Legendary West Indies cricketer Garfield Sobers dies at 89

• West Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers, widely regarded as cricket’s one of the greatest all-rounders, passed away on July 17. He was 89.

• Sobers was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, in 1936.

• He began his career in 1954 against England in Kingston, Jamaica, scoring 40 runs across two innings and picking four wickets.

• Sobers played 93 Tests and scored 8,032 runs at 57.78 with 26 centuries and 30 half-centuries between March 1954 to April 1974. 

• A left-handed batter, who also could also bowl left-arm pace and spin, Sobers claimed 235 wickets in Test cricket at an average of 34.03. 

• The very first of Sobers’ 26 hundreds was a then-world record 365 not out against Pakistan, an innings during which he overtook Len Hutton’s 364 in February 1958.

• It stood as the highest individual Test score for 36 years.

• Sobers was present when his fellow West Indian Brian Lara broke his record against England in 1994 in Antigua.

• Sobers also scored 30 half-centuries and took six five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.

• He was also the first-ever batter to have hit six sixes in an over in First-Class cricket, playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan in 1968.

• He played an overall 383 First-Class matches, scoring 28,314 runs with 86 centuries and 121 fifties at 54.87, and also took 1,043 wickets.

• He was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975 for his services to cricket and named one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Century in 2000.

• Since 2004, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy has been awarded annually by the ICC, honouring the Men’s Cricketer of the Year. The award recognises the most outstanding performer in men’s international cricket.

• In 2009, Sobers was inducted as an inaugural member of the ICC Hall of Fame.