A dark-skinned man wearing a suit, smiles at the camera. A few people are seen at the back
Sobers held the record for the second highest number of centuries in Test cricket at the time of his retirement.[1]

Sir Garfield Sobers (also known as Gary or Garry Sobers) is a former international cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1954 and 1974. He scored centuries (100 or more runs in an innings) on 26 occasions. Widely acknowledged as the "greatest all-rounder",[1][2][3] he was described by Australian cricketer Don Bradman as a "five-in-one cricketer".[N 1] In 93 Tests, Sobers scored 8,032 runs—at a batting average of 57.78—and claimed 235 wickets.[3] He held the record for most runs by a player in Test cricket until 1981.[N 2] Sobers was named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1964, and one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century in 2000.[6] He entered into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame when the International Cricket Council (ICC) formally inducted him alongside 55 initial inductees in 2009.[7]

Sobers made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1954. He scored his first century (365 not out) against the same team during the third Test of the 1957–58 home series. In the event, he became the youngest player to complete a triple century.[8] Sobers' innings remained the highest individual score in Test cricket for 36 years until it was transcended by Brian Lara in 1994;[9] the innings, however, remains the highest maiden century for a player in Tests.[10] In the fourth Test of the same series, Sobers went on to score centuries in both the innings; he ended up scoring 824 runs at an average of 137.33 in the series.[11] In terms of centuries scored, he was most successful against England (10 centuries).[12] Sobers made scores of 150 or more in a Test match innings on thirteen occasions, and was dismissed five times between scores of 90 and 99.[13] As of March 2019, he has the third-highest number of centuries for West Indies in Tests.[14]

Sobers made his solitary One Day International (ODI) appearance in a match against England in September 1973;[15] he was dismissed for a duck.[15]

Key

Key
Symbol Meaning
* Remained not out
† Captained the West Indies cricket team
Pos. Position in the batting order
Inn. The innings of the match
Test The number of the Test match played in that series
H/A/N Venue was at home (West Indies), away or neutral
Date Date the match was held, or the starting date of match for Test matches
Lost The match was lost by West Indies
Won The match was won by West Indies
Drawn The match was drawn
Tied The match was tied

Test cricket centuries

List of Test centuries scored by Garfield Sobers[16]
No. Score Against Pos. Inn. Test Venue H/A/N Date Result Ref
1 365*  Pakistan 3 2 3/5 Sabina Park, Kingston Home 26 February 1958 Won [17]
2 125  Pakistan 2 2 4/5 Bourda, George Town Home 13 March 19581 Won [18]
3 109*  Pakistan 3 4 4/5 Bourda, George Town Home 13 March 19582 Won [18]
4 142*  India 1 3 1/5 Brabourne Stadium, Bombay Away 28 November 1958 Drawn [19]
5 198  India 4 3 2/5 Green Park Stadium, Kanpur Away 12 December 1958 Won [20]
6 106*  India 6 1 3/5 Eden Gardens, Calcutta Away 31 December 1958 Won [21]
7 226  England 4 2 1/5 Kensington Oval, Bridgetown Home 6 January 1960 Drawn [22]
8 147  England 4 2 3/5 Sabina Park, Kingston Home 17 February 1960 Drawn [23]
9 145  England 4 2 4/5 Bourda, George Town Home 9 March 1960 Drawn [24]
10 132  Australia 4 1 1/5 Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane Away 9 December 1960 Tied [25][N 3]
11 168  Australia 4 1 3/5 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Away 13 January 1961 Won [27]
12 153  India 5 2 2/5 Sabina Park, Kingston Home 7 March 1962 Won [28]
13 104  India 5 1 5/5 Sabina Park, Kingston Home 13 April 1962 Won [29]
14 102  England 6 1 4/6 Headingley, Leeds Away 25 July 1963 Won [30]
15 161 †  England 6 3 1/5 Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester Away 2 June 1966 Won [31]
16 163* †  England 6 1 2/5 Lord's Cricket Ground, London Away 16 June 1966 Drawn [32]
17 174 †  England 6 1 4/5 Headingley, Leeds Away 4 August 1966 Won [33]
18 113* †  England 6 3 2/5 Sabina Park, Kingston Home 8 February 1968 Drawn [34]
19 152 †  England 5 1 1/3 Bourda, George Town Home 28 March 1968 Drawn [35]
20 110 †  Australia 6 1 4/5 Adelaide Cricket Ground, Adelaide Away 24 January 1969 Drawn [36]
21 113 †  Australia 5 4 3/5 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Away 14 February 1969 Lost [37]
22 108* †  India 5 3 3/5 Bourda, George Town Home 19 March 1971 Drawn [38]
23 178* †  India 5 1 4/5 Kensington Oval, Bridgetown Home 1 April 1971 Drawn [39]
24 132 †  India 6 2 5/5 Queens Park Oval, Port of Spain Home 13 April 1971 Drawn [40]
25 142 †  New Zealand 7 3 3/5 Kensington Oval, Bridgetown Home 23 March 1972 Drawn [41]
26 150*  England 6 1 3/3 Lord's Cricket Ground, London Away 23 August 1973 Won [42]

Notes

  1. ^ In addition to batting and fielding, Sobers could bowl three different types of deliveries—left-arm seam and swing, slow left-arm orthodox and left-arm wrist spin.[4]
  2. ^ England's Geoffrey Boycott surpassed his record.[1][5]
  3. ^ As of 2013, this is the first of two occasions where a Test match ended in a tie.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gary Sobers: Cricket's greatest genius". Rediff.com. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Sobers' sporting tales". BBC Sport. 28 May 2002. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Sir Garry Sobers – profile". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  4. ^ S, Rajesh (13 December 2010). "An allrounder like no other". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  5. ^ Finlay, Ric (29 October 2008). "Record-holders for most number of Test runs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  6. ^ "How they were chosen, 2000 – Five cricketers of the century". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. 2000. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  7. ^ "Hanif, Imran and Miandad in ICC Hall of Fame". Dawn. Pakistan. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  8. ^ "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Youngest player to score a triple hundred". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  9. ^ "There it is... for the first time – Lara scales a mountain". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Highest maiden hundred". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  11. ^ "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Most runs in a series". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  12. ^ "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Most hundreds against one team". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Most nineties in career". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  14. ^ "Records / Test matches / Batting records / Most hundreds in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  15. ^ a b "Statistics / Statsguru / GS Sobers / One-Day Internationals / Match by match list". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  16. ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / GS Sobers / Test matches / Hundreds". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  17. ^ "3rd Test: West Indies v Pakistan at Kingston, Feb 26 – Mar 4, 1958". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  18. ^ a b "4th Test: West Indies v Pakistan at Georgetown, Mar 13–19, 1958". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  19. ^ "1st Test: India v West Indies at Mumbai (BS), Nov 28 – Dec 3, 1958". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  20. ^ "2nd Test: India v West Indies at Kanpur, Dec 12–17, 1958". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  21. ^ "3rd Test: India v West Indies at Kolkata, Dec 31, 1958 – Jan 4, 1959". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  22. ^ "1st Test: West Indies v England at Bridgetown, Jan 6–12, 1960". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  23. ^ "3rd Test: West Indies v England at Kingston, Feb 17–23, 1960". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  24. ^ "4th Test: West Indies v England at Georgetown, Mar 9–15, 1960". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  25. ^ "1st Test: Australia v West Indies at Brisbane, Dec 9–14, 1960". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  26. ^ "The second tied Test". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  27. ^ "3rd Test: Australia v West Indies at Sydney, Jan 13–18, 1961". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  28. ^ "2nd Test: West Indies v India at Kingston, Mar 7–12, 1962". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  29. ^ "5th Test: West Indies v India at Kingston, Apr 13–18, 1962". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  30. ^ "4th Test: England v West Indies at Leeds, Jul 25–29, 1963". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  31. ^ "1st Test: England v West Indies at Manchester, Jun 2–4, 1966". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  32. ^ "2nd Test: England v West Indies at Lord's, Jun 16–21, 1966". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  33. ^ "4th Test: England v West Indies at Leeds, Aug 4–8, 1966". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  34. ^ "2nd Test: West Indies v England at Kingston, Feb 8–14, 1968". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  35. ^ "5th Test: West Indies v England at Georgetown, Mar 28 – Apr 3, 1968". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  36. ^ "4th Test: Australia v West Indies at Adelaide, Jan 24–29, 1969". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  37. ^ "5th Test: Australia v West Indies at Sydney, Feb 14–20, 1969". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  38. ^ "3rd Test: West Indies v India at Georgetown, Mar 19–24, 1971". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  39. ^ "4th Test: West Indies v India at Bridgetown, Apr 1–6, 1971". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  40. ^ "5th Test: West Indies v India at Port of Spain, Apr 13–19, 1971". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  41. ^ "3rd Test: West Indies v New Zealand at Bridgetown, Mar 23–28, 1972". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  42. ^ "3rd Test: England v West Indies at Lord's, Aug 23–27, 1973". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
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