Garry Sobers: Fielder Extraordinaire
Mon, Jul 28, '25
Garry Sobers was a phenomenal fielder. He started playing test cricket as a teenager and was assigned to the outfield where he had a surprisingly strong throwing arm for someone so young. His athleticism stood out and his pin-point accuracy in returning the ball to the wicketkeeper was notable.
Evolution from Outfield to Close-In Fielding
As he gained experience and seniority, it was quickly recognized what a marvelous close-in fielder he was and soon was placed in the slips, usually at second slip next to Rohan Kanhai at first slip, while for Lance Gibbs the great off-spinner close in on the leg side. It was in this latter position that his reputation grew and he took many spectacular catches due to his razor-sharp reflexes and uncanny anticipatory intuition. Cricket connoisseurs recall catches he took off Gibbs to dismiss the likes of Barrington and Illingworth in 1963 and 1973 respectively.
Historic Achievement
Sobers became only the third player in test cricket history to take 100 catches when he caught Brian Hastings off Lance Gibbs at Sabina Park in 1972 in his 82nd test match. At that point, only Wally Hammond and Colin Cowdrey had taken 100 catches in test cricket.
Since then, with the proliferation of test matches, many players have taken 100 catches—in fact a few have even taken 200 catches—but very few have taken the amount of spectacular catches that Sobers did, many of which had to be seen to be believed.
The Sobers-Gibbs Partnership
Eknath Solkar was renowned for his fielding at forward short leg at the same time as Garry Sobers was at backward short leg, and in the 61 test matches that he played with Lance Gibbs, Sobers took 39 catches off Lance's bowling, which is the most by a West Indian off any bowler.
Here are three examples of the fielder extraordinaire in action:
