Pakistan batter Babar Azam has paid tribute to West Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers, who passed away on Friday at the age of 89.
Taking to X, Babar wrote, “Cricket has lost one of its greatest. Sir Garfield Sobers didn’t just play the game he showed us what was possible in it. Generations have learned from his mastery and always will. My deepest condolences to his family and to the people of the West Indies.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board also paid its respects, writing, “The Pakistan Cricket Board is saddened by the passing of cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers. It was a privilege to welcome Sir Garfield to Pakistan during the West Indies’ tour in 1959, where his brilliance graced our shores and his illustrious career left a lasting impression on the cricketing fraternity. We extend our sincere condolences to Cricket West Indies, his family and loved ones.”
Sobers represented the West Indies from 1954 to 1974 and is widely regarded as the greatest all-rounder the game has produced. He played 93 Test matches, scoring 8032 runs at an average of 57.78 and taking 235 wickets at an average of 34.03.
He made his Test debut in 1954 against England in Kingston, Jamaica, scoring 40 runs across two innings and picking up four wickets. The first of his 26 Test hundreds came against Pakistan, an unbeaten 365 that set a new world record and overtook Len Hutton’s mark of 364. The record stood for 36 years until fellow West Indian Brian Lara broke it against England in Antigua in 1994, with Sobers present to witness it.
Sobers also scored 30 half-centuries and claimed six five-wicket hauls in his Test career. He was part of Frank Worrell’s touring party to Australia in 1960-61, a series remembered for its intensity and competitiveness. The opening Test in Brisbane became the first tied Test in the history of the game, with Sobers scoring a brilliant 132 in the first innings. He finished that series with 430 runs and 15 wickets.
His most iconic feat came in first-class cricket in 1968, when he became the first batter to hit six sixes in an over, playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan in the County Championship. Malcolm Nash was the bowler on the receiving end of that over.
Sobers was inducted as an inaugural member of the ICC Hall of Fame in 2009. Since 2004, the ICC has awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy annually to the Men’s Cricketer of the Year, recognising the most outstanding performer in men’s international cricket.
