The West Indies legend, who represented the side from 1954 to 1974 in the international arena, passed away at his home in Barbados two weeks before his 90th birthday. He played 93 Test matches for West Indies and left a strong mark on the game through his batting, bowling and fielding.
Sobers was survived by his sons Daniel and Matthew, and his adopted daughter Genevieve. He was knighted in 1975 and captained the national team in 39 matches.
A dynamic left-hander, he scored 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78, with 26 centuries and 30 half-centuries. His unbeaten 365 against Pakistan in 1958 stood as the world record for the highest individual Test score for 36 years.
He also took 235 Test wickets at 34.03 and held 109 catches. Sobers bowled left-arm fast-medium pace, off-spin and wrist spin, and was the first player to hit six sixes in a first-class over.
Sunil Gavaskar once said of him: “The greatest allrounder that I saw was Sir Garfield Sobers because he was quite simply somebody who could change the game with the bat; he could change the game with the ball. He could change the game by taking an incredible catch close in or even in the outfield," He added: “But that impact that he had and the number of matches he turned with both bat and ball is the reason why he was the greatest allrounder that I have ever seen."
In 2004, the International Cricket Council formed a panel consisting of Gavaskar, Richie Benaud and Michael Holding to select an individual to honour cricket’s ultimate individual award, the ICC Player of the Year, and they chose Sobers. The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy was born.
