Why this great all-rounder stands out from the list of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar? The only ‘black spot’ in Sir Garfield Sobers’ career

cricket news: On 5 September 1973, barely two years before the inaugural Cricket World Cup began in 1975, Sir Garfield Sobers, one of history’s greatest all-rounders, made his ODI debut for the West Indies. It was his first and last ODI that he played, although if you ask him, he would like to forget it as it was a low point in his otherwise illustrious cricket career. Even if it were possible, Sober would undoubtedly use a time machine to travel back in time and attempt to remove the numbers – 6 balls for a duck.

Sobers’ only ODI came in 1973 against England at Leeds, his eighth such match ever. You might have given it some thought before formulating its description because there is a certain innovative symmetry and irony to the game. The legendary all-rounder, who many would argue was prepared for this format and all its progeny, got out for a duck, took a wicket and bowled the final over which scored the winning runs. The game wasn’t great, reflecting the fact that no one really knew what the format was or what it could become. It was a 55 over affair. West Indies batted first and were all out for 181 for 54. Sobers was caught by Bob Taylor off Chris Old for a six-ball duck. England had reached 157 for 5 when Sobers bowled Old and completed the circle, returning the favour. In contrast, the legend didn’t come anywhere close to equaling his ODI record, scoring 8032 runs in 93 Tests at an average of 57.78, taking 235 wickets and scoring 26 hundreds.

With the last pair at the crease and four needed, they faltered in the final over. Bob Willis was on strike; Sobers was about to bowl. On the first ball, Willis took two runs over Sobers’ head and then hit the next ball through third man to ensure victory. Then it was over. On the same day that his ODI career began and ended, Sobers took more wickets than runs. Overall there were 249 players who scored a zero in their ODI debut. Even though MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar are on this list, Sobers’ innings is special because he never featured in ODIs again.

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