Famous Cricketers No 42 - Gary Sobers

Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5i 10m Tests 93.5 26 213 6 3/20 36.50 - - Barbados 86.1 26 163 5 3/26 32.60 - - Season (6-ball) 180 62 376 11 3/20 34.18 - - Career (6-ball) 351.5 126 738 24 4/50 30.75 - - 1955/56 - West Indians in New Zealand Sobers was a member of the young, experimental squad which toured New Zealand this winter under the captaincy of Denis Atkinson. He failed to adjust to conditions there and fell far below the selectors’ expectations. In four Tests he could manage no more than 81 runs (av: 16.20) and 2 wickets (av: 24.50). In seven first-class matches he manufactured but a single half-century and ended the tour with a paltry aggregate of 212. His 4 wickets cost 42.25 runs apiece. His career batting average slumped to less than 40 and his bowling average also suffered. Although his team performed reasonably well, winning three of the four Tests and losing only one of its eight first-class matches, the tour was easily the most disappointing one for Sobers in a personal sense. Its psychological scars went so deep that, even at the height of his career, he never performed even moderately well against teams representing New Zealand. For Weekes, on the other hand, the tour was a triumph. He scored over 900 runs at an average of more than 104 per innings. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 11. West Indians v Auckland, Auckland, January 20, 21, 23 (West Indians won by eight wickets) b A.F.Lissette 38 330 14 4 30 0 277 not out 6 51/2 12 8 6 1 B.J.Sorenson b 102 12. West Indians v Canterbury, Christchurch, January 27, 28, 29 (Match drawn) c S.C.Guillen b I.McK.Sinclair 53 357 18 7 48 1 S.C.Guillen lbw 227 1 0 4 0 25/0 13. WEST INDIES v NEW ZEALAND, Dunedin, February 3, 4, 6 (West Indies won by an innings and 71 runs) run out 27 353 - - - - 74 1 4 4 0 0 208 14. West Indians v Wellington, Wellington, February 10, 11, 13 (West Indians won by an innings and 87 runs) b B.D.Morrison 34 429/4d 10 3 32 0 258 2 2 2 0 0 84 15. WEST INDIES v NEW ZEALAND, Christchurch, February 18, 20, 21 (West Indies won by an innings and 64 runs) b A.F.Lissette 25 386 158 164 1 16. WEST INDIES v NEW ZEALAND, Wellington, March 3, 5, 6, 7 (West Indies won by nine wickets) c R.T.Barber b J.R. Reid 27 404 14 11 3 1 J.E.K.Beck lbw 208 did not bat - 13/1 8.5 4 11 1 H.B.Cave c and b 208 1 17. WEST INDIES v NEW ZEALAND, Auckland, March 9, 10, 12, 13 (New Zealand won by 190 runs) c S.C.Guillen b A.R.MacGibbon 1 145 20 7 35 0 255 1 run out 1 77 - - - - 157/9d SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Tests 4 5 0 81 27 16.20 - - 4 Other matches 3 4 1 131 53 43.66 - 1 2 Tour 7 9 1 212 53 26.50 - 1 6 Career 17 27 6 767 104* 36.52 1 3 10 13