Few men have exhibited more acumen with both a cricket bat and ball than Sir Garfield Sobers. His tremendous talent was on show on this day in 1958, turning his maiden Test century into a stunning 365 not out at Sabina Park to beat the record by one run for the then highest Test score.
Sobers’ mark stood until 1994, when fellow West Indies star Brian Lara moved it on by 10 runs before improving it further by scoring 400 in 2004.
Sobers batted for 10 hours and 14 minutes against Pakistan, enjoying a 446-run second-wicket stand with Conrad Hunte – who also got 260. The Windies went on to reach a colossal 790-3, unsurprisingly going to win the match by an innings.
Here’s what else happened on this day:
1955: Pakistan and India finish off first five-match cricket Test series to be drawn 0-0 with a rain-affected
stalemate in Karachi.
1958: Boxing icon Joe Louis announces his retirement, bowing out as the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world.
1969: Baseball legend Mickey Mantle announces his retirement, after a career at New York Yankees which
included seven World Series wins.
1996: Atlanta’s Lenny Wilkens became the first NBA coach to reach 1,000 career victories.
