OTD in 1973 | Garry Sobers held his sixth catch in the match, equalling a Test record for a non-wicketkeeper

Garry Sobers, one of the prominent names in cricket history, equalled a unique record on August 27, 1973. Well, he was a brilliant batter and scored his 26th century at the Lords, but he did something else apart from that. He played 93 Test matches and held 109 catches, out of which six were taken in the above-mentioned Test match, which is a record held by a non-wicketkeeper. Moreover, five of six catches were taken on the third day. 

Apart from him, Arthur Shrewsbury of England in 1888, Bert Volger of South Africa in 1910, Frank Woolley of England in 1921, Jack Gregory of Australia in 1921, Bruce Mitchell of South Africa in 1931, Victor Richardson of Australia in 1936, Neil Harvey of Australia in 1963 and Colin Cowdrey of England in 1963 had taken six catches in a Test match. 

Moreover, in 1977, Australia’s Greg Chappell broke the record and became the first person to take seven catches in a single game against England in Perth. After Chappell, Yajurvindra Singh, Hashan Tillakaratne, Stephen Fleming, and Matthew Hayden have taken seven catches each. Garry Sobers was a brilliant batter, captain, and fielder.

The West Indian player has set some great records, and the entire world admires him for his contribution to the game of cricket. Hence, he is called Sir Garry Sobers. He played between 1954 and 1974 and was an aggressive batter of his age. He was also a solid bowler and took 235 wickets at an average of 34.03 in 93 Test matches. He was an unbelievable batter who scored 722 runs at an average of 103.14 with three centuries, had 20 wickets at 27.25, and took ten catches against England in 1966. Moreover, in 2009, he was given the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. 

Also read: OTD in 2017 | India continued their dominance on their tour of Sri Lanka