[10] From an early age, Sobers demonstrated the ability and enthusiasm to play with great skill almost any sport involving a ball, particularly cricket, football and basketball.

Garnet Ashby, captain of Kent St Philip, told him that this was his opportunity to play cricket with "the big boys".

[13] Sobers gained useful experience by bowling to Wanderers batsmen, including West Indies Test player Denis Atkinson, at practice in the nets and soon developed his great skill as a left arm spin bowler.

[citation needed] Sobers had progressed quickly and made his Test debut in March 1954, aged 17, against England at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, for the fifth and final Test, after Alf Valentine had fallen ill.[18][19] Sobers was selected as a bowler, despite only mediocre performances against England for Barbados.

[20] Australia toured the West Indies in 1954–55, and their all-rounder Keith Miller thought that Sobers would become a better batsman than bowler despite batting in the lower-order.

[30] Sobers was sent home from New Zealand early to play an unofficial Test match against an England team that included feared fast-bowler Frank Tyson.

After struggling to cope with Tyson's pace, Sobers managed to score a half-century, raising hope that he would be selected for the upcoming tour to England, something he considered unlikely after his lack of form.

He played his first match against the Jim Swanton XI in April, and was surprised about how cold the conditions were, often causing him to wear two or three jumpers.

[29] It was in the final Test at The Oval that Sobers gained the attention of critics with defiant batting amid a disappointing team performance.

[34] After England had scored 412, the West Indies were easily dismissed for 89 and 86 by the Surrey spinners Jim Laker and Tony Lock, who were playing on their home ground.

[40] Largely inspired by new West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell, who was a close personal friend, Sobers had an outstanding 1960–61 series in Australia.

[42] He felt he had "had a good series, starting badly but then coming on" and a very positive outcome for him was to receive an invitation from Don Bradman to play for South Australia in 1961–62.

[43] Sobers took 15 wickets in the 1960–61 series, including a best analysis of 5/120, at an average of 39.20, and his bowling allowed Worrell to play an extra batsman in the final three Tests, thus using Sobers for the first time as a designated all-rounder, a role in which he became the dominant player in world cricket over the next decade, being awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World title (retrospectively) eight times in 13 years.

He was elected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1964,[11] and then succeeded Worrell, who had retired, as West Indies captain for the 1964–65 home series against Australia.

[citation needed] Sobers enjoyed immediate success as West Indies captain when his team defeated Australia by 179 runs in the First Test at Sabina Park.

His status was celebrated at that time by the Trinidadian calypso artist Mighty Sparrow, with his song "Sir Garfield Sobers".

[citation needed] Sobers was succeeded as West Indies captain by Rohan Kanhai for the 1972–73 home series against Australia.

[49] In 1970, captaining the Rest of the World XI against England, he took 6/21 on the opening day of the First unofficial Test at Lord's with pace bowling, the ball swinging and seaming at high speed.

[50] Following the Rest of the World series, he outraged many in the West Indies by playing in a friendly double-wicket tournament in Rhodesia in September 1970.

[54] Sobers wrote in his autobiography that these two "unofficial" series should be given full "Test" status due to the quality of the players involved.

Having completed his first tour of England with West Indies in 1957, he followed the advice of his mentor Frank Worrell and became the professional at Radcliffe Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League, staying for five seasons from 1958 to 1962.

[55] This experience enabled him to hone his skills in varying conditions and Sobers says that playing in the league furthered his cricket education.

In 1961, he achieved a rare "double" by scoring 1008 runs and taking 144 wickets, his performances being instrumental in Radcliffe winning both the league's championship title and its supplementary Wood Cup competition.

[57] While he was engaged at Radcliffe, Sobers underwent emotional trauma after a road accident in September 1959 on the A34 near Stoke-on-Trent which resulted in Collie Smith's death.

[60] He recovered well and, after an outstanding home Test series against England in 1959–60, he returned to Radcliffe where he continued as club professional for the next three seasons.

Sobers played for South Australia and had an enormous impact on attendances, causing an 89% increase with gate receipts rising "by two and a half times".

Sobers stated that, although he had enjoyed his time in league cricket, he had a definite preference for the first-class game and he looked forward to restoring Nottinghamshire's fortunes.

Sobers hit the first four balls cleanly out of the ground but was caught on his fifth attempt by Roger Davis on the boundary at long-off.

[93][94] He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1975 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while attending a reception at the Barbadian High Commission in London to celebrate his recent knighthood.

The other four cricketers selected for the honour were Don Bradman (100 votes), Jack Hobbs (30), Shane Warne (27) and Viv Richards (25).