Garfield Sobers: The Greatest All-Rounder — Six Sixes in an Over, 8,032 Test Runs, Knighted 1975
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers is a West Indian cricketer born on 28 July 1936 in Bridgetown, Barbados. He is universally regarded as the greatest all-rounder in cricket history — a prolific batsman and genuinely three-dimensional bowler (fast-medium, left-arm orthodox spin, and left-arm wrist spin). He scored 8,032 Test runs at 57.78 with 26 centuries, including the then-world record Test score of 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958 — a record that stood for 36 years until Brian Lara scored 375 in 1994. He is the only player to hit six sixes in one over in first-class cricket — achieved off Glamorgan's Malcolm Nash at Swansea in 1968. He captained West Indies in 39 Tests. He was knighted in 1975 for services to cricket. He took 235 Test wickets at 34.03.
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers was born on 28 July 1936 in Bridgetown, Barbados. He made his Test debut against England at Kingston, Jamaica in March 1954 — aged 17. He quickly established himself as the most complete cricketer his era had ever seen: a left-handed batsman of the highest quality, and a bowler who could operate in three different styles — left-arm over-the-wicket pace-medium, left-arm orthodox spin, and left-arm wrist spin (chinaman). He captained West Indies in 39 Tests between 1965 and 1972.
365 Not Out and Six Sixes in an Over
Garfield Sobers scored 365 not out against Pakistan in Kingston, Jamaica in February-March 1958 — the world record Test score, held for 36 years until Brian Lara scored 375 against England in Antigua in April 1994. His Test career aggregate of 8,032 runs at 57.78 with 26 centuries places him among the greatest Test batsmen in history. On 31 August 1968 — playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at St Helen's, Swansea — Sobers hit six sixes in one over off left-arm bowler Malcolm Nash, becoming the first player in history to achieve the feat in first-class cricket.
The Greatest All-Rounder
Garfield Sobers took 235 Test wickets at 34.03 — remarkable for a player who was primarily regarded as a batsman. His ability to bowl fast-medium when conditions suited, orthodox spin as a control option, or wrist-spin for attacking variation made him uniquely valuable. He held 109 Test catches. He was knighted in 1975 for services to cricket — becoming Sir Garfield Sobers. He has been named Wisden's Cricketer of the 20th Century (alongside Bradman, Hobbs, Warne, and Tendulkar) and is universally regarded as the greatest all-rounder in the history of the game.
Frequently asked questions
What makes Garfield Sobers the greatest all-rounder in cricket history?
Garfield Sobers is the only player in cricket history to combine elite Test batting (8,032 runs at 57.78 with 26 centuries, including the then-world record score of 365 not out) with elite bowling across three styles (left-arm pace-medium, orthodox spin, and wrist spin — 235 Test wickets at 34.03) and elite fielding (109 Test catches). He was the first player to hit six sixes in one over in first-class cricket (off Malcolm Nash at Swansea in 1968). He was knighted in 1975 and named Wisden Cricketer of the 20th Century.