Gleaned from the net: Sobers is universally regarded as one of the most exceptional players ever to grace the game. With the ball, Sobers performed superbly, taking 235 Test wickets at an average of 34.03. As mentioned he bowled left-arm orthodox spin, left-arm unorthodox spin, and also left-arm fast-medium. Exceptionally talented with the bat, with a career Test batting average of 57.78, Sobers scored a then-record 8032 runs in his career. Sobers played his first Test match in 1953, aged only 17. Just under five years later, in 1958, Sobers set a Test cricket record by scoring 365 runs in 614 minutes, in a single innings that included 38 fours and, interestingly, not one six against Pakistan. It was his first Test century, and a record which stood for over 36 years. The record has since been surpassed by Brian Lara, also of the West Indies, who scored 375 and 400 not out in 1994 and 2004 respectively, Matthew Hayden of Australia who scored 380 in 2003, and Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka who scored 374 in 2006. In 1968, Sobers became the first ever batsman to hit six sixes off one over of six consecutive balls in first-class cricket. The unfortunate bowler was Malcolm Nash. The feat has since been matched only once, by Ravi Shastri in 1984. (To be continued).
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