Garfield St. Auburn Sobers played his final innings at the Kensington Oval here on Wednesday under bright sunshine for nearly three hours, still able to mesmerise local, regional and international spectators, most of whom including Britain’s King Phillip acknowledging that there have been few,’ whose name alone brings a smile to people’s faces across Barbados, the Caribbean and the entire Commonwealth’.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who in her ‘grateful from the nation’ tribute at the State Service of Thanksgiving, said the visit to the Kensington Oval, this most iconic of cricket grounds where Sir Garry’s casket was draped with the national flag of Barbados, , ‘is to pay tribute, but also to send a message to the future’. She said that the 89-year-old Sir Garry did not come to be the best or the first or the last, but ‘came to do his best and to be his best, not for the world, but for goals that he set himself, conscious that if he did that, along with whatever else everyone else did, that glory could come, victory could be assured.’
Sir Gary was buried one day after he would have celebrated his 90th birthday and Mottley said that the gods would have conspired to ensure that the West Indies cricket team had defeated the visiting Pakistan test team by 90 runs on Tuesday in Trinidad and Tobago and thereby allowing the seven members of the regional team to attend the ceremony.
‘I say today as we say farewell to you, Sir Garry, this is your final walk from Kensington Oval. This will be our country’s last opportunity to give you that which you became so accustomed to, a standing ovation,’ Mottley said I blazing sunlight over the picturesque ground on the outskirts of the capital, Bridgetown.
‘I ask each and every one of us in this Oval today …to let us stand and give Sir Garry, our Sir Gary, our hero, our beloved man. A man who guided me in my own personal journey with the confidence that I think that each and every one of us as children needed to take on this world.
‘We thank you for teaching us that greatness could wear humility, that excellence could still belong to ordinary people, that the dreams of a little boy from the Bayland could become the inheritance of an entire nation,’ Mottley said of the man, who until July 17, was one of two living National Heroes, the other being the internationally acclaimed singer, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, who was also present at the funeral service.
Former West Indies captain, Brian Lara, who in April 1994, had broken Sir Garry’s long standing world record of 365 runs which he made against Pakistan in 1958, in an emotional address described the gifted batsman as ‘my mentor, my dad and my friend.
‘First time I met you you were Sir Sobers,’ Lara said adding that ‘over the last few days I struggled with what I would say today, but now I am here, I realise something, this is not a sad moment, this is a moment for us to celebrate and I hope you feel the same.
Lara said he hopes that 10 years from now when there will be a celebration of Sir Garry’s 100th birthday ‘we might also be celebrating the rebirth of West Indies cricket’.
Another former West Indies captain, Clive Lloyd, who at one time played alongside Sir Garry, said ‘today I believe we can honour Sir Garfied in ways that extend beyond statues and ceremonies, worthy those are.
‘His extraordinary achievement as a fast bowler, as a left-arm spinner, in three distinct styles, as perhaps the greatest close catcher of the game ever seen, and as an incomparable batsman, should become the foundation of institutions dedicated to nurturing future generations.
‘Today, we should study not only what Sir Garfield accomplished, but how he accomplished it. What inner drive compelled him to reach such heights? What vision inspired him each time he walked to the crease or began his run to the wicket? What dreams guided him as captain of the West Indies team?’
The Guyanese-born Lloyd said that these are questions worth asking because the answers can inspire generations yet unborn, reiterating that ‘his legacy deserves to live not only in bronze or marble, but in academies, coaching programmes, scholarships, and centres of excellence that prepare young Caribbean cricketers for the higher level of international competition’.
‘Sir Garfield St. Auburn Sobers has indeed left indelible footprints upon the sands of time. May we have the wisdom, the courage, and the imagination to follow them,’ he said.
He represented West Indies between 1954 and 1974 and played 93 Test matches, scoring 8032 runs at a spectacular average of 57.78. Sobers also claimed 235 wickets at an average of 34.03 and an economy rate of 2.22. By an act of Parliament in 1998, Sobers was named as one of the 11 National Heroes of Barbados.
Two of Sir Garry’s children, Mathew and Daniel sobers each recalled the influence their father had on their lives.
‘Whether it was cricket, table tennis, golf, or just shooting hoops with the kids, he was blessed with rare talents few people had. But as I grew older, I realised his greatest gifts had very little to do with sport, but everything to do with the way he lived,’ Mathew Sobers said.
‘The world knew him as the Right, Excellent Sir Garfield St. Aurbun Sobers. Many believed he was the greatest cricketer who ever lived,’ he said noting ‘but remarkable as those achievements were, they tell only part of the story.
‘Dad was born into a Barbados still emerging from the long shadow of plantocracy and colonial rule. At a time when opportunity was limited for so many, he became living proof that excellence could come from these shores.
‘He didn’t simply win cricket matches, he changed what people believed was possible. A boy from the Bayland became respected by King’s Prime Ministers, by world leaders and ordinary people across every continent.’.
Sobers said that his father gave generations of Barbadians and West Indians something priceless.
‘Belief. Belief that excellence had no postcode. Belief that character mattered as much as talent. Belief that humility could stand beside greatness. He inspired children to dream bigger, adults a reason to stand a little taller.
‘He showed the world that Barbados could produce. That may have been his greatest innings,’ Sobers said, adding ‘to the world, he became King Cricket, to me, he was simply Dad and like every good father, he spent a lifetime teaching his son’.
For his part, Daniel Sobers, who together with Matthew flew into Barbados from the United States and with his younger sister Genevieve cutting short a visit to Australia with her mum, described his father as ‘the greatest’.
He said while he welcomes the avalanche of thoughts, prayers, and kind words about his father, he would like to thank all those who had been taking care of his father ‘ during the more than 18 months of his steady decline.
‘I’m here to talk about my dad, Sir Gary, or as others refer to him, friends and families, Sir G, or as I refer to him, just G. He had a charming smile that would reveal that iconic gap between his front teeth.
‘A smile that those who knew him from around the world have come to cherish, and a warmth that would fill any room he entered. My father was a loving, kind, and generous man,’ he said, recalling the early memories of his father driving the family ‘somewhere’.
‘Away from the busy demands of his life, staring across from the back seat, I feel safe as he sat confidently and reassuringly at the wheel,’ he said listening to his favourite music.
‘Growing up, I never really understood the gravity of the mastery of my dad’s achievements. I was born into his life and just took them for granted. For me, it was a thing of normalcy.
‘Doesn’t every dad at the age of 21 score 365 not out and hit six sixes in an over whenever he feels like it? What I also remember is that he was always busy and travelled a lot, and that I missed him when he was gone,’ Sobers added.
In an emotional tribute to her brother, Elise Sobers said she is ‘humbled to know the great impact you have had on our family, friends, and the rest of the world.
‘It was truly an honour to witness your greatness from the front row. Growing up, it was just the six of us siblings…we remained a close-knit, fun-loving family (and ) a a result, your commitment to team always shone through.
‘My brother, today we say goodbye. Rest well knowing that we are happy to have been a part of your first team,’ she added.
St. Lucia’s Prime Minister and chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping, Phillip J Pierre and former West Indies opening batsman, Desmond Haynes read the Scripture readings at the service.
Following the funeral service, Sir Garry Sobers, considered to have been the greatest all-rounder in cricket’s history, was given a 19 gun salute as his body was buried at the Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens on The Ridge, Christ Church Parish.