Garfield SOBERS

If Sir Garfield Sobers batting does not enable him to be classified as the greatest cricketer of all, his bowling certainly will. He did everything a bowler could with his left arm, apart from bowl underarm. To his natural left arm spin he later added some very brisk fast medium bowling, with late swing and a bouncer that was said to be very fast. Later still he took up wrist spin, the rarely seen Chinamen and googlies. He might switch to one of these methods of attack at any time and he was equally proficient at all three. On top of that he was also a predatory short leg fieldsman. While he took 4-75 in his first Test, for much of the 1950s he was only an occasional bowler for West Indies. That changed in Australia in 1960-61 when his seam bowling really developed.

He took five wickets in Adelaide and 5-120 in Melbourne. He took 5-63 to win the fifth Test against India in Kingston soon after. In 1963 he had 5-60 at Edgbaston and reached his 100th Test wicket when he dismissed Peter Philpott in the first Test of the 1965 series against Australia. He opened the bowling for the first time when he partnered Wes Hall in the Test in Guyana. He took 5-41 and 3-39 at Headingley in the 1966 series in England, with 20 wickets in the series. He had seven wickets in Calcutta in 1966-67 when West Indies beat India by an innings. He opened the bowling regularly against England in 1967-68 as Charlie Griffith declined.