West Indies Legend Garry Sobers Passes Away

Garry Sobers [Source: AFP]

Garfield Sobers, one of the greatest all-rounders in history, has passed away at the age of 89. The former West Indies cricketer died at his home in Barbados, just a couple of weeks short of his 90th birthday.

Sobers is widely regarded for his attacking batting and his equally efficient left-arm spin trade. 

Sir Garry Sobers passes away just short of 90th birthday

Sir Garfield Sobers has passed away at the age of 89 years. Tributes came pouring in for the former West Indies all-rounder soon after the news of his demise broke out on social media and outlets. 

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West Indies Cricket shared a touching tribute in memory of the departed legend. 

Taking to X on Friday, July 17, West Indies Cricket wrote “A great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers.”

Windies Cricket

@windiescricket

A great innings has come to an end. In our hearts, now and forever, Sir Garfield Sobers. 🖤🏏

Jul 17, 2026, 8:36 PM

Garry Sobers: A career to remember

One of the pioneers of West Indies cricket, Garry Sobers played 93 Test matches in his career over a 20-year period between 1954 and 1974. 

The legendary all-rounder minted 8,032 runs in the format at a prolific average of 57.58, plundering 26 hundreds and 30 half-centuries in the process. 

Even more than 50 years since announcing his retirement from the game, Sobers remains the third highest century-maker for West Indies in Test cricket, falling only behind Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. 

Sobers pretty much immortalized himself after becoming the first player in history to hit six sixes in a single over. Long before the game got revolutionized with batting-friendly formats and pitches, the hard-hitting West Indies player achieved the feat way back in 1968 during a first-class match for Nottinghamshire in Swansea.

It took another 16 years for anyone to match that record, with former Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri achieving the feat for the Mumbai cricket team.

For decades, Garry Sobers also held the record of notching up the highest individual score in Test cricket by scoring 365* against Pakistan in Kingston in 1958. What’s even more remarkable is that the innings was also the first-ever century for Sobers in Test cricket. 

Even with the ball, Sobers harvested 235 wickets in just 159 innings at a splendid bowling average of 34.03. 

The cricketer also played just one ODI, albeit during the twilight of his career, doing so against England at Leeds in September 1973.

ICC pays tribute to its Hall of Famer

The International Cricket Council (ICC) also paid a touching tribute in honor of Sir Garfield Sobers. 

It is worth noting that Sobers was one of the earliest entries in the ICC Hall of Fame when it was introduced back in January 2009. He was inducted into the prestigious group alongside Wasim Akram, Bishan Bedi, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Don Bradman, Ian Chappell, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, David Gower, Richard Hadlee along with several others at the time.

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