Gary Sobers turns 88 today-greatest ever cricketer?

[Harsh Thakor]

Sir Garfield St.Aubrun Sobers attained cricketing immortality, transcending boundaries no cricketer ever scaled in terms of all round cricketing skill, and art. Sobers could turn the complexion of match in all departments 360 degrees. For sheer aestheticism possibly no one surpassed Sobers in the world of sport.

On July 28^th, Sobers celebrates 88^th birthday. Sobers was born, with six fingers in each hand. He played his first serious cricket match with 11 digits.

Sobers possessed at least three strokes for any ball. According to Barry Richards, Sobers was “the only 360-degree player in the game” — from his backlift to follow-through, the bat traversed a perfect and complete circle.

.His style was based on the solid mastery of his back foot in perfect level with the off stump, telling him which balls could be left alone and which had to be played. His majestic drives through the off-side and his cuts, pulls and hooks, took aggression to its watermark  but was still refined.

Sobers possessed an unparalleled variety as a bowler, bowling fast, fast-medium, spin and chinaman. He could be even faster than Wes Hall, with bouncer more difficult to pick since it involved no change in his action. His natural ball was the inswinger, which   moved a long way. His outswinger could straighten or leave the bat just enough to nick an edge.

As a fielder, Sobers was brilliant in the slips, and razor fast in the covers, but it was at backward short leg and leg-slip that he revealed flexibility of a gymnast. .

 

 

Evaluation of Gary Sobers

 

Gary Sobers ended his test career scoring 8032 runs at an average of 57.78 and captured 235 wickets at an average of 34.03., in 93 tests. He also took 109 catches. Adding unofficial games for rest of the world Sobers scored 8620 runs at 58,63, and captured 256 wickets at 33.01.In terms of pure averages he is the best ever allrounder , but is superseded by Jacques Kallis,in terms of runs and wickets aggregate. Kallis has taken 292 wickets at 32. 65 and scored 13,289 runs at 55.37. In addition Kallis has 273 ODI scalps and 11,579 runs.  

 

In first class cricket Sobers aggregated 28,314 runs, scoring 86 centuries, averaging a remarkable 54.87.He also captured 1043 wickets at an average of 27.74.It must be noted that Sobers played highly competitive country cricket in Australia for Sheffield Shield and in England for Nottinghamshire.

To me, figures do not illustrate Sobers’s towering supremacy over other contemporaries, or extent to which he was head and shoulders above any allrounder,in test cricketing history.

In peak periods possibly Ian Botham ,Imran Khan  and Keith Miller could be as explosive match-winners, but overall never challenged Sobers’s phenomenal consistency  of impact . Arguably, at peak all three were closest to Sobers.

Praiseworthy that Sobers averaged 77.42 in games won and scored 12 centuries. He captured 104 wickets at an average of around 24 in tests won, which is also remarkable. In both departments he has outclassed modern giant Jacques Kallis, as a pure match-winner. Kallis had better allround statistics but could not turn the complexion of game like Sobers. To date Sobers is the only allrounder ever to score 300 runs and take 20 wickets in a test series on 3 occasions.

In his peak period Sobers took all-round cricketing supremacy to regions unparalleled. From 1961 to 1968, Sobers scored 3,106 runs at 63.38 with 9 hundreds and captured 125 wickets at 27.93 with every type of bowling with 5 five-fors. During this period he held 60 catches as well. All this accomplished in just 33 Tests.

Sobers  is  a strong candidate for the 2^nd best test batsmen of all time, to Bradman, when you compare his batting average or consistency  to that of Brian Lara, or even Sachin Tendulkar. Both the Chappell brothers, Ian and Greg, rate him the best batsmen they ever saw. Sobers dealt with truly great bowlers like Alan Davidson , Fred Trueman or  Subash Gupte,. From the 1958 Kingston test against Pakistan till the end of his career, Sobers scored 7,176 runs in 77 Tests at 62.94 with 26 hundreds.

Sobers does not have an outstanding bowling average like Imran or Hadlee,or  Botham or Kapil Dev’s staggering haul. However we must remember again that in peak era he average around 27, capturing 4 wickets per test. Strike rates were also comparatively low in that period and Sobers had to compete with the likes of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths. Sobers could bowl almost as fast and effectively as Wasim Akram and Alan Davidson .

When ranking 100 greatest ever cricketers , John Woodcock, Cristopher Martin Jenkins rate him in 3^rd place to Bradman and WG Grace, while  David Gower places him only next to Bradman. In Richard Sydenham’s books of all-time team selections by former cricketers Sobers won 73 votes for a place in the all time XI, 20 more than Bradman. In test cricket, I rate Sobers the best cricketer ever, who could as an allround cricketer morally turn the complexion of the game than Bradman could do as a batsman.

What went against Sobers was his record as a Skipper. He lost series as captain, at home against England in 1967-68, in Australia in 1968-69 and at home against India in 1970. Sobers won only 3 series as a skipper out of a total of nine in which he lead his country. Still commendable that he averaged close to 59; in the 39 tests he led West Indies.

I recommend all to read Gary Sobers with Brian Scovell, Trevor Bailey’s biography of Sobers,” CLR James in ‘Beyond a Boundary ‘ and Henry Blofelds’s tribute in book ‘My Greatest entertainers

[Kron]

2 minutes ago, Harsh Thakor said:

Sir Garfield St.Aubrun Sobers attained cricketing immortality, transcending boundaries no cricketer ever scaled in terms of all round cricketing skill, and art. Sobers could turn the complexion of match in all departments 360 degrees. For sheer aestheticism possibly no one surpassed Sobers in the world of sport.

On July 28^th, Sobers celebrates 88^th birthday. Sobers was born, with six fingers in each hand. He played his first serious cricket match with 11 digits.

 

 

 

Sobers possessed at least three strokes for any ball. According to Barry Richards, Sobers was “the only 360-degree player in the game” — from his backlift to follow-through, the bat traversed a perfect and complete circle.

.His style was based on the solid mastery of his back foot in perfect level with the off stump, telling him which balls could be left alone and which had to be played. His majestic drives through the off-side and his cuts, pulls and hooks, took aggression to its watermark  but was still refined.

Sobers possessed an unparalleled variety as a bowler, bowling fast, fast-medium, spin and chinaman. He could be even faster than Wes Hall, with bouncer more difficult to pick since it involved no change in his action. His natural ball was the inswinger, which   moved a long way. His outswinger could straighten or leave the bat just enough to nick an edge.

As a fielder, Sobers was brilliant in the slips, and razor fast in the covers, but it was at backward short leg and leg-slip that he revealed flexibility of a gymnast. .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluation of Gary Sobers

 

 

 

 

 

Gary Sobers ended his test career scoring 8032 runs at an average of 57.78 and captured 235 wickets at an average of 34.03., in 93 tests. He also took 109 catches. Adding unofficial games for rest of the world Sobers scored 8620 runs at 58,63, and captured 256 wickets at 33.01.In terms of pure averages he is the best ever allrounder , but is superseded by Jacques Kallis,in terms of runs and wickets aggregate. Kallis has taken 292 wickets at 32. 65 and scored 13,289 runs at 55.37. In addition Kallis has 273 ODI scalps and 11,579 runs.  

 

 

 

 

 

In first class cricket Sobers aggregated 28,314 runs, scoring 86 centuries, averaging a remarkable 54.87.He also captured 1043 wickets at an average of 27.74.It must be noted that Sobers played highly competitive country cricket in Australia for Sheffield Shield and in England for Nottinghamshire.

 

 

To me, figures do not illustrate Sobers’s towering supremacy over other contemporaries, or extent to which he was head and shoulders above any allrounder,in test cricketing history.

 

 

In peak periods possibly Ian Botham ,Imran Khan  and Keith Miller could be as explosive match-winners, but overall never challenged Sobers’s phenomenal consistency  of impact . Arguably, at peak all three were closest to Sobers.

 

 

Praiseworthy that Sobers averaged 77.42 in games won and scored 12 centuries. He captured 104 wickets at an average of around 24 in tests won, which is also remarkable. In both departments he has outclassed modern giant Jacques Kallis, as a pure match-winner. Kallis had better allround statistics but could not turn the complexion of game like Sobers. To date Sobers is the only allrounder ever to score 300 runs and take 20 wickets in a test series on 3 occasions.

 

 

In his peak period Sobers took all-round cricketing supremacy to regions unparalleled. From 1961 to 1968, Sobers scored 3,106 runs at 63.38 with 9 hundreds and captured 125 wickets at 27.93 with every type of bowling with 5 five-fors. During this period he held 60 catches as well. All this accomplished in just 33 Tests.

 

 

Sobers  is  a strong candidate for the 2^nd best test batsmen of all time, to Bradman, when you compare his batting average or consistency  to that of Brian Lara, or even Sachin Tendulkar. Both the Chappell brothers, Ian and Greg, rate him the best batsmen they ever saw. Sobers dealt with truly great bowlers like Alan Davidson , Fred Trueman or  Subash Gupte,. From the 1958 Kingston test against Pakistan till the end of his career, Sobers scored 7,176 runs in 77 Tests at 62.94 with 26 hundreds.

 

 

Sobers does not have an outstanding bowling average like Imran or Hadlee,or  Botham or Kapil Dev’s staggering haul. However we must remember again that in peak era he average around 27, capturing 4 wickets per test. Strike rates were also comparatively low in that period and Sobers had to compete with the likes of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths. Sobers could bowl almost as fast and effectively as Wasim Akram and Alan Davidson .

 

 

When ranking 100 greatest ever cricketers , John Woodcock, Cristopher Martin Jenkins rate him in 3^rd place to Bradman and WG Grace, while  David Gower places him only next to Bradman. In Richard Sydenham’s books of all-time team selections by former cricketers Sobers won 73 votes for a place in the all time XI, 20 more than Bradman. In test cricket, I rate Sobers the best cricketer ever, who could as an allround cricketer morally turn the complexion of the game than Bradman could do as a batsman.

 

 

What went against Sobers was his record as a Skipper. He lost series as captain, at home against England in 1967-68, in Australia in 1968-69 and at home against India in 1970. Sobers won only 3 series as a skipper out of a total of nine in which he lead his country. Still commendable that he averaged close to 59; in the 39 tests he led West Indies.

 

 

I recommend all to read Gary Sobers with Brian Scovell, Trevor Bailey’s biography of Sobers,” CLR James in ‘Beyond a Boundary ‘ and Henry Blofelds’s tribute in book ‘My Greatest entertainers

Greatest ever for sure

 

But hey man harsh, 

 

Can you do an article for bumrah by any chance? 

[Gollum]

Greatest ever

[Chakdephatte]

Greatest for sure. 

Bradman's numbers might be made-up. 

[Gollum]

Statistically others may have surpassed him, but he is a Rod Laver kind of figure in our sport. 

[nevada]

All these staggering stats while partying hard and coming back to his room in the early hours of the day! He would finish off games early so he could go to the racing track. Sobers is a freak of nature and there won't be another like him. I doubt any other cricketer would even live as long with that kind of lifestyle let alone manage to do so well on the field. 

[zen]

The Greatest!

 

[The Hound]

I read at a young age he was involved in a brutal car accident which killed his best friend and a fellow WI test cricketer Collie Smith. Sobers was driving the car and for any other individual the mental block of this would've finished his sanity let alone a career in cricket. 

[Ultimate_Game]

Probably 2nd greatest cricketer after Bradman

[AKane]

See this story of Wadekar and Sobers - he saw Wadekar before his debut playing in the nets with torn shoes, asked him his shoe size and at night dropped off a pair of new shoes at his Mumbai home himself. Amazing.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-ADupLmT0o

 

[Chaos]

43 minutes ago, AKane said:

See this story of Wadekar and Sobers - he saw Wadekar before his debut playing in the nets with torn shoes, asked him his shoe size and at night dropped off a pair of new shoes at his Mumbai home himself. Amazing.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-ADupLmT0o

 

great story. Then they had $ n our board was piss poor and so players lacked formal decent gear (read in kapils memoir). Now wi r poor n we making them loaded with ipl n our cwi leagues. They say what goes around comes around” - karma

[AKane]

13 minutes ago, Chaos said:

great story. Then they had $ n our board was piss poor and so players lacked formal decent gear (read in kapils memoir). Now wi r poor n we making them loaded with ipl n our cwi leagues. They say what goes around comes around” - karma

Some WI islands are poor - like Jamaica. Guyana is poor too.

 

Trinidad and Barbados are not poor.

 

That poor excuse of the WI does not really fly - it is basically a current lack of talent.

[Chaos]

4 hours ago, AKane said:

Some WI islands are poor - like Jamaica. Guyana is poor too.

 

Trinidad and Barbados are not poor.

 

That poor excuse of the WI does not really fly - it is basically a current lack of talent.

been there way too many times, weary piss poor once u get our of 5 star resorts.

[AKane]

4 hours ago, Chaos said:

been there way too many times, weary piss poor once u get our of 5 star resorts.

I have been there too - go to Barbados and Trinidad - per capita in Barbados is  21000+  and Trinidad is 19000. This is nominal not PPP.  That is not poor.

 

Comparatively Jamaica is 7000. Much poorer.

 

Guyana has struck oil in 2019 and is "now" richer but I have never been there.

Edited July 30, 2024 by AKane