SJS
Hall of Fame Member
In their famous book on fast bowlers, From Larwood to Lillee, Ms Trueman and Bailey write glowingly of Sobers the bowler. Trevor Bailey, one of the most articulate of cricketer turned writers, discusses all aspects of Sobers bowling below in great detail.
In many respects his unique ability to capture wickets at international level using three contrasting forms of bowling is even more remarkable than his genius as a batsman. The game has never seen a more complete bowler...
Of his three styles, Garry was most feared as a fast left arm seam and swing bowler, although he did not start to use this method until he had established himself in Test cricket as a slow left armer and a great Test batsman. It was in the English league that he first began to develop[ as a pace bowler, finding that he could pick up more wickets this way than with left arm spin.
His speed stemmed from a classical sideways-on action with his head looking over the outside of a high right arm, a brisk, brief, rhythmic approach and a poetic follow through. He discovered in the nets that he was faster off a few paces than the majority of recognised bowlers off their full runs and initially his success stemmed from pace.
It was the late Sir Frank Worrell, who realised how formidable his team would become if Garry could also take on the vital role of the third seamer. Although he did bowl some seam in India for the West Indies, it was not until the 1960-61 tour to Australia that he showed himself to be a quick bowler of Test caliber. To his pace and his awkward line away from the right handed batsman he had added the subtleties of seam and swing, and in particular the ability to swerve tha ball from on or outside the right hander's off stump back into him. He managed several times to trap Geoffrey Boycott lbw with this delivery to emphasize further its utility to left arm swing bowlers.
How fast was Gary? In his early days he was distinctly quick, and he himself reckoned that when he chose to slip himself, which he did from time to time, he was capable of the odd delivery which was as fast as anything from Wes Hall or Charlie Griffith. He certainly swung the bal more than those two, which is why he sometimes opened with the new ball. In the second innings of the Headingley Test of the 1963 series, for example, Garry struck in the opening over and went on to cap[ture three of the first four wickets.
Although he had a highly respectable bouncer, which he did not over use, Garry was rather like Botham, essentially an attacking bowlerwho believed in keeping the ball upto the bat. He might be driven to the boundary but if the ball moved late, there was the real chance of a wicket. Towards the end of Garry's career, after his second knee operation, his pace dropped to around fast medium.
His career as a chinaman googly bowler was brief. He bowled it seriously for less than five years, so it is impossible to judge how good he might have become had he had more time to concentrate on what is the most demanding of all styles of bowling. Many maintain that it takes a minimum of a decade to master. Nevertheless, Gary as left arm wrist spinner took wickets regularly at international level and Australian state level to demonstrate that he was an accomplished performer.
Like his seam bowling, his wrist spin really began in the Lancashire league, although he had been able to spin the ball viciously as a small boy. It was natural that he would experiment with the occasional chinaman in the nets and he was quick to note that almost hypnotic effect it had on the majority of club players. Consequently, he began to slip in a few in the League matches, obtaining highly satisfactory results. Although it is possible to combine the chinaman with the orthodox finger spin at club level, class batsmen will play it easily unless it is combined with a well disguised googly. Garry learnt how to disguise and pitch such a delivery in a remarkably short time, so that in under two seasons, he was capturing wickets in first class cricket as a wrist spinner. It is feasible for a right arm leg break bowler to succeed without a googly, provided he has a useful top-spinner, but no left arm wrist spinner has proved successful at international level so far without a googly.
The appeal of wrist spin to Gary was obvious. It represented a new challenge, was essentially an attacking form of bowling, and there are few if any more satisfying moments while bowling than deceiving a batsman with a googly on a perfect pitch. However, such an art form is not without its demands, and Garry's life as a Test class chinaman and googly bowler effectively ended in 1966 when his shoulder gave way under the strain of bowling the googly - by no means an unusual complaint for wrist spinners, especially those with high arm actions.
Gary gained his first cap for West Indies as an orthodox slow left arm bowler who could also bat, and he bowled in this manner, intermittently, throughout his career. But it was his least successful and certainly his least spectacular method. On god pitches, especially in Test matches, the slow left armer is largely employed as a stock bowler, someone to keep the batsmen quiet in the hope that they will eventually make a mistake. Although he could, and on occasion did, do this, it was an approach that never much appealed to Gary. His figures as an orthodox left arm slow bowler in his first Test, 28.5 - 9 - 75 - 4, suggest that he possessed the ability to become a great bowler in this style, an opinion reinforced when, at Brisbane in 1968-69, after a few overs of pace, he took six Australian wickets for 73 in a marathon spell of orthodox spin to win the match.
Viewed statistically, Garry's wickets in international cricket were quite expensive - 34 apiece. One reason for this, the most important, was that most of his Tests were played on good batting wickets and against good, very good and sometimes great batsmen. He never encountered a batting side as weak as, say, Pakistanis minus their Packerites in 1978. Only one Pakistani made a fifty in the three Test series, which made picking up wickets little more than a mere formality! Furthermore, Gary was always an attacking bowler. His two chief styles provided the main support either for the pace of Hall and Griffith or to the off spin of Gibbs. As a result, he was the one who had to operate up the hill or into the wind; or if the pitch was taking spin, he would have second choice of ends. It is also worth remembering that, unlike most bowlers who usually enjoy the chance to put their feet up in the pavillion, Gary spent an enormous time at the crease making runs.
Towards the end of his career, he had not only lost some of his pace and was troubled by a suspect knee, but also the West Indian attack was on the decline. Therefore, as well as his own rduced efectiveness, he was having to bowl far too much in conditions that were anything but helpful to bowlers.
Here are just two reasons why Gary was after Alan davidson and Bill Johnston, the best left arm pace bowler since the Second World war.
In the first innings of the fifth Test against Australia in 1960-61, Gary came onto bowl - slow at first - when the score was 124 for none and did not come off until the Australians were 335 for nine. He continued with the second new ball and finished with 44 overs, 7 maidens, 120 runs and 5 wickets; remarkable figures when one takes into account the Melbourne heat. the quality of the opposition (Simpson, McDonald, Oniell, Burge, Ken Mackay, Harvey, Davidson and Benaud), the placid pitch and the fact that he was bowling eight ball overs (making it a 59 six overs spell).
Another great spell was for the Rest of the World against England at Lord's, always one of his favourite grounds, in 1970. Bringing himself on as first change he proceeded to take six for 21 as England were dismissed for 127. He followed it up with an innings of 187, otherwise he would have taken more than the two wickets he got in the second innings.
Of his three styles, Garry was most feared as a fast left arm seam and swing bowler, although he did not start to use this method until he had established himself in Test cricket as a slow left armer and a great Test batsman. It was in the English league that he first began to develop[ as a pace bowler, finding that he could pick up more wickets this way than with left arm spin.
His speed stemmed from a classical sideways-on action with his head looking over the outside of a high right arm, a brisk, brief, rhythmic approach and a poetic follow through. He discovered in the nets that he was faster off a few paces than the majority of recognised bowlers off their full runs and initially his success stemmed from pace.
It was the late Sir Frank Worrell, who realised how formidable his team would become if Garry could also take on the vital role of the third seamer. Although he did bowl some seam in India for the West Indies, it was not until the 1960-61 tour to Australia that he showed himself to be a quick bowler of Test caliber. To his pace and his awkward line away from the right handed batsman he had added the subtleties of seam and swing, and in particular the ability to swerve tha ball from on or outside the right hander's off stump back into him. He managed several times to trap Geoffrey Boycott lbw with this delivery to emphasize further its utility to left arm swing bowlers.
How fast was Gary? In his early days he was distinctly quick, and he himself reckoned that when he chose to slip himself, which he did from time to time, he was capable of the odd delivery which was as fast as anything from Wes Hall or Charlie Griffith. He certainly swung the bal more than those two, which is why he sometimes opened with the new ball. In the second innings of the Headingley Test of the 1963 series, for example, Garry struck in the opening over and went on to cap[ture three of the first four wickets.
Although he had a highly respectable bouncer, which he did not over use, Garry was rather like Botham, essentially an attacking bowlerwho believed in keeping the ball upto the bat. He might be driven to the boundary but if the ball moved late, there was the real chance of a wicket. Towards the end of Garry's career, after his second knee operation, his pace dropped to around fast medium.
His career as a chinaman googly bowler was brief. He bowled it seriously for less than five years, so it is impossible to judge how good he might have become had he had more time to concentrate on what is the most demanding of all styles of bowling. Many maintain that it takes a minimum of a decade to master. Nevertheless, Gary as left arm wrist spinner took wickets regularly at international level and Australian state level to demonstrate that he was an accomplished performer.
Like his seam bowling, his wrist spin really began in the Lancashire league, although he had been able to spin the ball viciously as a small boy. It was natural that he would experiment with the occasional chinaman in the nets and he was quick to note that almost hypnotic effect it had on the majority of club players. Consequently, he began to slip in a few in the League matches, obtaining highly satisfactory results. Although it is possible to combine the chinaman with the orthodox finger spin at club level, class batsmen will play it easily unless it is combined with a well disguised googly. Garry learnt how to disguise and pitch such a delivery in a remarkably short time, so that in under two seasons, he was capturing wickets in first class cricket as a wrist spinner. It is feasible for a right arm leg break bowler to succeed without a googly, provided he has a useful top-spinner, but no left arm wrist spinner has proved successful at international level so far without a googly.
The appeal of wrist spin to Gary was obvious. It represented a new challenge, was essentially an attacking form of bowling, and there are few if any more satisfying moments while bowling than deceiving a batsman with a googly on a perfect pitch. However, such an art form is not without its demands, and Garry's life as a Test class chinaman and googly bowler effectively ended in 1966 when his shoulder gave way under the strain of bowling the googly - by no means an unusual complaint for wrist spinners, especially those with high arm actions.
Gary gained his first cap for West Indies as an orthodox slow left arm bowler who could also bat, and he bowled in this manner, intermittently, throughout his career. But it was his least successful and certainly his least spectacular method. On god pitches, especially in Test matches, the slow left armer is largely employed as a stock bowler, someone to keep the batsmen quiet in the hope that they will eventually make a mistake. Although he could, and on occasion did, do this, it was an approach that never much appealed to Gary. His figures as an orthodox left arm slow bowler in his first Test, 28.5 - 9 - 75 - 4, suggest that he possessed the ability to become a great bowler in this style, an opinion reinforced when, at Brisbane in 1968-69, after a few overs of pace, he took six Australian wickets for 73 in a marathon spell of orthodox spin to win the match.
Viewed statistically, Garry's wickets in international cricket were quite expensive - 34 apiece. One reason for this, the most important, was that most of his Tests were played on good batting wickets and against good, very good and sometimes great batsmen. He never encountered a batting side as weak as, say, Pakistanis minus their Packerites in 1978. Only one Pakistani made a fifty in the three Test series, which made picking up wickets little more than a mere formality! Furthermore, Gary was always an attacking bowler. His two chief styles provided the main support either for the pace of Hall and Griffith or to the off spin of Gibbs. As a result, he was the one who had to operate up the hill or into the wind; or if the pitch was taking spin, he would have second choice of ends. It is also worth remembering that, unlike most bowlers who usually enjoy the chance to put their feet up in the pavillion, Gary spent an enormous time at the crease making runs.
Towards the end of his career, he had not only lost some of his pace and was troubled by a suspect knee, but also the West Indian attack was on the decline. Therefore, as well as his own rduced efectiveness, he was having to bowl far too much in conditions that were anything but helpful to bowlers.
Here are just two reasons why Gary was after Alan davidson and Bill Johnston, the best left arm pace bowler since the Second World war.
In the first innings of the fifth Test against Australia in 1960-61, Gary came onto bowl - slow at first - when the score was 124 for none and did not come off until the Australians were 335 for nine. He continued with the second new ball and finished with 44 overs, 7 maidens, 120 runs and 5 wickets; remarkable figures when one takes into account the Melbourne heat. the quality of the opposition (Simpson, McDonald, Oniell, Burge, Ken Mackay, Harvey, Davidson and Benaud), the placid pitch and the fact that he was bowling eight ball overs (making it a 59 six overs spell).
Another great spell was for the Rest of the World against England at Lord's, always one of his favourite grounds, in 1970. Bringing himself on as first change he proceeded to take six for 21 as England were dismissed for 127. He followed it up with an innings of 187, otherwise he would have taken more than the two wickets he got in the second innings.
