COUNTRY-WEST INDIES

BORN-28 JULY 1936

Generally it is perceived that Sir Garfield Sobers was the best all-rounder to play the game of cricket. He was a fine batsman and could play both up and down the order. He was also a great bowler, whether it be his genuine pace, his swing or his varieties of spin. Not to mention he was a brilliant fieldsman, a wise and astute captain and a superb role model. Sir Garfield had it all.

Born in Bridgetown, Sobers first played first-class cricket for Barbados at the age of 16 as a slow left arm bowler who could bat a bit. He played his first test match in 1954 against England getting 4 wickets. Though Garfield showed signs of greatness while touring England in 1957 he didn’t come of age until the 1957-58 tour of Pakistan. There he plundered the attack scoring 365no, which was the highest test score at that time. In doing so he broke the record for the highest West Indian partnership with Conrad Hunte scoring 446 together. In the series he scored 824 runs at 137.33 and became recognised as a fine elegant batsman, noted for his hard hitting and the best late cut the world had ever seen.

Sobers then joined the Lancashire League where he started bowling extremely fast. However this type of bowling didn’t suit the Indian subcontinent. There he discovered ‘chinamans’ while his batting form remained tremendous. In the following series against England he hammered 709 runs at 101.28. He also figured prominently in the tied test against Australia making 132. At that time he signed up for South Australia where he had a most successful time. He completed the double, that is 1000 runs and 50 wickets in an Australian season twice. A feat no one has done even once.

He had successful all round series against England and Australia and took over the captaincy from Worrell in 1965. Definitely his best series ever was the 1966 tour of England. It will remain as one of the greatest all round exhibitions. While scoring masterful and timely innings, he managed to bowl long spells filled with many wickets. An example of his heroics was in the Lords test where England was running though the West Indies’ second innings. As all the front line batsman were dismissed, Sobers made a draw possible by scoring a excellent 163no. This is just one instance in where he worked brilliantly with the tail. In total he scored 722 runs at 103.14, took 20 wickets, made 10 catches and captained the team brilliantly winning the series 3-0. He then joined Nottinghamshire for seven seasons and immediately made them a formidable force. In 1968 he became the first person to hit every ball of an over for 6 by smashing Glamorgan’s Malcolm Nash. This has only been equaled once, by Ravi Shastri of India. That same year he topped the batting averages, was second in the bowling and took the most catches. In 1968 Sobers brought his team to Australia. Sobers played and captained the team brilliantly but the teams old age was a factor. The West Indies were outclassed losing the series 3-1.

As the 1970’s approached, Sobers was at the end of an illustrious career. Although failing in 1968-69 against New Zealand and England he returned to his best in the 1970-71 season against India. It was at this time Sobers took a short break from cricket and got married. It was a well earned break, after all he had combined test matches and domestic fixtures in three countries. In 1972 he was back in Australia playing for the ‘Rest of the World’ team. There he would play one of the most spectacular innings ever seen. In the first innings of one match against Australia Sobers got bowled first ball by Lillee. In the second innings as his side was in trouble, Sobers compiled a magnificent 254 with Lillee receiving most of his treatment. Bradman described that innings as the ever in Australia.

Troubled by a knee injury, Sobers retired from first class cricket in 1974 after a career of 20 years. At that time he held the record for the most runs in a test career. He also was a truly international player that received a fair amount of money for his day. He played one more year in the Lancashire League before giving up cricket completely. That same year he got knighted for his services to cricket. Sir Garfield will be remembered forever as a true cricketing legend.

FIRST CLASS: 1952/53-1973/74
BATTING                                    
 M    I   NO   RUNS    HS    AVE   100  CT/ST      
383  609  93  28 3153  365#  54.87  86  407/0

BOWLING 
RUNS    WKT   AVE   5WI 10WM  BEST  
28 941  1043  27.74  36  1    9/49  


TEST: 1953/54 TO 1973/74
BATTING
M    I   NO  RUNS   HS   AVE   100  50  CT/ST      
93  160  21  8032  365#  57.78  26  30  109/0    

BOWLING
RUNS  WKT  AVE   5WI  10WM  BEST  SR
7999  235  34.03  6    0    6/73  91.9

AS CAPTAIN
P   W  D   L   T
39  9  20  10  0  








 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

COUNTRY-SOUTH AFRICA

27 FEBRUARY 1944

Had it not been for South Africa’s exile in cricket due to its apartheid policy, South Africa would have rivaled even the West Indies as the strongest team. This exile was suffered by players like Graeme Pollock the most. His test career was cut short right at his prime. Before his exile he had established himself as the best batsman of the latter 1960’s scoring over 2000 runs at an average of over 60. Imagine what he could have done with an extra few years of test cricket.

Graeme grew up loving cricket, rugby, tennis and hockey in a sporting family. His brother Peter would later become one of the worlds finest fast bowlers. Even though he did everything right handed he straight away batted left handed despite his mother’s pleas. As a youngster his cricket, both batting and bowling was phenomenal and at the age of 13 he made his school’s first eleven. Born in Natal he started his first class career in 1961/62 for Eastern Province. There he became the youngest person to score a century in the Currie Cup. At nineteen he became the youngest South African to score a double century and was now ready test cricket. His opportunity came on the 1963/64 tour of Australia.

Instantly he made an impression with his elegant classical batting. Pollock was known for his timing, placing and the ease in which he batted but could also put all of his 6ft2 frame into a shot. Plying against a combined Australian 11 at Perth, Pollock hit a merciless 127no which took just 85 minutes. Bradman told him, “If you ever score another century like that again, I hope I’m there to see it.” Though the Meckiff throwing incident became the most notorious in the test series, Graeme impressed many scoring 399 runs at 57 with two centuries. His first test century came in the third test at Sydney where he caressed a glorious 122. More was to come in the 4th test where he smashed 175 this time scoring 341 runs with Eddie Barlow which was a South African record. Not only did this help South Africa tie the series, it revolutionised cricket showing that quick scoring won matches. Later on the tour the Australians found that bowling to Graeme’s leg stump was more successful. Pollock soon overcame that hurdle scoring 1018 first class runs at 53.57. The whole series fulfilled his boyhood vow : “One day I am going to show these Aussies just what it is like to play against a Neil Harvey.”

Pollock failed in the one off test against New Zealand but was back to his best in the second half of the test series against England the next season. The highlight being his 137 and 77no in the fifth test at his home ground in Port Elizabeth. South Africa lost the series 1-0 despite Pollock’s 459 runs at 57.37. The following year the South African’s were out for revenge touring England. They did so captained by Peter Van der Merwe winning the three test series 1-0, making it their first series win against England since 1935. Graeme again was brilliant scoring 291 runs at 48.50. His best innings being his 125 out of 269 in the second test at Trent Bridge coming in at 2/16. This further showed his lack of nervousness coming in at pressure situations. During the series at the age of 21 he became the youngest ever batsman to score 1000 test runs. His first class innings were spectacular. His 203no against Kent and his 122 against Sussex were the most notable. In total he topped the South African batting averages with 1147 runs at 57.35 and also surprisingly topped the bowling averages with 2 wickets at 14.5. At that time he was compared to Gary Sobers as the greatest all-rounder which I think was far from the truth as Graeme hardly ever bowled his leg breaks.

Pollock’s next two series, both against Australia were to be his best scoring over 500 runs in each one. Van der Merwe’s men performed admirably becoming the first South African team to defeat Australia in a series, winning 3-1. Apart from Pollock, names like Goddard, Lindsay and Bland starred. Pollock’s 90 in the first test helped South Africa win its first home test against Australia in 64 years. His 209 in the second test in a losing side was spectacular. He hit 30 boundaries and shared an 85 run 9th wicket stand with his brother. In the fifth test where Australia had a good chance of tying the series, Pollock played a great careful century. In total Pollock smashed 537 runs at 76.71 in the tests. In 1968-69 Pollock took over the captaincy of Eastern Province and scored 1000 runs in a very short season.

The 1970 test series against Australia would be the Grand Finale for South Africa for some 21 years. That South African side will remembered as one of the greatest ever. Captained by Ali Bacher, it contained greats like the Pollock brothers, Eddie Barlow, Trevor Goddard, Denis Lindsay, Mike Procter and challenging Pollock as the greatest South African batsman-Barry Richards. South Africa humiliated Australia by whitewashing the series 4-0. In the second test at Durban, after watching Richards smash a century, Pollock came in and scored 274. This being the highest test score ever by a South African. Ian Chappell regarded this as the best innings he saw an opponent play. He also noted that Pollock’s 222 runs of 165 balls in a limited over game would also be up there. In that series Graeme scored 517 runs at 73.85. It would be a farewell to cricket for a number of great cricketers.

The following years Graeme would play lesser first class cricket than his team-mates. He refused to play county cricket for family commitments. Due to the political pressure that canceled the South Africa tour, English administrators organised a tour for the ‘Rest of the World’ team. This gave a chance to see two great left handed batsman, Sobers and Pollock playing side by side. Pollock surprisingly didn’t impress until the last game where he scored 114 runs shared a 165 run stand with Sobers. The following season he played for another ‘Rest of the World’ team, this time in Australia. From then on his cricketing career was restricted to first class fixtures which included ‘rebel’ tours. Graeme Pollock will be remembered as a great batsman whose talents were somewhat wasted.

FIRST CLASS: 1960-1986
BATTING                                    
 I   NO   RUNS    HS   AVE   100 50  CT/ST 
437  54  20 940  274  54.67  64  99  248/0

BOWLING
RUNS  WKT  AVE   5WI  10WM  BEST  
2062  43  47.95   0    0    3-46


TEST: 1928/29 TO 1948
BATTING
M    I   NO RUNS  HS    AVE  100 50  CT/ST      
23   41  4  2256  274  60.97  7  11  17/0   

BOWLING
RUNS  WKT  AVE   5W  10WM  BEST  SR
204    4  51.00   0    0   2/50  103.5








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