London: Sir Garfield St Aubren Sobers, who passed away on July 17 at the age of 89, was quite simply the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen. His was a multiple talent rolled into one. Any other description of him, including calling him ‘one of the great all-rounders’ is not only nonsense, but reeks of ignorance.An all-time great batsman is one who averages above 50 after a substantial number of Test appearances. Similarly, an all-time great bowler is he who averages below 25, again, after a significant number of caps at the highest level of the game. Sobers achieved the former; and although he didn’t accomplish the latter, this was partially because the West Indies’ burgeoning bowling strength reduced the burden with the leather on him. That notwithstanding, he proceeded to become the first all-rounder to capture 200 wickets in tests. He could swing the ball at high velocity, bowl left-arm orthodox as well as a wrist spin.A cricketer is incomplete unless he is also a capable fielder. In this respect, Sobers was brilliant anywhere, albeit most conspicuously at short-leg to Lance Gibbs’ off-spin. In the riot-marred 1966-67 test match at the Eden Gardens, an Indian batsman edged a ball skyward to thirdman. Sobers, fielding in the slip cordon, appeared to glance at his colleagues as if to check if any of them was going to attempt the catch. Then, raced back himself like a cheetah to almost pull off an impossible pouch. In the same match, rather worryingly for Indian supporters, he raced to 70 off 85 balls, at which stage the deceptive Bhagwat Chandasekhar induced a mistimed stroke. Over and above, Sobers earned seven wickets in the match taking the new ball. One can be forgiven for being mesmerised by such omnipotence!At his peakSobers was at that time at the peak of his powers. His glamour and fame enveloping the cosmos. In Mumbai, during the 1st test of the series, he was introduced to Anju Mahendru, an attractive young actress. They even got engaged, before going their different ways. He later married Australian-born Prudence Kirby.Sobers, like several West Indians of his generation, was reputed to drink and dance into the early hours even during a test match. He would return to his hotel for a short nap, wake up an hour before start of play, skip furiously with a rope to sweat out the alcohol, have a shower and turn up at the ground just in time.I once saw him padded up at the Eden Gardens, while he was fast asleep. By the time a wicket fell and it was time for him to fill the breach, he would be woken up. Bleary-eyed, loosening and stretching his arms and legs he walked out to bat; and unerringly middle the first ball he faced. Sobers made his test debut against England at Kingston, Jamaica in 1954 at the age of 17. He batted at number nine; but bowling left-arm orthodox, he returned figures of four for 75 in his very first innings. His hidden genius as a flamboyant left-handed batsman would only surface four years later.In the opening engagement in the spring of 1958 against Pakistan, he did not get an opportunity to bat at his home ground of Bridgetown, Barbados. In the second at Port of Spain, Trinidad he notched 52 and 80. Then came the encounter in Jamaica. By now promoted to number three in the batting order, he posted not merely his maiden test century, but a mammoth 365 not out, subduing Sir Len Hutton’s previous individual best of 364 against Australia. He followed it with hundreds in each outing at Georgetown, Guyana. Sobers at 21 had indeed arrived on the world stage.In the following winter of 1958-59, he made Indian cricket connoisseurs gasp with admiration as he uncoiled an unbeaten 142, 198 and an undefeated 106 in tests at the Brabourne Stadium, Green Park, Kanpur and the Eden Gardens, respectively. The corridors of England and Australia, though, still needed convincing, for his run feast had been at the expense of allegedly un-testing attacks.So, the rubbery maestro ventured to further exhibit his wares. He welcomed England to Bridgetown with a 226; succeeding this with knocks of 147 at Kingston, 145 at Georgetown and 92 at Port of Spain. But Caribbean cricket, despite its obvious aptitude for the sport, was riddled with island rivalries and, therefore, disunity in the West Indies ranks. The colonial diktat of a white man leading the side had not resolved the problem.PowerhouseThe next assignment for the West Indians – increasingly entertaining because of their Calypso adventurism with the bat and fiery fast bowlers – was Australia, recognised as unofficial world champions after beating a fancied England team under Peter May. The West Indies Cricket Board took the momentous decision of appointing for the first time a black man as captain – Frank Worrell, later to be knighted, a graceful batting all-rounder from Barbados with an erudite educational background. The West Indians coalesced under him as never before to lay the foundation of an extraordinary future dominance of world cricket.The undercurrent of antagonism between Sobers, an Afro-Caribbean, and another exceptional contemporary batsman Rohan Kanhai, an Indo-Caribbean, would manifest individuality, but undermine teamwork. Racial tension between the two communities was an additional negative to the unhelpful competitiveness between the various territories. Worrell encouraged Sobers and Kanhai to collaborate for the greater good of their side.The curtain-raising test at the Gabba in Brisbane in 1960-61 exhilaratingly produced an unprecedented tie in test cricket. Sobers set the trend on the first day of the pulsating match with a majestic 132. In the 4th test at Sydney, he unfurled a magnificent 168. The hosts won the five-test face-off 2-1; but the thrilling contest gave world cricket a much-needed shot in the arm at a time of slightly sagging popularity. As for Sobers, there was no further debate in Anglo-Australian circles about his prowess; only apprehension.The now fully-blossomed all-rounder helped himself to 153 and 104 in a home series against India in 1962, as the latter were blackwashed 5-0. The visit was otherwise scarred by Indian captain Nari Contractor’s accident, being struck near-fatally on the temple by a short-pitched delivery from Charlie Griffith in the Barbados fixture. Twenty-one-year-old Indian vice-captain Tiger Pataudi, instantly catapulted into the captaincy, recalled the touring dressing room froze in horror at the incident. The batsmen padded up were reluctant to replace Contractor. Vijay Manjrekar offered to do so and did. According to Pataudi, he batted untroubled on a blood-splattered pitch with uneven bounce to remain 100-not-out in a total of 213. For the surgery to save Contractor’s life, his opposite number Worrell attracted headlines by donating blood.Sobers’ sojourn in England in 1963 was not as successful as it was expected to be. Nevertheless, he redeemed himself with a 102 in a low scoring match at Leeds, which the West Indies clinched en route to lifting the series 3-1. ‘Cricket, Lovely Cricket’, was the title of a book by Ian Wooldridge on the series, much like appreciating Brazil’s ‘beautiful game’ when it came to football.Redemption on English shoresReturning to English shores three years later – this time as skipper – Sobers made amends with a vengeance as a batsman. 161 at Manchester, an unconquered 163 at Lord’s, 174 at Leeds, not to mention 94 at Nottingham and 81 at The Oval, serenely and unrelentingly flowed from his blade. In 1971-72, he was invited to lead a World XI versus Australia Down Under. The 5-test series was designated test status – though this categorisation was later withdrawn – and played with commensurate seriousness. In the 3rd test at Melbourne, Sobers was dismissed for a duck in the first innings. In the second venture, he began casually, not moving his feet or getting behind or over deliveries. Yet, everything was rebounding off the middle of the bat and speeding to the fence. It occurred to him it could well be his special day. As he cruised into the 30s, he tightened his technique, began watching the ball intently and closing the gap between bat and pad. With such soundness, he unleashed an assault on bowlers to register a titanic 254. Sir Donald Bradman, arguably the greatest batsman of all time, once told the Sydney Morning Herald the effort was “probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia”.Sobers never wore thigh pads or chest guards, let alone a helmet. His imperiously high back-lift, the supremely straight downswing were sights to behold. He blended correctness with a characteristic Caribbean flair. He flayed all regardless of their pedigree. The list included pacers Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Alan Davidson, Graham Mckenzie, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Freddie Trueman, Brian Statham and Fazal Mahmood, not to overlook the spinners Subhash Gupte, Vinoo Mankad, Richie Benaud, Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna, Jim Laker, Fred Titmus and Intikhab Alam. As a bowler, Sobers would often be introduced or bring himself on when the chips were down. As a spinner, he took four for 26 at Chepauk in 1959 and two more in the second innings to bowl the West Indies to an innings victory. At Melbourne he sent down 44 overs as a fast bowler for a return of five for 120 in 1961. Then four for 22 as a slow bowler at Port of Spain in 1962 when India were the opposition; and five for 63 in the same capacity and series at Kingston. Then five for 60 as a quick in Birmingham in 1963. Similarly, five for 41 and five for 42 at Leeds in 1966 and 1969 respectively. To cap it all, opening the bowling, he bagged six for 73 at Brisbane in 1968.Sobers’ only shortcomingHowever, Sobers was not as outstanding a captain as he was a cricketer. He was triumphant when he and his teammates were at the height of their talents; less so when they were over the hill. Also, sometimes his gambles didn’t pay off, as when he declared boldly against England at Port of Spain in 1968 only to lose the test by seven wickets.He was at the helm when India nailed their first ever test win in the Caribbean in 1971. India, under Ajit Wadekar, prevailed by seven wickets after their then wizardly slow bowlers spun a web around the West Indian batsmen. The in-form Dilip Sardesai had laid a foundation with a technically skilful 112, and debutante Sunil Gavaskar carving half centuries in both innings.Forty years ago, speaking exclusively on my video documentary Great Moments of Indian Cricket 1932-86, Sobers had recalled, “The Trinidad wicket is always a wicket that takes spin; and India have always produced great spinners… We had (Jack) Noreiga, who I believe got nine wickets in that match, and that only showed, if he could have done that, the Indian spin attack with Bishan Bedi, I think Venkat (Srinivas Venkataraghavan) was there too, and they were experienced bowlers; and therefore they used the conditions far better than we did.”On the same programme, Wadekar added, “When (Clive) Lloyd was batting, I switched myself from slip to short midwicket. And the moment I brought in Salim [Durrani] (in the second innings], he (Lloyd) offered me a catch. Of course it was a hard one, but it came straight to me. The second ball Garry Sobers faced, he was bowled completely; I think the ball turned from the “rough”. And those two wickets really knocked them out… We had hardly 124 runs to score in the second innings, which we got easily. Of course, Dilip Sardesai batted extremely well. Then our Sunil Gavaskar, who missed the 1st test match because of injury, on his debut he scored 60 odd runs in both innings and batted brilliantly. That’s where the star was born!”My meeting with Garry SobersHaving witnessed Sobers as a cricketer only from afar, I finally met him during the 1983 Cricket World Cup in England. Heading as I was the Ananda Bazar Group London bureau, I was instructed by the editor and proprietor, Aveek Sarkar, to secure Sobers as a columnist on the competition for the chain’s flagship Bengali daily Ananda Bazar Patrika. Sobers readily agreed. So, as the Indians made their remarkable and unexpected progress in the tournament, I would phone him wherever he was in England in an evening after an India game to seek his impressions and ghost write his piece. In that era, it was a coup d’etat for an Indian publication to have a sporting personality of Sobers’ stature to contribute with his by-line, that, too, on an event which proved to be a turning point in terms of public fervour for cricket in India.Those were the days, though, when extracting foreign exchange to settle dues abroad was a tug-a-war with the Reserve Bank of India. It took a year to obtain the money to clear Sobers’ dues. Indeed, he had forgotten about his fees. Upon hearing he was in London, I tracked him down at the Tottenham Court Road branch of the Barbados Tourist Office, which he represented, to hand him his remuneration. He was elated like a child. He hugged me, repeatedly saying, “You’re a good man, you’re a good man.” He confided that many would make promises to him, which they never kept. It is possible he soon blew the bundle on horses at a race course. “The greatest all-round cricketer I’ve seen,” Bradman concluded of Sobers. I can only say I was fortunate to have set eyes on Sobers as a cricketer and a gentleman.Ashis Ray is the world’s senior-most still active cricket broadcaster. He began his career as a test match commentator in 1975. Among his many ball-by-ball evaluations was his commentary on the 1983 Cricket world Cup final at Lord’s.