Like a schoolboy, cap in hand, head bowed, I arrived at Scott's for lunch with Sir Garfield Sobers, who was not only named by Wisden in the greatest six cricketers of all times but nominated as the finest all-rounder ever to grace the game.
Of course I couldn't resist questionning him about why the current West Indian team is no longer the powerful force we feared 20 years ago, and why Brian Lara was not in the squad, as so many Englishmen wanted to see him complete his Test career on English grounds. To the former he made the suggestion that some of the West Indian team (he mentioned no names) were more interested in negotiating contracts and making money than they were in representing their national side. He reminded me that he had never received a cheque as a cricketer for more than a £1,000 pounds, and the one word that he considered described the team he captained in 1966 was pride. Until you have that, he said, you don't beat opposition teams.
Gary runs his own tournament in Barbados for the under 18s, and is rightly proud of the fact that every current member of the national squad has been through the 'Sobers academy'. He also told me that an entrepreneur has agreed that to invest £50m into West Indian cricket - a sort of West Indian Kerry Packer - if he's allowed to get a grip of proceedings. Gary feels this is the West Indies' big chance to get back on the top rung. His most touching comment came when, despite Gary's magnificent innings of 254 in Melbourne - described by Sir Donald Bradman as arguably the greatest innings in history - he says that Ted Dexter's 75 at Lord's against Griffiths, Hall and Sobers, was unquestionably the finest innings he's ever seen. The great man also added that the fish and chips suplied by Scott's was almost as good as at his favourite cafe in Barbados.
Of course I couldn't resist questionning him about why the current West Indian team is no longer the powerful force we feared 20 years ago, and why Brian Lara was not in the squad, as so many Englishmen wanted to see him complete his Test career on English grounds. To the former he made the suggestion that some of the West Indian team (he mentioned no names) were more interested in negotiating contracts and making money than they were in representing their national side. He reminded me that he had never received a cheque as a cricketer for more than a £1,000 pounds, and the one word that he considered described the team he captained in 1966 was pride. Until you have that, he said, you don't beat opposition teams.
Gary runs his own tournament in Barbados for the under 18s, and is rightly proud of the fact that every current member of the national squad has been through the 'Sobers academy'. He also told me that an entrepreneur has agreed that to invest £50m into West Indian cricket - a sort of West Indian Kerry Packer - if he's allowed to get a grip of proceedings. Gary feels this is the West Indies' big chance to get back on the top rung. His most touching comment came when, despite Gary's magnificent innings of 254 in Melbourne - described by Sir Donald Bradman as arguably the greatest innings in history - he says that Ted Dexter's 75 at Lord's against Griffiths, Hall and Sobers, was unquestionably the finest innings he's ever seen. The great man also added that the fish and chips suplied by Scott's was almost as good as at his favourite cafe in Barbados.
3 Comments:
Glad to see some cricket talk on this blog, sir. I've just come across your site: it's a good find. Very clean. I like that.
wow.. my favorite author in convention with my favorite cricket cricketing legend-- I wish I could capture this meeting/interview in video.
/Yuva
Many thanks for your comments, best wishes, Jeffrey.
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