Sir Garfield Sobers’ recent death was a tragic loss for cricket lovers worldwide.
Sir Gary was the Greatest Of All Time, like Michael Jordan in the NBA. There will never be another Sir Garfield Sobers, and cricketers all over the world can feel it in their bones. They want his legacy to be remembered for as long as cricket is played all over the world.
Gentle readers ….
I want you to know
that, once upon a time,
and a long time ago,
the oceans parted and the
clouds started clapping and
wept for joy: in fact, the pearly
gates suddenly flew open and
an angel descended from heaven,
and the noble citizens of Barbados
blessed and named him Garfield Sobers.
Decades later, the tragic news of your
demise left me speechless: there were
buckets of tears in my eyes, but I could
not bring myself to cry over you.
Tributes poured in from around the
world, but that was not enough to help.
And heal a broken heart.
You see, Sir Gary, you were the start of my
Life-long association with cricket,
And I lived under your simple but
Profound shadow.
You soldiered on with flair but without any false bravado.
The Indian spin wizard, the late, great
Bishan Singh Bedi felt mesmerized
By you, and the Australian captain, Ian
Chappell adored you too.
We know there will never be another cricketer like you,
And that it is foolish to compare you with
Anybody around, living or dead, enough said.
You were versatile and talented, and were
Gifted with that magic X factor and the
Midas touch that changed an ordinary era
Into a golden era, different, unique and outstanding.
And when you cut and pulled and executed that cover drive,
straight drive and square cut, people in the stands, radio and TV
found themselves in raptures.
As an all-rounder, you captured the public mood of that era,
and whether you walked on or off the field,
even legends could not take their eyes off you.
Initially, I was not interested in Cricket, but watching you play
changed my mind because your divine game
raised the bar for all of us who ever played this beautiful game.
You scared Dennis Lille with your bouncers, and
your deceptive Chinaman had batsmen dancing to your tune.
As Captain of the West Indian team, you were the
greatest cultural ambassador of this game our world has ever seen.
You were the greatest all-rounder and the hero of my childhood:
Whenever I dream about cricket, I dream about you
Sir Gary, my best friend; I salute you.
