playername	Dennis Lillee
country	Australia
fullname	Dennis Keith Lillee
living	true
dayofbirth	18
monthofbirth	07
yearofbirth	1949
placeofbirth	Subiaco, Perth
countryofbirth	Australia
heightft	5
heightinch	11.5
batting	Right-hand batsman
bowling	Right-arm fast
role	Bowler
international	true
testdebutdate	29 January
testdebutyear	1971
testdebutagainst	England
lasttestdate	2 January
lasttestyear	1984
lasttestagainst	Pakistan
odidebutdate	24 August
odidebutyear	1972
odidebutagainst	England
lastodidate	18 June
lastodiyear	1983
lastodiagainst	West Indies
club1	Northamptonshire
year1	1988
club2	Tasmania
year2	1987–1988
club3	Western Australia
year3	1969–1984
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	70
runs1	905
bat avg1	13.71
100s/50s1	0/1
top score1	73*
deliveries1	18467
wickets1	355
bowl avg1	23.92
fivefor1	23
tenfor1	7
best bowling1	7/83
catches/stumpings1	23/–
column2	ODIs
matches2	63
runs2	240
bat avg2	9.23
100s/50s2	0/0
top score2	42*
deliveries2	3593
wickets2	103
bowl avg2	20.82
fivefor2	1
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	5/34
catches/stumpings2	67/–
column3	FC
matches3	198
runs3	2337
bat avg3	13.90
100s/50s3	0/2
top score3	73*
deliveries3	44806
wickets3	882
bowl avg3	23.46
fivefor3	50
tenfor3	13
best bowling3	8/29
catches/stumpings3	67/–
column4	List A
matches4	102
runs4	382
bat avg4	8.68
100s/50s4	0/0
top score4	42*
deliveries4	5678
wickets4	165
bowl avg4	19.75
fivefor4	1
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	5/34
catches/stumpings4	17/–
date	14 January
year	2009
source	http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1369/1369.html CricketArchive }}

Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE (born 18 July 1949 in Subiaco, Western Australia) is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation". Lillee was known for his fiery temperament, 'never-say-die' attitude and popularity with the fans.

In the early part of his career Lillee was an extremely quick bowler, but a number of stress fractures in his back almost ended his career. Taking on a strict fitness regime, he fought his way back to full fitness, eventually returning to international cricket. By the time of his retirement from international cricket in 1984 he had become the then world record holder for most Test wickets (355), and had firmly established himself as one of the most recognisable and renowned Australian sportsmen of all time.

On 17 December 2009, Lillee was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Dennis Lillee has done great service to the art of Fast bowling by contributing immensely at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, India.

Test career

Aged 20, Lillee made his first-class debut for Western Australia in 1969-70 and impressed with his raw pace. At the end of the season, he toured New Zealand with an Australian second team and took 18 wickets at 16.44 average.

Debut

The following season, he made his Test debut in the Sixth Test at Adelaide in the 1970-71 Ashes series, taking 5/84 from 28.3 eight-ball overs. His first Test wicket was John Edrich, caught by Keith Stackpole for 130, but it was not until the Seventh Test at Sydney that John Hampshire became the first batsman to be "caught Marsh, bowled Lillee". In 1971–72 against a World XI at Perth, he destroyed a powerful batting lineup that included Garry Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai and Sunil Gavaskar by taking 8/29. Lillee followed this performance with a successful Ashes tour of England in 1972, when he "asserted himself as a great bowler". In a series that ended 2–2, he was the outstanding bowler on either team, taking 31 wickets at an average of 17.67. This earned him selection as one of ''Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year for 1973.

Back injury

During a Test against Pakistan in the 1972–73 season, Lillee felt sharp pain in his back for the first time, but continued to play. On the tour of the West Indies that followed, Lillee broke down completely and was diagnosed with stress fracture in his lower vertebrae. Forced out of cricket, he spent six weeks during the winter of 1973 wearing a plaster cast that encased his entire torso. After the removal of the cast, he played club cricket in Perth as a specialist batsman.

There was speculation that his bowling career was nearly over. Lillee persevered, undergoing an intensive physiotherapy routine, formulated by sports scientist Frank Pyke, and remodelling his bowling action. In 1974–75, he returned to Test cricket for the Ashes series and was paired with New South Wales fast bowler Jeff Thomson to form one of the most effective opening bowling combinations in Test cricket. The pair was a major factor in Australia's emphatic 4–1 victory. In 1975, the University of Western Australia timed Lillee's bowling at 154.8 km/h.

Lillee and Thomson

Lillee toured England again in 1975. During the inaugural World Cup he captured eight wickets in five matches, including 5/34 against Pakistan at Leeds. His aggressive bowling was not always suited to the run-containing style required in the one-day game. In the subsequent four-Test series against England, Lillee claimed 21 wickets as his team finished winners by 1–0. With the bat, he made 73 not out at Lord's to rescue Australia from a difficult situation.

Another 27 wickets (at 26.37 average) followed in the summer of 1975–76 against the West Indies. At this time, Lillee was one of the most marketable personalities in Australia, but he was frustrated by the small amounts that he earned from the game. Outspoken in his opinions, he came into conflict with the game's administrators. Lillee suggested that a made-for-television exhibition series could be played each season with profits given to the players. John Cornell, his manager, took this idea to Kerry Packer, who later fashioned it into World Series Cricket (WSC).

An injury to Thomson early in 1976–77 forced Lillee to take on a greater workload during the six Tests of the season. He responded with 47 wickets including match figures of 10/135 against Pakistan at the MCG and 11/123 at Auckland against New Zealand. In the Centenary Test, his 11/165 was the decisive performance in Australia's victory. However, the extra exertion created "hot spots" in his back and not wanting to reaggravate his previous condition, he made himself unavailable for the 1977 tour of England.

World Series Cricket

Remaining in Australia to do television commentary on the tour, Lillee was isolated from the furore in England surrounding the plans for the breakaway professional competition, WSC. He was announced as one of the WSC players in May 1977. The Lillee image and personality were key components in WSC's innovative marketing of their games. However, he struggled on-field during the first season of WSC and in the winter of 1978 made further adjustments to his action. He also spent time working with ex-World professional sprint champion Austin Robertson, improving his running technique and fitness. In nine "Supertests" (four in Australia and five in the West Indies) during 1978–79, Lillee captured 46 wickets at 22.5 average, with a best of 7/23 against the West Indies XI at the SCG.

Cutting down his pace and the length of his run up, Lillee now concentrated on moving the ball off the seam with an occasional faster or slower ball for variation. During the season of his return to official cricket, Lillee collected 35 Test wickets in six matches against the West Indies and England, and gave Australia's bowling attack stability while the selectors experimented with the team. In the World Series Cup, his changed style helped to bring him 20 wickets (at 12.7 average) in eight ODIs, including 4/12 against West Indies and 4/28 against England, both at the SCG. However, the tour of Pakistan that followed was ruined for Lillee by flat batting pitches prepared by local curators to blunt his effectiveness. He managed just three wickets in three Tests.

Australian and world records

Against New Zealand and India in 1980–81, Lillee took 37 wickets in six Tests and was the leading bowler in the World Series Cup for the second successive season. He contributed 25 wickets to Australia's first victory in the competition. After breaking Richie Benaud's Australian Test record of 248 wickets, Lillee toured England in 1981 when his preparation was compromised by a viral infection. A return of 39 Test wickets (at 22.30) for series was the best of his career and he won man of the match awards in the first and last Tests. Lillee formed a penetrative partnership with fellow West Australian Terry Alderman, who claimed an Australian record of 41 wickets. Despite possessing this potent attack, Australia lost the series by 1–3 when Ian Botham turned in a series of brilliant individual performances.

Granted a testimonial for 1981–82, Lillee's season got off to a poor start when he was involved in the infamous incident with Javed Miandad (see below) in the first Test of the summer. Suspended for two ODIs, the level of his on-field aggression was again criticised. However, he continued taking wickets: 15 in three Tests against Pakistan and 16 in three Tests against the West Indies. Against the latter, his 7/83 and 3/44 at the MCG in the first Test took him past the world record for the most Test wickets held by Lance Gibbs. His ODI season was less successful, with 12 wickets in 12 games. His best effort was 2/18 in ten overs against the West Indies during the third final of the World Series Cup, the only match in the final series Australia was able to win.

Retirement

Bowling as a first-change, Lillee had an uneventful tour of New Zealand in March and April 1982 before suffering a serious knee injury in the first Ashes Test at the WACA Ground in November of the same year. This forced him to miss the rest of the series and Australia's 2–1 victory, which reclaimed the Ashes. Returning to the team for the latter stages of the World Series Cup, Lillee was no longer an automatic choice to take the new ball. Nevertheless, his 11 wickets in six ODIs helped Australia win the tournament with a victory over New Zealand in the final.

His wicket-taking capacity was diminishing. During Australia's brief tour of Sri Lanka in 1983, Lillee took three wickets at Kandy in the inaugural Test between the two nations and went wicket-less in two ODIs. Later in the year, his ODI career finished during the third World Cup in England when he conceded 52 runs from 12 overs in the match against the West Indies at Lord's. Dropped from the team, Lillee acknowledged that he was not fully fit, but he remained motivated to continue in Test cricket by the number of people who had written him off.

During the first two Tests of 1983–84 against Pakistan at Perth, he took only one wicket and looked set to be dropped from the Test team as well. Fate intervened when Carl Rackemann, the man of the match from the second Test, was injured. This allowed Lillee to play the rest of the Test series and he finished with 20 wickets at 31.65. Along with Greg Chappell he announced his retirement during the final Test at Sydney, and took eight wickets, including a wicket with his last delivery in the match.

Caught Marsh bowled Lillee

Throughout his Australian career Lillee was also famous for his partnership with wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, and the scorecard entry 'c Marsh b Lillee' appeared 95 times in Tests, a partnership record between wicketkeeper and bowler that is yet to be broken. Coincidentally, both players ended their careers with 355 Test dismisals; Marsh took 343 catches and had 12 stumpings. They also shared much success at first-class level, playing for West Australia.

Bowler align=center align=center align=center align=center align=center align=center

+Most successful bowler & wicketkeeper/fielder combinations in Test cricket	Team	|	WK or Fielder*	Matches	Wickets
align=center	Australia	Dennis Lillee ||	Rod Marsh	69	95
align=center	Australia	Glenn McGrath ||	Adam Gilchrist	71	90
align=center	South Africa	Makhaya Ntini ||	Mark Boucher*	94	84
align=center	Australia	Brett Lee ||	Adam Gilchrist	65	81
align=center	South Africa	Shaun Pollock ||	Mark Boucher	88	79
align=center	West Indies	Malcolm Marshall ||	Jeff Dujon	68	71

Statistics correct at 4 August 2009. Source:.

Controversy

Aluminium bat incident

During a Test at the WACA Ground in December 1979 between Australia and England, Lillee went to the crease with an aluminium bat manufactured by a company owned by a personal friend. There were no rules against using such a bat, but trouble began when Lillee hit a ball that went for three runs. Australian captain Greg Chappell thought that the ball should have gone for a four, and instructed Rodney Hogg to deliver a conventional wooden bat to Lillee. As this was happening, English captain Mike Brearley complained to the umpires that the bat was damaging the ball.

Lillee refused to change the bat. Brearley, Lillee, and the umpires held an animated discussion for almost ten minutes, before Chappell insisted that Lillee should change bats. In a fit of pique, Lillee threw "the offending lump of metal fully 40 yards towards the pavilion", and grudgingly took the wooden bat. He was not disciplined by the ACB for this incident. After the game, sales of the bat skyrocketed for a few months, before the laws of the game were amended, specifying that bats had to be made from wood.

Betting

At Headingley on the 1981 tour of England, Australia was in such a strong position at one stage of the third Test that bookmakers at the ground were offering odds of 500–1 on an England victory. These odds were flashed on the scoreboard during a break in the game and noticed by the Australian players. Lillee and Rod Marsh believed that the odds were so ludicrous that, via a third party, they each put a small wager on the outcome, later describing their actions as a "joke". Between them, they collected 7,500 pounds when England pulled off a comeback victory. Both men openly discussed the incident and received no official censure or sanction, although some criticised their actions. There has never been a suggestion that the bets compromised their efforts in the game. However, the issue has been re-examined in modern times following the match-fixing scandals that have plagued international cricket since the mid-1990s.

Lillee vs Miandad

Described by ''Wisden'' as "one of the most undignified incidents in Test history", the clash between Lillee and Pakistani batsman Javed Miandad occurred during the first Test at Perth in 1981.

Miandad turned Lillee behind square for a single, and in completing an easy run, he collided with the bowler. Eyewitnesses agreed that Lillee was to blame and most observed that he had deliberately moved into the batsman's path. The two players' versions of events differ ... As Lillee turned to go back to his mark he maintained that Miandad struck him from behind with his bat; Miandad countered with the claim that Lillee had kicked him as he passed. What isn't in doubt is that Lillee then turned to confront Miandad, and Miandad lifted his bat above his head as if to strike him. The unedifying images of Tony Crafter, the umpire, stepping in to hold back Lillee while Miandad wielded his bat like a deranged javelin thrower were beamed around the world.

... The media were in no doubt where the blame lay–with Lillee. Bob Simpson, the former Australian captain, wrote that it was "the most disgraceful thing I have seen on a cricket field". Keith Miller, in the Sydney Sunday Telegraph, added that Lillee "should be suspended for the rest of the season," and Ian Chappell added that Lillee's actions were those of "a spoiled, angry child".

But Greg Chappell, Australia's captain, supported Lillee and ... even suggested that it has all been part of a plot by Pakistan to entrap Lillee.

The Australian players–who sat in judgment on such matters in those days–announced that Lillee would be fined A$200, a decision which attracted almost as much anger as the incident itself. The two umpires complained at the leniency of the punishment, and the Australian Board acted swiftly, reducing the fine to A$120 but adding a two-match ban. Cynics noted that the punishment ensured that Lillee missed two fairly low-key one-day internationals, and none of the Tests.

After retirement

Lillee made a brief comeback to first-class cricket in 1987–88 for Tasmania, taking a wicket with his first ball. In 1988, he played eight matches for English county team Northants and suffered a severe ankle injury. In his recent autobiography, Lillee claimed that he played again as a preparation for a possible comeback to the Australian team that was suggested by the then captain Allan Border.

During the 1990s and in the early years of the 21st century Lillee has dedicated himself to mentoring and coaching young bowlers, most notably Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. Lillee continued playing competitive cricket until 1999 for the traditional ACB President's XI match against touring sides at Lilac Hill. In his final match he took three wickets and played alongside his son Adam.

He has also appeared in many TV commercials for items as diverse as carpets, work boots, glucosamine tablets to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms and solar power companies.

Since 2004 he has been the president of the Western Australian Cricket Association.

Honours, awards, records and accolades

He was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1973.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1981.

He was one of the ten inaugural inductees into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 1996.

He was selected in the official Australian Test Team of the Century.

He was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours of 2010.

He was immortalized in the Men at Work song "No Restrictions" (Cargo, 1983) with the line: "Hear the cricket calling, switch on the TV, sit and stare for hours, and cheer Dennis Lillee".

He was also mentioned in the Iain Campbell Smith song "Blue Guitar". In a lyric where the narrator is describing unlikely, fantastic events he sings "I hit a six off Dennis Lillee and I clean bowled Gavaskar". When performing in the United States, Smith will often change the lyric to "I scored thirty-seven points off of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."

Footnotes

References

External links

HowSTAT! statistical profile of Dennis Lillee

Infamous Cricket Incidents - Dennis Lillee vs Javed Miandad

Dennis Lillee interviewed on ''Enough Rope'' (transcript), 28 April 2003

Lillee and Thomson interviewed (video), 2007

Category:Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Australia Test cricketers Category:Western Australia cricketers Category:Tasmania cricketers Category:Northamptonshire cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:World Series Cricket players Category:Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup Category:Australian cricket coaches Category:Western Australian Sports Star of the Year winners Category:People from Subiaco, Western Australia Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:International Cricket Council Hall of Fame inductees Category:Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Category:Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Australian cricketers Category:Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut

de:Dennis Lillee fr:Dennis Lillee mr:डेनिस लिली pl:Dennis Lillee te:డెన్నిస్ లిల్లీ

playername	Jeff Thomson
country	Australia
fullname	Jeffery Robert Thomson
living	true
dayofbirth	16
monthofbirth	8
yearofbirth	1950
placeofbirth	Greenacre, New South Wales
countryofbirth	Australia
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right arm fast
role	Bowler, commentator
international	true
testdebutdate	29 December
testdebutyear	1972
testdebutagainst	Pakistan
testcap	262
lasttestdate	20 August
lasttestyear	1985
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	1 January
odidebutyear	1975
odidebutagainst	England
odicap	28
lastodidate	3 June
lastodiyear	1985
lastodiagainst	England
club1	Queensland
year1	1974–1986
club2	Middlesex
year2	1981
club3	New South Wales
year3	1972–1974
deliveries	balls
columns	4
column1	Tests
matches1	51
runs1	679
bat avg1	12.81
100s/50s1	0/0
top score1	49
deliveries1	10535
wickets1	200
bowl avg1	28.00
fivefor1	8
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	6/46
catches/stumpings1	20/–
column2	ODI
matches2	50
runs2	181
bat avg2	7.54
100s/50s2	0/0
top score2	21
deliveries2	2696
wickets2	55
bowl avg2	35.30
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	4/67
catches/stumpings2	9/–
column3	FC
matches3	187
runs3	2065
bat avg3	13.58
100s/50s3	0/1
top score3	61
deliveries3	33318
wickets3	675
bowl avg3	26.46
fivefor3	28
tenfor3	3
best bowling3	7/27
catches/stumpings3	61/–
column4	LA
matches4	88
runs4	280
bat avg4	7.17
100s/50s4	0/0
top score4	21
deliveries4	4529
wickets4	107
bowl avg4	29.00
fivefor4	1
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	7/22
catches/stumpings4	19/–
date	4 November
year	2008
source	http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/7946.html Cricinfo }}

Jeffrey Robert Thomson (born 16 August 1950 in Greenacre, New South Wales) is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history. Commenting of their bowling during the 1974–75 season, ''Wisden'' wrote: "... it was easy to believe they were the fastest pair ever to have coincided in a cricket team".

Competing in a 1978 fast bowling contest that included many of the leading bowlers in the world, Thomson came first with a delivery clocked at 147.9 km/h, ahead of Michael Holding (141.3 km/h) and Imran Khan (139.7 km/h). In 1975 during a Test match, he was timed using high-speed cameras with a release speed of 160.45 km/h; the following year he was timed at 160.58 km/h using conventional radar. Australian wicket-keeper Rod Marsh kept wicket to Thomson for most of his Test career and claimed that Thomson bowled upwards of 180 km/h. Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd regards Thomson as the fastest bowler he has ever seen. Thomson himself noted that he had been timed at the batsman's end of the pitch (by which time the ball has slowed) and believes had he been timed out of the hand he would have been closer to 180 km/h. Frank Tyson wrote that "at a muzzle velocity of 99.6 m.p.h. Thompson is so fast and human reaction time is so slow that scientists have calculated that the batsman has to begin playing a stroke against him more than .062 of a second before 'Thommo' lets go of the ball".

Incidents of Thomson's deliveries hitting the opposite sight-screen (behind the wicket-keeper), beating the wicket-keeper on the full, after the one bounce on the pitch were reported, when he was at his fastest between 1972 and 1976, long before boundary ropes were getting pulled in from around 1990. Thomson came to the fore in 1974–75 with 33 wickets in the Ashes series. Modern protective items for batsmen, specifically helmets, were not available at the time, and there was no restrictions on the use of the bouncer. The success of the Australian cricket team with fast bowling prompted an era when pace bowling dominated the game, at the expense of slow bowling.

Test career

Thomson enjoyed a rapid rise in the 1972–73 season, when he made his first-class debut for New South Wales (NSW), then his Test debut after five first-class games. Against Pakistan at the MCG, Thomson returned match figures of 0/110. Later, he was diagnosed as having played with a broken bone in his foot, the pain from which he kept concealed from selectors and teammates. Following this, he disappeared from first-class cricket until the final match of the 1973–74 season. A very fast spell for NSW against Queensland impressed the opposition captain Greg Chappell, who encouraged Thomson to move to Queensland for the following season.

When Thomson was selected for the first Test of the 1974–75 Ashes series, the English players had seen him in action only once, during a tour match against Queensland when Thomson bowled well within himself on the instruction of his captain Greg Chappell. He created controversy during a television interview before the Test when he said, "I enjoy hitting a batsman more than getting him out. I like to see blood on the pitch". In the second innings of the match, he bowled Australia to victory with a spell of 6/46. At Perth, he injured several batsmen and finished off the game with 5/93 in the second innings as Australia recorded another victory.

Taking a relatively short run up to the crease, Thomson generated his pace with a slinging-style bowling action, clearly influenced by his former competitive javelin throwing, that began to accelerate the ball from lower than usual. He did not put a lot of work on the ball with his fingers, so he did not seam or swing the ball much and he adopted an uncomplicated approach to his work. He once described his bowling as, "I just roll up and go whang". Although he regularly bowled the bouncer, it was his ability to make the ball rise sharply from a length that earned him many wickets. The hard Australian pitches suited his style as he relied on bounce rather than movement to take wickets. John Benaud describes facing Thomson in a Sydney grade match:

So Thommo begins - the high stepping gait of a thoroughbred, bowling hand bobbing at waist level and the ball visible. It is conventional and comforting because facing a strange bowler for the first time invariably generates edginess. Then, in the split second before delivery, at gather, Thommo drags one leg behind the other in a sort of Swan Lake crossover, sways back and hides the ball behind his right knee - unconventional and very unsettling.

Forming an intimidating bowling partnership with Dennis Lillee, Thomson captured 33 wickets in the series and looked to set to beat Arthur Mailey's record of 36 Test wickets in an Australian season. However, he injured his shoulder playing a social tennis match during the rest day of the fifth Test at Adelaide and missed the rest of the summer. Australia's eventual winning margin was 4–1.

He was less at home on the slower wickets of England on the tour that followed and took only four wickets in five matches during the inaugural World Cup. In the subsequent four-Test series, he snared 16 wickets at 28.56. In the first Test at Edgbaston, he hit 49 from 67 balls and bagged 5/38 in England's second innings as Australia claimed the only decisive result of the series, which enabled them to retain the Ashes. At this time, Thomson hired a manager, David Lord, who negotiated a contract with the Brisbane radio station 4IP, reputedly worth A$63,000 per year for ten years. In the 1975–76 series against the West Indies, he took 29 wickets in the six Tests. He conceded a lot of runs but often induced the West Indies batsmen to play injudicious shots. ''Wisden'' thought his bowling had improved from the previous Australian season.

Collision

A severe injury resulted from an on-field collision with teammate Alan Turner as they both attempted a catch in the first Test match against Pakistan at Adelaide on Christmas Eve, 1976. A dislocation of his right collarbone forced him to miss the remainder of the season. Although he returned to Test cricket during the 1977 Ashes series in England, he was never as consistently fast again. Lillee missed the tour because of back problems, and Thomson responded as the spearhead of the attack by taking 23 wickets at 25.34 average. However, Australia's performance was hampered by the revelation that most of the team had signed to play World Series Cricket (WSC) in opposition to official cricket.

Thomson's relationship with WSC was complex. He did not hesitate to sign on, but his manager pointed out that his contract with 4IP required him to be available for Queensland. Lord extricated him from the WSC contract (along with the West Indian Alvin Kallicharan), prompting Kerry Packer to obtain an injunction preventing Lord (or any other third party) from inducing players to break their WSC agreements.

In the rebuilt Australian Test team of 1977–78, Thomson was the senior player after the recalled veteran, captain Bob Simpson. In the first Test against India at Brisbane, Thomson contributed seven wickets and 41 not out towards an Australian victory. During the second Test at Perth, he claimed six wickets and finished the series with 22 wickets at an average of 23.45. Australia had a narrow 3–2 win that helped the ACB maintain its optimism that it could win the war with WSC.

Simpson lobbied for Thomson's appointment as vice-captain of the team to tour the West Indies. Thomson produced his fastest spell since his comeback in the second Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, when he knocked off Viv Richards' cap and finished with 6/77. However, his bowling fell away in the later Tests. During the winter, Thomson expressed a desire to join his teammates playing WSC, which paid for a court challenge to his contract. The ACB had a rare victory over WSC when the judge ruled against the proposed move, and criticised Thomson's business acumen. Thomson played a single limited-overs match for Queensland, taking 6/18, and then sat out the season. As part of the negotiations for the peace treaty between the two organisations, the ACB agreed to let Thomson play in WSC's tour of the Caribbean in the spring of 1979. Reunited with Lillee, he returned 16 wickets in five "Supertests", including 5/78 at Trinidad.

The reunion of the partnership for Test cricket was less successful. A number of fast bowlers had enjoyed success for Australia during Thomson's absence from the team, yet the selectors were keen to see Lillee and Thomson attempt to reprise their success of the mid-1970s. However, Thomson managed only two Tests in 1979–80 when he was dropped. He played four ODIs in the first World Series Cup, but bowled erratically in two day/night matches against England at the SCG that confirmed his unsuitability to limited-overs cricket. Thereafter, injuries contributed to his absence from the team. Overlooked for the 1981 Ashes tour of England, he decided to spend the season with Middlesex in the hope that he might be needed as a late replacement in the Australian team.

Thomson reclaimed his place in 1981–82 when he played eight of the nine Tests against Pakistan and the West Indies (in Australia) and in New Zealand. His figures were pedestrian: 20 wickets at 36.4, with a best of 4/51. However, he found a regular place in the ODI team and took 19 wickets (at 27.42 average) in 13 matches during the World Series Cup.

On the tour of Pakistan later in the year, he took just three wickets in three Tests. Dropped for the first Test at home against England, Thomson owed his recall to a knee injury suffered by Lillee. In the remaining four Tests, he enjoyed success in taking 22 wickets at 18.68. At times, he reached top pace, claiming 5/73 at Brisbane, and 5/50 at Sydney in the fifth Test, his last in Australia. His performance in the World Series Cup, 19 wickets in 13 matches with an RPO of 4.01, was his best in an ODI tournament.

Continuing with Queensland as captain, Thomson was chosen for the 1985 tour of England. The rebel tours to South Africa had stripped the Australian team of pace bowlers. In the first Test, his match figures were 2/174 and he was omitted until the fifth Test, when he scored 28 not out in the first innings, his highest Test score since 1977. His only wicket was Graham Gooch, giving him 200 Test wickets.

Notes

External links

Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Australia Test cricketers Category:Cricket commentators Category:Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup Category:World Series Cricket players Category:Middlesex cricketers Category:New South Wales cricketers Category:Queensland cricketers Category:Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Category:Australian cricketers

mr:जेफ थॉमसन

playername	Alvin Kallicharran
country	West Indies
batting	Left-handed batsman
bowling	Right-arm off break
deliveries	balls
columns	2
column1	Tests
matches1	66
runs1	4399
bat avg1	44.43
100s/50s1	12/21
top score1	187
deliveries1	406
wickets1	4
bowl avg1	39.50
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	2/16
catches/stumpings1	51/0
column2	ODIs
matches2	31
runs2	826
bat avg2	34.41
100s/50s2	0/6
top score2	78
deliveries2	105
wickets2	3
bowl avg2	21.33
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	2/10
catches/stumpings2	8/0
club1	Guyana
year1	1967–1981
club2	Warwickshire
year2	1971–1990
club3	Berbice
year3	1972–1974
club4	Queensland
year4	1977–1978
club5	Transvaal
year5	1981–1984
club6	Orange Free State
year6	1984–1988
club7	Impalas
year7	1984–1987
date	15 January
year	2006
source	http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/52285.html }}

Alvin Isaac Kallicharran (born 21 March 1949) is a former West Indian batsman of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity who played from 1972 to 1981. Kallicharran was born in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana). His brother Derek played first class cricket for Guyana and later the United States of America. A left-handed batsmand and right-arm off spinner, Kallicharran was known for his elegant, watchful batting style. He was a ''Wisden'' Cricketer of the Year for 1973. He was part of the 1975 and 1979 team that won the Cricket World Cup. His highest innings was a score of 187 against India in the 1978–79 tour. In county cricket, he found success with Warwickshire in English County cricket. While playing against minor county Oxfordshire in the 1984 one day Natwest Trophy he scored 206 and took 6 for 32.

One of his most noted international innings, a knock of 158 against England, was shrouded in controversy when he was run out by Tony Greig on the final ball the end of the first day. He attempted to join World Series Cricket, but failed, and was appointed captain of the West Indies in 1977–1978 when Clive Lloyd resigned over the Packer issue. Kallicharan was later involved in further controversy when he led an unofficial rebel tour to South Africa in defiance of the Gleneagles Agreement and anti-apartheid protesters in that country who asserted that official sporting structures were discriminatory. He saw out the rest of his career playing for Orange Free State and Transvaal in South African domestic cricket. He is currently manager of Lashings World XI.

Presently, Kalicharan lives in London and is involved in promoting cricket among youth around the country. While in a short visit to United States in April 2011, he held several training sessions on invitation by the Triangle Cricket League in Raleigh-Durham area, North Carolina.

References

External links

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1979 Cricket World Cup Category:West Indies One Day International cricketers Category:West Indies Test cricketers Category:West Indian cricket captains Category:Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Category:Guyanese cricketers Category:Free State cricketers Category:Queensland cricketers Category:Gauteng cricketers Category:Warwickshire cricketers Category:Berbice cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Indo-Guyanese people Category:Herefordshire cricketers Category:Shropshire cricketers Category:Guyanese Hindus

mr:अल्विन कालिचरण

playername	Javed Miandad
country	Pakistan
fullname	Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan
living	true
dayofbirth	12
monthofbirth	6
yearofbirth	1957
placeofbirth	Karachi, Sindh
countryofbirth	Pakistan
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right arm leg-break
role	Batsman
international	yes
testdebutdate	9 October
testdebutyear	1976
testdebutagainst	New Zealand
lasttestdate	16 December
lasttestyear	1993
lasttestagainst	Zimbabwe
odidebutdate	11 June
odidebutyear	1975
odidebutagainst	West Indies
lastodidate	9 March
lastodiyear	1996
lastodiagainst	India
club1	Habib Bank Limited
year1	1975–1991
club2	Glamorgan
year2	1980–1985
club3	Sussex
year3	1976–1979
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	124
runs1	8,832
bat avg1	52.57
100s/50s1	23/43
top score1	280*
deliveries1	1,470
wickets1	17
bowl avg1	40.11
fivefor1	–
tenfor1	–
best bowling1	3/74
catches/stumpings1	93/1
column2	ODI
matches2	233
runs2	7,381
bat avg2	41.70
100s/50s2	8/50
top score2	119*
deliveries2	297
wickets2	7
bowl avg2	42.42
fivefor2	–
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	2/22
catches/stumpings2	71/2
column3	FC
matches3	402
runs3	28,663
bat avg3	53.37
100s/50s3	80/139
top score3	311
deliveries3	12,690
wickets3	191
bowl avg3	34.06
fivefor3	6
tenfor3	n/a
best bowling3	7/39
catches/stumpings3	341/3
column4	LA
matches4	439
runs4	13,973
bat avg4	42.60
100s/50s4	13/101
top score4	152*
deliveries4	830
wickets4	18
bowl avg4	34.05
fivefor4	–
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	3/20
catches/stumpings4	142/2
date	10 March
year	2009
source	http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1504/1504.html CricketArchive }}

Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan (Urdu: ) (born 12 June 1957), popularly known as Javed Miandad (Urdu: ), is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is widely known for his big six against India in 1986 where 5 runs were required from 1 ball. After his playing career, he has remained the coach of Pakistan cricket team at various occasions, as well as held positions in the Pakistan Cricket Board. He had three coaching stints with the Pakistan national team.

Early life

Javed Miandad was born in Palanpur in 1957. Javed Miandad attended schools in Palanpur and college in Karachi. His parents moved from Palanpur, Gujarat, India. Javed Miandad is a Tyagi (Muslim).

Career

Miandad made his Test debut against New Zealand at Lahore on 9 October 1976. He scored 163 in this match, to become the youngest player at the time to do so at an age of 19 years and 119 days. In the same series he scored a double century, and on his way broke George Headley's 47 year record, to become the youngest player to achieve the feat. Miandad made his One Day International debut against the West Indies at Edgbaston, Birmingham in the Cricket World Cup 1975. Interestingly, his last ODI was also a world cup match, in both innings he was run out and Pakistan lost the match. More, he scored 2 fours and 0 sixes and his strike rate was below 100 in both of his, first and last ODI innings.

Miandad's inclusion in the Pakistan team was itself an achievement. A formidable batting line-up of Majid Khan, Sadiq Muhammad, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Mushtaq Muhammad and Wasim Raja was hard to create any replacements, but Miandad's raw talent made it possible and he become an integral part of Pakistan's strong batting line.

Javed Miandad played 124 Test matches, batting in 189 innings. His aggregate of 8,832 Test runs is a Pakistani record. Even though his test career spanned 17 years, he failed to make it into the top-most category of batsmen with test aggregates of over 10,000 runs. Miandad's 23 centuries and 43 fifties were Pakistani national records, until they were broken by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Miandad's Test career batting average of 52.57 is among the highest for Pakistani batsmen. He scored six double centuries which is the most by a Pakistani and 6th overall.He has honour of scoring centuries in both innings in the 100th test match against New Zealand. He made his highest score of 280 not out against India.Pakistan went on to win that match by an innings and 119 runs.

Javed Miandad is the first (and one of the only two, other being Sachin Tendulkar ) player to have played in six World Cups, the first six, from 1975 to 1996.

Coaching and commentary

As a coach, Javed Miandad guided Pakistan to test victories in the Asia Cup and in India during 1998-99 season, when Wasim Akram was captain. Miandad also later assisted with coaching Pakistani batsmen.

Following this he was offered broadcasting and coaching positions in India. Also in November 2010 it was being planned to give Miandad a role as a batting coach.

Personal life

Javed Miandad married Tahira Saigol in 1980. He has two sons and a daughter. He had three brothers play first-class cricket in Pakistan: Anwar, Sohail and Bashir. His son Junaid Miandad is married to Mahrukh Ibrahim, daughter of Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian born underworld kingpin, smuggler and terrorist who currently resides in Pakistan. Miandad told the press that his son and Ibrahim's daughter met while studying together in the UK.

Records & achievements

name	Pride of Performance Award Recipient
country	Islamic Republic of Pakistan
date	1986
presenter	Islamic Republic of Pakistan }}

Miandad was amongst the three Pakistani players to have his name in the Hall of Fame at Lords.

In 1983, he had received the President’s Pride of Performance Award

Miandad is one of those two cricketers(other being Sachin Tendulkar) who appeared in Six World Cup competitions. In 1982, Wisden named him as one of the cricketers of the year. Javed Miandad scored 1083 runs in 33 matches at 6 World Cup tournaments.

He was also declared the 44th best Cricketer of all time in ESPN Legend Of Cricket.

He is the youngest player to hit a double

century. He broke George Headley's 47 year old record. Now the record is 35 years old. Miandad holds the world record for the maximum number of consecutive half centuries in One Day Internationals- 9

Centuries by Javed Miandad

One Day International Centuries

In the column Runs, * indicates being not out

The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

36 119* 116* 113 103 100* 115* 107

+ One Day International Centuries of Javed Miandad
# !! Runs !! Match !! Against !! City/Country !! Venue !! Year
[1]	106*	|		Gujranwala, Pakistan	Jinnah Stadium (Gujranwala)>Municipal Stadium	1982
[2]	|	38		Lahore, Pakistan	Gaddafi Stadium	1982
[3]	|	95		Sharjah (city)>Sharjah, UAE	Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium	1986
[4]	|	117		London, United Kingdom	The Oval	1987
[5]	|	120		Hyderabad (Pakistan)>Hyderabad, Pakistan	Niaz Stadium	1987
[6]	|	131		Georgetown, Guyana>Georgetown, Guyana	Bourda	1988
[7]	|	182		Hyderabad (Pakistan)>Hyderabad, Pakistan	Niaz Stadium	1992
[8]	|	204		East London, Eastern Cape>East London, South Africa	Buffalo Park	1993

Test Cricket International Centuries

In the column Runs, * indicates being not out

The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career

1 206 154* 100 160* 129* 106* 138 126 280* 131 104 rowspan="2" 203* 260 114 102 211 107 118 271 145 153*

+ Test Centuries of Javed Miandad
# !! Runs !! Match !! Against !! City/Country !! Venue !! Year
1	163	|		Lahore, Pakistan	Gaddafi Stadium	1976
2	|	3		Karachi, Pakistan	National Stadium	1976
3	|	14		Faisalabad, Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	1978
4	|	16		Karachi, Pakistan	National Stadium, Karachi>National Stadium	1978
5	|	17		Christchurch, New Zealand	Lancaster Park	1979
6	|	21		Perth, Western Australia>Perth, Australia	WACA Ground	1979
7	|	28		Faisalabad, Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	1980
8	|	46		Lahore, Pakistan	Gaddafi Stadium	1982
9	|	49		Faisalabad, Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	1983
10	|	50		Hyderabad, Sindh>Hyderabad, Pakistan	Niaz Stadium	1983
11	|	58		Adelaide, Australia	Adelaide Oval	1983
12	|	64		Hyderabad, Pakistan ||	Niaz Stadium	1984
13	103*
14	|	69		Faisalabad, Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	1985
15	|	86		London, England	The Oval	1987
16	|	90		Georgetown, Guyana, West Indies	Georgetown, Guyana>Georgetown	1988
17	|	91		Port of Spain, West Indies	Port of Spain	1988
18	|	93		Karachi, Pakistan	National Stadium, Karachi>National Stadium	1988
19	|	94		Faisalabad, Pakistan	Iqbal Stadium	1988
20	|	96		Wellington, New Zealand	Wellington	1989
21	|	97		Auckland, New Zealand	Auckland	1989
22	|	100		Lahore, Pakistan	Gaddafi Stadium	1989
23	|	113		Birmingham, England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	1992

References

External links

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:People from Karachi Category:Pakistani cricket captains Category:Pakistan One Day International cricketers Category:Pakistan Test cricketers Category:Sportspeople from Karachi Category:Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Category:Glamorgan cricketers Category:Glamorgan cricket captains Category:Habib Bank Limited cricketers Category:Karachi cricketers Category:Sindh cricketers Category:Sussex cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1979 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1987 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Category:World Series Cricket players Category:Pakistani cricket coaches Category:Coaches of the Pakistan national cricket team Category:International Cricket Council Hall of Fame inductees Category:Recipients of the Pride of Performance award

bn:জাভেদ মিয়াঁদাদ de:Javed Miandad mr:जावेद मियांदाद ta:ஜாவெட் மியன்டாட் te:జావెద్ మియాందాద్ ur:جاوید میانداد

playername	The Right ExcellentSir Garfield Sobers
country	West Indies
fullname	Garfield St Aubrun Sobers
nickname	Gary (or Garry)
living	true
dayofbirth	28
monthofbirth	7
yearofbirth	1936
placeofbirth	Bridgetown
countryofbirth	Barbados
heightft	5
heightinch	11
batting	left-handed batsman (LHB)
bowling	left-arm fast medium (LFM)slow left-arm orthodox (SLA)slow left-arm chinaman (SLC)
role	all-rounder
international	true
testdebutdate	30 March
testdebutyear	1954
testdebutagainst	England
testcap	84
lasttestdate	5 April
lasttestyear	1974
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	5 September
odidebutyear	1973
odidebutagainst	England
odicap	11
club1	Barbados
year1	1952–1974
club2	South Australia
year2	1961–1964
club3	Nottinghamshire
year3	1968–1974
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	93
runs1	8032
bat avg1	57.78
100s/50s1	26/30
top score1	365*
deliveries1	21599
wickets1	235
bowl avg1	34.03
fivefor1	6
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	6/73
catches/stumpings1	109/–
column2	ODI
matches2	1
runs2	0
bat avg2	0.00
100s/50s2	0/0
top score2	0
deliveries2	63
wickets2	1
bowl avg2	31.00
fivefor2	–
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	1/31
catches/stumpings2	1/–
column3	FC
matches3	383
runs3	28314
bat avg3	54.87
100s/50s3	86/121
top score3	365*
deliveries3	70789
wickets3	1043
bowl avg3	27.74
fivefor3	36
tenfor3	1
best bowling3	9/49
catches/stumpings3	407/–
column4	LA
matches4	95
runs4	2721
bat avg4	38.32
100s/50s4	1/18
top score4	116*
deliveries4	4387
wickets4	109
bowl avg4	21.95
fivefor4	1
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	5/43
catches/stumpings4	41/–
date	13 September
year	2007
source	http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/52946.html Cricinfo }}

Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers AO, OCC (born 28 July 1936) is a former cricketer who captained West Indies. His first name of Garfield is variously abbreviated as Gary or Garry. He is widely regarded as one of cricket's greatest ever all-rounders, having excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and fielding. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1975 for his services to cricket. He became a dual Barbadian-Australian citizen through marriage in 1980. By an act of Parliament in 1998, Sobers was named as one of the ten National Heroes of Barbados.

1936–1954: Early years

Sobers was born Garfield St Aubrun Sobers on 28 July 1936 to Shamont and Thelma Sobers of Walcott Avenue, Bay Land, St Michael, Bridgetown, Barbados, and was the fifth of six children. At birth he had two extra fingers, one on each hand, which he removed himself during childhood with the aid of catgut and a sharp knife. Sobers was only five when his father died at sea in January 1942, after his ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat.

From an early age, Sobers demonstrated the talent and ability to play with great skill almost any sport involving a ball, particularly cricket, football and basketball. He and his similarly talented brother Gerald helped their Bay Street Boys' School team to win the primary school Inter-School Cricket championship for three consecutive years. When he was 13, he was recruited to play for two cricket teams. These were the Kent St Philip club in the Barbados Cricket League (BCL) and the Wanderers club, located at Bay Land, in the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA). Garnet Ashby, captain of Kent St Philip, told him that this was his opportunity to play cricket with "the big boys".

Sobers gained useful experience by bowling to Wanderers batsmen, including West Indies Test player Denis Atkinson, at practice in the nets and soon developed his great skill as a left arm spin bowler. More importantly for his career, he was observed by Inspector Wilfred Farmer, captain of the Police team in the BCL First Division. Farmer offered Sobers a chance to play for Police in the 1951–52 season while he was still only 15. In the 1952–53 season, Sobers was invited to the Barbados trials for the colony's tour match against the Indian touring team at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown. He was initially selected as 12th man but then made the team itself when Frank King was forced to withdraw. He therefore made his first-class debut on 31 January 1953, aged only 16. Batting at number nine, he scored 7 not out in his only innings but made an immediate impression as a bowler, taking 4/50 and 3/92.

A full year passed before Sobers, now 17, made his second first-class appearance, again playing against a touring team. He batted at number five against Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), scoring 46 and 27; and took two wickets in the match. He had shown enough talent in these two matches to be selected for West Indies and his third first-class appearance was his Test debut.

International cricket career

1954–1957: Early Test career

Sobers had progressed quickly and made his Test debut in March 1954, aged 17, against England at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica for the Fifth and final Test, after Alf Valentine had fallen ill. Sobers was selected as a bowler, despite only mediocre performances against England for Barbados. He made a good impression by taking 4/75 in England's first innings, including a wicket in his opening over. Sobers also scored 14 not out and 26 batting at number nine; however, England won the match by nine wickets.

Australia toured the West Indies in 1954-55, and their all-rounder Keith Miller thought that Sobers would become a better batsman than bowler despite batting in the lower-order. Sobers was not selected for the First Test, which the West Indies lost by nine wickets. However, he regained his place for the Second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The match was a high-scoring draw, with Sobers scoring 47 and eight not out. He was barely used with the ball, bowling three overs for ten runs, as Australia amassed a first-innings total of over 600. Sobers was given a further opportunity in the next Test in Georgetown, Guyana (British Guiana at the time) in South America. Despite scoring only 12 and 11 with the bat, he took three wickets in the Australians' first innings. Nevertheless, Australia won by eight wickets. West Indian captain and opening batsman Jeff Stollmeyer twisted his ankle after treading on a ball ahead of the Fourth Test in Barbados, "triggering huge debate about who should open." Eventually, Sobers was chosen to open the innings after Australia had amassed another total of over 600. Sobers had a suspicion he might be asked to do the job. "I couldn't see them sending in anyone else — I was a bowler with a little ability as a batsman and they wanted someone to help see off the shine and protect the three W's." Sobers struck his first three deliveries for boundaries, all from the bowling of Miller. In the fast-bowler's second over, Sobers hit him for another three fours. He was eventually dismissed for 43 out of a first-wicket partnership of 52 with JK Holt. The match was drawn, and Sobers took one wicket in the Australians' only innings, before scoring 11 in the West Indies second innings. The home team were again defeated in the Fifth and final Test in Jamaica. Sobers performed with the bat, however, scoring 35 not out and 64. Playing in all four Tests, he totalled 81 runs and two wickets. As a batsman, Sobers needed time to develop at Test level and, in nine Tests as a teenager, he scored only one half century, and averaged 29.33 with the bat.

He was sent home from New Zealand early to play an unofficial Test match against an England team that included feared fast-bowler Frank Tyson. After struggling to cope with Tyson's pace, Sobers managed to score a half-century, raising hope that he would be selected for the upcoming tour to England, something he considered unlikely after his lack of form. In the first trial match to help select the squad for the upcoming tour, Sobers scored a century in Trinidad. The matches also saw Sobers get his first look at West Indian cricket politics. Wes Hall and Frank Mason were competing for a single place in the touring party, and Sobers and Everton Weekes decided they "would take on Mason and knock him out of the firing line to try and get our fellow Bajan (countryman) Wes in the team." The pair attacked Mason, while they defended Hall in a tactic that paid off with Hall selected, despite Sobers believing Mason was the better bowler at the time. His performances with the bat throughout the five Test series were classed as mediocre, scoring 320 runs at 32, with three half centuries. On the bowling front, Sobers struggled, taking five wickets at 71. After England had scored 412, the West Indies were easily dismissed for 89 and 86 by the Surrey spinners Jim Laker and Tony Lock, who were playing on their home ground. Batting at number 3, Sobers made 39 and 42, while none of his colleagues passed 30 in either innings. In its summary of the tour, ''Wisden'' said: "(of the newcomers) Collie Smith, Sobers, Rohan Kanhai and Roy Gilchrist were particularly impressive"; adding that "to Sobers, a tall left-handed all-rounder, fell the distinction of hitting the highest score of the tour: 219 not out against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. Sobers undoubtedly was a very fine stroke-player who should go far".

1958–1964: 365 not out

At this stage of his career, Sobers had frustrated his admirers by failing to convert good starts into high scores. He had reached double figures in 18 of his 22 Test innings, although his highest score was still only 66. But, in the three years following the 1957 tour, he fulfilled his promise. In his next 24 Tests, he scored 2,250 runs at the exceptionally high average of 93.75. In 1958, he scored his maiden Test century against Pakistan in Kingston and expanded it to an unbeaten 365, breaking the world record Test score of 364 set by England's Len Hutton in 1938. Sobers batted for 614 minutes and scored 38 fours but, unusually in such a large total, no sixes. At 21 years and 216 days, he is the youngest player to break the individual scoring record in Tests, and remains the youngest triple-centurion. He made 824 runs with three centuries in the five Tests against Pakistan, and followed this with 557 runs and three more centuries on the West Indies tour of India in 1958-59. Sobers underwent trauma following the death of Collie Smith in September 1959, but he continued to play cricket successfully. In the home Test series against England in 1959-60, he scored three centuries in five matches, totalling 709 runs.

Largely inspired by new West Indies captain Frank Worrell, who was a close personal friend, Sobers had an outstanding 1960-61 series in Australia. He scored a celebrated 132 on the first day of the First Test at Brisbane Cricket Ground, the match which resulted in the first Tied Test. ''Wisden'' confirmed that "some observers considered it the best hundred they had ever seen". Sobers scored 430 runs in the series, which Australia won 2-1, with two centuries; his fielding was outstanding and he took 12 catches. He felt he had "had a good series, starting badly but then coming on" and a very positive outcome for him was to receive an invitation from Don Bradman to play for South Australia in 1961–62.

Sobers took 15 wickets in the 1960-61 series, including a best analysis of 5/120, at an average of 39.20, and his bowling allowed Worrell to play an extra batsman in the final three Tests, thus using Sobers for the first time as a designated all-rounder, a role in which he became the dominant player in world cricket over the next decade, being awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World title (retrospectively) eight times in 13 years. Sobers was never a prolific wicket-taker in Test cricket, and his average of three wickets per game in this series typified his whole career. Overall, he took 235 wickets in his 93 Tests at an average of 34.03 and was more effective when operating as a pace bowler. His best performance was 6/73 and, although he achieved five wickets in an innings six times, he never took ten in a match.

His success continued in the next two series at home to India in 1961-62 and away to England in 1963. He was elected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1964, and then succeeded Worrell, who had retired, as West Indies captain for the 1964-65 home series against Australia.

1965–1974: West Indies captaincy

Sobers enjoyed immediate success as West Indies captain when his team defeated Australia by 179 runs in the First Test at Sabina Park. West Indies went on to win the series 2-1 and so claim the new Frank Worrell Trophy. This was the first time West Indies had beaten Australia in a Test series.

He enjoyed spectacular success in England in 1966 and was widely acclaimed as "King Cricket". In the five Tests he scored 722 runs at an average of 103.14 with three centuries, and had 20 wickets at 27.25, as well as taking 10 catches. West Indies won the series 3-1, with one match drawn. His status was celebrated at that time by the Trinidadian calypso artist Mighty Sparrow, with his song "Sir Garfield Sobers".

In 1966-67, Sobers captained the West Indies team to India in 1966-67 and they won the series 2-0 with one match drawn.

He lost a series for the first time in 1967-68 when West Indies were surprisingly beaten at home by England. Four matches were drawn and England won the Fourth Test at Queen's Park Oval following a controversial declaration by Sobers which enabled England to score the necessary 215-3 to win at just four runs an over.

In 1968-69, Sobers captained the West Indian cricket team in Australia in 1968-69 but they lost the series 3-1 and then drew a three-Test series in New Zealand 1-1.

In 1969, West Indies lost 2-0 in England with one match drawn.

Sobers captained West Indies for the five-Test home series versus India in 1970-71. India won the series 1-0 with four matches drawn. A year later, Sobers led West Indies in five home Tests against New Zealand and all five were drawn.

Sobers was succeeded as West Indies captain by Rohan Kanhai for the 1972-73 home series against Australia. Sobers did not play in that series but returned to play under Kanhai in England in 1973. He played his last Test in March 1974 at Queen's Park Oval against England.

Rest of the World XI

When South Africa was banned from international cricket because of the country's apartheid policy, the team's two lucrative tours to England in 1970 and to Australia in 1971–72 were cancelled. The cricket authorities responded by forming Rest of the World teams to play unofficial Test series in lieu and these teams included some leading South African players. Sobers was invited to captain the Rest of the World in both series.

In 1970, captaining the Rest of the World XI against England, he took 6/21 on the opening day of the First (unofficial) Test at Lord's with pace bowling, the ball swinging and seaming at high speed. He then scored "a magnificent" 183 and helped bowl out England in the second innings using his left arm wrist spin. In the Fourth Test at Headingley, Sobers scored 114 and 59 as his team won by two wickets.

In January 1972, in the Third (unofficial) Test between Australia and the Rest of the World XI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sobers played an innings of 254 which was described by Don Bradman as "probably the greatest exhibition of batting ever seen in Australia". He reached his century in 129 balls and after a rest day, reached 254 in 326 balls. It was "one of the most magnificent innings seen on the Melbourne Cricket Ground" and his "superb display of forceful cricket" lasted 376 minutes and included two sixes and 33 fours.

League cricket in England

Sobers spent several seasons in English league cricket. Having completed his first tour of England with West Indies in 1957, he followed the advice of his mentor Frank Worrell and became the professional at Radcliffe Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League, staying for five seasons from 1958 to 1962. This experience enabled him to hone his skills in varying conditions and Sobers says that playing in the league furthered his cricket education. He enjoyed considerable success at Radcliffe. In 1961, he achieved a rare "double" by scoring 1008 runs and taking 144 wickets, his performances being instrumental in Radcliffe winning both the league's championship title and its supplementary Wood Cup competition.

While he was engaged at Radcliffe, Sobers underwent emotional trauma after a road accident in September 1959 on the A34 near Stoke-on-Trent which resulted in Collie Smith's death. Sobers was driving a car in which Smith and another West Indian Test player Tom Dewdney were passengers. Smith's back was broken by the collision and he died three days later. Sobers could not recall much about the crash and was fined 10 pounds for driving without due care and attention. He "began drinking more" and there were concerns, expressed by himself and others, that the experience might affect his cricket career. He got over the trauma by deciding that he would be letting his country down if he "disappeared into the mists of an alcoholic haze" and he resolved to play not just for Garfield Sobers but for Collie Smith as well, thus setting himself the task of playing for two men. He recovered well and, after an outstanding home Test series against England in 1959–60, he returned to Radcliffe where he continued as club professional for the next three seasons.

Sobers gives an insight into the life of the club professional in his autobiography. He was paid £500 a season by Radcliffe. That was a reasonable wage but he relied on matchday collections to augment it and a good performance would boost the collection. He sometimes received as much as £50 in a collection and "that represented a massive bonus". Radcliffe placed no restrictions on him and, when they had no game, he could play as a guest professional in other leagues throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire. He particularly liked playing in Yorkshire when he could because they would pay him £25 per appearance with a collection on top if he did well.

After touring England with West Indies in 1963, he moved to the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League in 1964 to play for Norton Cricket Club, who duly won the league title. Sobers made 549 runs in 18 innings at 49.90, finishing second in the league averages behind only his amateur brother Gerald, also playing for Norton, who averaged 50.12. Gary Sobers did even better with the ball, his 97 wickets at 8.38 heading the league averages. 1965 saw a repeat performance with Norton again winning the league and, though Sobers only averaged 25.38 with the bat, he again topped the league bowling averages with 76 wickets at 8.03. Norton lost the league title in 1966 while Sobers was touring England with West Indies but regained it in 1967 when he returned. He was fourth in the 1967 league batting averages with 41.83 and third in the bowling with 95 wickets at 9.37 (the two bowlers with better averages took only 22 and 24 wickets).

Sheffield Shield with South Australia

In the 1961–62 Australian season which followed the 1960-61 West Indies tour, Sobers and his West Indian colleagues Wes Hall and Rohan Kanhai returned to Australia to take part in the Sheffield Shield. Sobers played for South Australia and had an enormous impact on attendances, causing an 89% increase with gate receipts rising "by two and a half times". He topped both the batting and bowling averages at South Australia, his best performance being against champions New South Wales at the Adelaide Oval when he scored 251 and took 3/51 and 6/72.

He was even more outstanding in 1963–64 when, largely due to his efforts, South Australia won the Sheffield Shield. Sobers was the season's leading runscorer with 973 at 74.84 and the leading wicket taker with 47 at 28.27.

Sobers spent three seasons with South Australia and in two he achieved the rare double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets.

Shell Shield with Barbados

Sobers played intermittently for Barbados throughout his first-class career. He made his first appearance in the new Shell Shield competition in February 1966. His last appearance for Barbados was in the 1973–74 Shell Shield match against Jamaica at Kensington Oval.

County Championship with Nottinghamshire

At the end of the 1967 English cricket season, it was agreed that each county club could immediately sign a non-English player for the 1968 season. Seven clubs approached Sobers and, on 14 December 1967, Nottinghamshire announced that he had signed for them and had been appointed club captain. Sobers stated that, although he had enjoyed his time in league cricket, he had a definite preference for the first-class game and he looked forward to restoring Nottinghamshire's fortunes. Though details were undisclosed, ''Wisden 1968'' speculated that his contract would run for three years and be worth £7000 a year (a very high income at the time), including an apartment and a car.

Six sixes in an over

In 1968 Sobers became the first batsman ever to hit six sixes in a single over of six consecutive balls in first-class cricket. The feat consisted of five clean hits for six and one six where the ball was caught but carried over the boundary by Roger Davis. Sobers was playing as captain of Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan in Swansea; the unfortunate bowler was Malcolm Nash. This tally of 36 runs in an over broke a 57-year-old record of 34 runs, held by Ted Alletson. In 1984–85, Indian batsman Ravi Shastri equalled the record by scoring six sixes in an over while playing for Bombay versus Baroda.

Style and technique

An outstanding all-rounder, Sobers was left-handed as both batsman and bowler. His versatility enabled him to bowl all varieties of left-arm bowling from spin to fast-medium. As a fielder he was usually stationed close to the wicket but he was also a very capable outfielder.

Richie Benaud described Sobers as "the greatest all-round cricketer the world has seen". Sobers, wrote Benaud, was "a brilliant batsman, splendid fielder, particularly close to the wicket, and a bowler of extraordinary skill, whether bowling with the new ball, providing orthodox left-arm spin or over-the-wrist spin".

Fred Trueman enjoyed a great rivalry with Sobers and later described him as a "sublime left-hand batsman" who was "one of the greatest cricketers ever to have graced the game, certainly the greatest all-rounder". Trueman went on to say that Sobers as a batsman "has a great cricketing brain and his thought processes are lightning quick".

C L R James, when describing the batsmanship of Wilton St Hill, commented upon St Hill's ability to judge the ball early in its flight and so quickly decide which stroke to play. In James' view, only Don Bradman and Sobers were comparable with St Hill in having this capability of "seeing" the ball. ''Wisden 1969'' described the "lightning footwork" of Sobers as he got into position for his stroke. Commenting upon Sobers' six sixes in an over against his team in 1968, Glamorgan captain Tony Lewis said: "It was not sheer slogging through strength, but scientific hitting with every movement working in harmony".

As a bowler, Sobers began as an orthodox left arm spinner (SLA) and later developed the ability to bowl left arm wrist spin or chinaman and googlies. Sobers could also operate as a seamer, sometimes using medium pace, but he was much more effective when he bowled fast. With the new ball, he could make the delivery curve late in flight at high speed; his action being a loose, springy run followed by a "whiplash" delivery.

Though he mostly fielded close to the wicket, Sobers was an exceptional outfielder who was seen on one occasion, when he had fielded the ball on the boundary, to "bend his hand back almost parallel with his arm before flipping the ball a full seventy yards to the wicketkeeper".

Following his success as captain of West Indies on the 1966 tour of England, the 1967 edition of ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' declared that for Sobers "(the 1966 Tests) were one triumph after another with bat and ball, as well as in the field as a master tactician and fantastic catcher close to the bat". Sobers' exploits in 1966 earned him the media-bestowed sobriquet of "King Cricket", which soon afterwards became the title of a book about him.

Personal life

Sobers was briefly engaged to Indian actress Anju Mahendru after he met her on the 1966-67 tour of India. He married Pru Kirby, an Australian, in September 1969. They had two sons, Matthew and Daniel, and an adopted daughter, Genevieve. The marriage ended in divorce in 1990 after the couple broke up in 1984; however, Sobers acquired dual Australian citizenship through marriage in 1980.

He says that his was a multi-sporting family who were all good at football, basketball, table tennis and tennis. His own favourite sport is golf and he has been an enthusiastic gambler. He is the author of a children's novel about cricket, ''Bonaventure and the Flashing Blade'', in which computer analysis helps a university cricket team become unbeatable.

Honours and legacy

In the 1975 New Year Honours List, Queen Elizabeth II created Sobers a Knight Bachelor for his services to cricket. The award was made in the British Diplomatic and Overseas section of the list, rather than on the nomination of the Government of Barbados, which had stopped putting forward recommendations for British honours. This caused the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office some unease, as shown by papers released by The National Archives in 2005. However, since Barbados had not yet introduced its own system of honours, the Prime Minister of Barbados was pleased that an honour would be forthcoming for Sobers.

The award was originally intended to be made in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours, but since there was a royal visit to Barbados planned for February 1975, it was moved forward to the New Year list so that Sobers could be knighted by the Queen in person during the visit. The very short turnaround between the decision to make the award and its announcement meant that the Governor-General of Barbados was not informed of the award before the public announcement, which caused some hurt feelings between London and Bridgetown.

Sobers was made a National Hero of Barbados by the Cabinet of Barbados in 1998. He is one of only ten people to have received this honour and the only recipient still living.

Sobers coached internationally, during a one time stint with Sri Lanka. In 2003 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, where he had played many first-class games for South Australia.

Cricket awards

Among the awards that Sobers won during his playing career were:

West Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year: 1958–59

Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1964

The Cricket Society Wetherall Award for the Leading All-Rounder in English First-Class Cricket: 1970

Walter Lawrence Trophy winner: 1974

Wisden Cricketer of the Century: 2000

In 2000 Sobers was named by a 100-member panel of experts as one of the five ''Wisden Cricketers of the Century''. He received 90 votes out of a possible 100. The other four cricketers selected for the honour were Don Bradman (100 votes), Jack Hobbs (30), Shane Warne (27) and Viv Richards (25).

In 2004, the International Cricket Council (ICC) inaugurated the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy which is awarded annually to the player selected by ICC as its Player of the Year. The recommendation to name the award after Sobers was made by a panel consisting of Richie Benaud, Sunil Gavaskar and Michael Holding, who were asked by the ICC "to select an individual with whom to honour cricket's ultimate individual award".

In 2007 Wisden retrospectively selected the Leading Cricketer in the World for every year dating back to 1900, Sobers was selected for eight years (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964–66, 1968 and 1970). Only Sobers and Bradman (10) received the accolade more than three times.

Performance graphs

References

Cited sources

External links

Garfield Sobers from the Barbados Government Information Service

Sir Garfield Sobers, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) website

Category:1936 births Category:West Indies One Day International cricketers Category:West Indies Test cricketers Category:West Indian cricket captains Category:West Indian cricketers Category:People from Bridgetown Category:Australian people of Barbadian descent Category:West Indian cricketers of 1945–46 to 1969–70 Category:Barbados cricketers Category:Nottinghamshire cricketers Category:Nottinghamshire cricket captains Category:South Australia cricketers Category:Commonwealth XI cricketers Category:International Cavaliers cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Cricket players and officials awarded knighthoods Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Living people Category:International Cricket Council Hall of Fame inductees Category:Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Category:Barbadian cricketers

bn:গারফিল্ড সোবার্স de:Garfield Sobers es:Garfield Sobers fr:Garfield Sobers mr:गारफील्ड सोबर्स simple:Garfield Sobers ta:சோபர்ஸ் te:గార్‌ఫీల్డ్ సోబర్స్