A new biography by Duncan Hamilton sheds light on the financial struggles and personal demons that plagued cricket legend Garry Sobers, even as he cemented his reputation as one of the sport's greatest all-rounders.
The book, "The Man Who Walked out of the Sun: A Lifetime of Summers with Garry Sobers," highlights instances where Sobers had to play exhibition matches to make ends meet, a stark contrast to the multi-million dollar franchise opportunities available to cricketers today.
One anecdote details a 1972 event in his adoptive English county where Sobers, dressed in a silver suit, appeared at a village ground to bat against any local challengers. This occurred just months after he scored a legendary 254 for the Rest of the World against Australia, a performance Sir Donald Bradman deemed the greatest ever on Australian soil. On this village pitch, without protective gear, Sobers faced miners and others, displaying remarkable control by hitting deliveries only within boundaries to avoid injuring spectators.
Sobers' career, spanning from 1953 to 1968, saw his total salary amount to approximately £40,000, a sum significantly less than what some British footballers earned at the time. He often played numerous matches for various clubs and invitation teams to supplement his income.
His iconic "six sixes" achievement against Glamorgan's Malcolm Nash in 1969, one of cricket's most celebrated feats, happened on an afternoon when Sobers had reportedly visited the bookmakers, not expecting to bat as his team was comfortably placed. The feat was captured by a BBC cameraman who continued filming despite instructions to stop.
Beyond financial pressures, the biography delves into personal tragedies, including the 1959 death of his close friend Collie Smith in a car accident, for which Sobers blamed himself for nearly seven years. His struggles with fame, including gambling and drink, are also explored, particularly during his captaincy of the West Indies.
An instance before a match in Perth saw Sobers go missing overnight, admitting to staying out until dawn before arriving at the team hotel just before the team's departure for the ground. He reportedly fell asleep after padding up and was woken to bat, scoring 132 runs in 133 minutes before returning to sleep.
In a BBC documentary, "A Genius… but a Human Being," for which he was interviewed in the early 1970s, Sobers expressed the burden of public expectation. "Every time I look up to the window, I hope it's raining because it gives me a rest," he stated, referring to the pressure of being known as the world's greatest all-rounder.
Despite these challenges, Sobers' on-field brilliance remained undeniable. Dennis Lillee, a bowler who faced Sobers' monumental 254, described his batting as encompassing strokes almost unimaginable, stating, "There was nowhere – repeat, nowhere – you could bowl to contain the man." Hamilton's biography aims to capture both the extraordinary light of Sobers' cricket and the profound human struggles he endured.