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Sobers dies at 89
Cricket West Indies announced that Sir Garfield Sobers died aged 89 on Friday, with the message: “A great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers.”
“Garfield 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 died”
The Guardian said Sobers died at his home in Barbados only 11 days shy of his 90th birthday, and it described him as the West Indies cricketer widely regarded as the finest all-rounder in the sport’s history.
Born Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers on July 28, 1936, he played 93 Test matches for the West Indies from 1954 to 1974, scoring 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78 and taking 235 wickets at 34.03.
The Guardian recalled that he 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.
In 1958, Sobers made an unbeaten 365 against Pakistan at Sabina Park in Jamaica, a record that stood for 36 years until Brian Lara made 375 against England in 1994.
Tributes and quoted praise
Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley paid tribute to Sobers in a post on social media and said that Friday has been declared a day of national mourning, with flags flown at half-mast and no official functions taking place.
Kishore Shallow, president of Cricket West Indies, said: “Sir Garfield Sobers was the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen.”
The Guardian reported that Richie Benaud once described Sobers as “the greatest all-round cricketer the world has seen,” and it quoted Benaud’s assessment of Sobers as “a bowler of extraordinary skill”.
Sobers also spoke to The Guardian in 2002 about Brian Lara breaking his record, saying: “Go out and do it, man.”
The BBC framed Sobers as “the ultimate all-round sportsman,” describing how he could bowl left-arm fast-medium and later switch to orthodox left-arm spin or left-arm wrist-spin.
Legacy and what endures
The Guardian said Sobers was knighted for his services to cricket by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975, with the investiture taking place at the Garrison Racecourse in Barbados.
“Barbados cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers dies at 89 Key Points(5) - The cricket world is mourning the death of Barbados National Hero and legendary all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, who passed away on Friday at the age of 89”
It also noted that Sobers was named one of the country’s 11 National Heroes by an Act of Parliament in 1998, and it said his death marks the end of an era for West Indies cricket.
The BBC said Sobers was rightly chosen as one of the leading five cricketers of the 20th century and described his Test career as spanning 20 years, while also emphasizing his record-making 365 not out and his six-sixes-in-an-over feat.
Al Jazeera added that Sobers held a world-record Test innings of 365 not out as a 21-year-old and said he captained West Indies in 39 Tests between 1965 and 1972.
In the Guardian’s account of his record, it said the 365 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.
