder, has passed away. He was 89.
West Indies Cricket announced his passing on Friday without providing a cause of death.
“A great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers,” it said in a post on X.
Born in Bridgetown, Barbados, with an extra finger on each hand, Sobers hit 26 test centuries and had a test average of 57.78 from batting that was both elegant and powerful. He was also a versatile bowler, dangerous with both wrist-spin and fast-medium deliveries.
Sobers held a slew of records. His unbeaten 365 against Pakistan in 1958 — remarkably his first test century — was the record score for 36 years, before countryman Brian Lara bettered it. He also was the first player to reach 8,000 runs in test cricket and to hit six sixes in one over in a first-class game.
