Garry Sobers

A cricketing genius, Garry Sobers excelled at all aspects of the game, and few would argue his standing as the finest all-round player in modern cricket. His exceptional Test batting average tells little about the manner in which he made his runs: he had an elegant yet powerful style and all the shots, and a superb off-side game.

As a batter he was great, as a bowler, merely superb, though he would have made the West Indies side as a bowler alone. He was remarkably versatile with the ball, bowling two styles of spin - left-arm orthodox and wristspin, but he was also a fine fast-medium opening bowler. His catching close to the wicket may have been equalled but never surpassed, and he was a brilliant fielder anywhere.

Sobers was an enterprising captain - at times maybe too enterprising, as when a generous declaration allowed England to win a decisive match in Port-of-Spain.

Born with an extra finger on each hand (removed at birth), Sobers excelled at most athletic activities, playing golf, soccer and basketball for Barbados, made his first-class cricket debut at the age of 16, and appeared in Tests a year later. He was played initially mostly as a bowler, but at the age of 23 he set the world record for an individual batter with a mammoth 365 against Pakistan - his maiden Test hundred. He reeled off five more hundreds in his next five Tests, including two in the same match. His achievements are numerous - the six consecutive sixes hit off an over from the unfortunate Malcolm Nash, a superb innings of 254 for the Rest of the World against Australia in 1971 that earned the praise of Don Bradman, a stylish hundred at Lord's against Bob Willis and Co while nursing a hangover, and much more. Like many West Indians, he plied his trade abroad, playing for Nottinghamshire and South Australia. He was knighted for his services to cricket in 1975.