The legendary philosopher Plato’s words—“Excellence of form and content in discourse and of musical expression and rhythm, and grace and form and movement, all depend on goodness of nature, by which I mean, not the foolish simplicity sometimes called by courtesy ‘good nature,’ but a nature in which goodness of character has been well and truly established”—reflect, like no other, the sublime genius and wizardry of cricket’s greatest all-rounder ever, Sir Garfield St Auburn Sobers.
When we expand on Plato’s articulation further, we are riveted yet again. “If our young men are to do their proper work in life, they must follow after these qualities wherever they may be found. And, they are to be found in every sort of workmanship, such as painting, weaving, embroidery, architecture, the making of furniture; and, also in the human frame and in all the works of nature: in all these grace and seemliness may be present, or absent. And, the absence of grace, rhythm, harmony is nearly allied to baseness of thought and expression and baseness of character; whereas their presence goes with that moral excellence and self-mastery of which they are the embodiment.”
This exemplifies Sobers’ genius de novo as cricket’s dazzling knight and its ultimate all-rounder.
Sobers (born, July 28, 1936), who made his Test debut, against England, at Kingston, over 60 years ago (1953/54), was a total cricketing phenomenon. A three-, or four-in-one, phenomenon. He’s a Brian Lara with the bat, an Alan Davidson and Vinoo Mankad, with the ball, an Eknath Solkar, in the field, and a thinking cricketer a la Mike Brearley, albeit the Caribbean gem was all too natural and instinctive. More than that, Sobers played cricket with a rare degree of devotion, application, warmth, and camaraderie, not to speak of a keen sense of devout commitment to candour, fair play, and sporting spirit.
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