Garfield Sobers

Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers (born July 28, 1936 in Barbados), better known as Gary Sobers, was a West Indies cricket player. He was an all-rounder, that is, he both batted and bowled. He was also an outstander fielder

With the ball, Sobers performed superbly. He bowled left arm orthodox spin, left arm wrist spin, and also left arm fast-medium. Sobers was exceptional with the bat, as well. He set a Test cricket record by scoring 365 runs in a single innings. (The record has since been surpassed by Brian Lara, also of the West Indies, who scored 375 and Matthew Hayden of Australia who scored 380 in 2003.) He also hit six "sixes" in six consecutive balls (See cricket for an explanation).

In 1975 Queen Elizabeth awarded Sobers a knighthood for his services to the sport.

In 2000 Sobers was named by a 100-member panel of experts as one of the Top Five Cricketers of the Century. Sobers received 90 votes. Sir Donald Bradman (who received all 100 votes0, Sir Jack Hobbs (30 votes) Shane Warne (27 votes) and Sir Vivian Richards (25 votes) were the others chosen. (Many members of the panel complained that two of the five votes cast by each member would be wasted, as they had to be cast for Bradman and Sobers!)