A cricketer touched with genius has left the crease

Last Friday, July 17, news filtered through at the Oval that Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers had died, aged 89. A few days earlier, I had wondered about the state of his declining health. It was a sad moment.

Along with many others, I am certain beyond doubt that he was the finest all-round cricketer that I have ever seen. In his case, all-rounder meant that he was worth his place on the strength of both his batting and his bowling. He did both as a left-hander and could bowl left arm pace with swing and then turn into a left arm spinner, deploying either finger or wrist spin. His fielding close to the wicket was superb in its anticipation and cat-like in its agility. His body language spelt grace, elegance and languidity.

Unsurprisingly, there has been an outpouring of obituaries and tributes. There is a common theme running through them, not just about his cricketing greatness but also his personality and love of life away from the pitch. Ever since September 1959, he carried the memory of the death of his best friend, Collie Smith, in a car accident in which Sobers was the driver. It was early morning on the way from Lancashire, where both were playing league cricket, to a charity match in London. At first, the collision with a cattle truck had seemed to generate only minor injuries, but Smith had received spinal injuries which soon proved fatal.

Sobers was so traumatized that his drinking and gambling increased. Thankfully, he pulled around and became dedicated to playing for both himself and Smith. Prior to the incident, Sobers’ talent had already been etched into the record books. On March 1, 1958, he scored an unbeaten 365 against Pakistan in a Test match in Kingston, Jamaica, breaking the previous world Test