Sir Garfield "Garry" Sobers, legendary cricketer who excelled in batting, bowling and fielding, died at the age of 89, just two weeks ahead of his 90th birthday.
The Barbadian cricketer, who played for the West Indies team from 1954 to 1974, scored 8,032 runs from 93 Test matches. He also scored more than 28,000 runs and took 1,000-plus wickets from 383 first-class matches.
Among cricketers with more than 5,000 runs, he has the fifth highest batting average in Test cricket at 57.78. He was also the first to hit six sixes in a single over of six consecutive balls in a first-class match.
His batting achievements also include 26 centuries and 30 half-centuries. Sobers recorded his highest-ever score of 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958. This record was broken only in 1994 when Brian Lara hit a 375.
Sobers who originally played as a bowler had 235 wickets in his kitty at an average of 34.03. The left-arm bowler is versatile as he effortlessly took wickets from fast and slow balls.
The legendary player was knighted for his cricketing achievements in 1975. Sobers was named one of the 11 National Heroes of Barbados in 1998. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.
