International cricket legend Garfield Sobers was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, in 1936. He played for the West Indies from 1954 to 1974 and is considered to be the sport’s greatest all-rounder and one of the best cricketers in history. Sobers debuted at the age of 16 with the Barbados cricket team in 1953. Originally he played as a bowler and was rapidly promoted to the top of the batting order. He scored his first Test century in 1958, then established a new record for the highest individual score in an innings with 365, a record that stood until 1994.

Sobers became captain of the West Indies in 1965 and held on to the leadership until 1972. He played a total of 93 Tests for the West Indies, scored 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78, and took 235 wickets at an average 34.03. In 383 first-class matches, Sobers scored more than 28,000 runs and tool of 1,000 wickets. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975 in recognition of his service to cricket. He was named one of the 11 National Heroes of Barbados through an act of Parliament in 1998. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.

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