The Hindu : Sobers muses on his 254

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 06, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

Sobers muses on his 254

Bridgetown May 5. Sir Garfield Sobers still has vivid memories of his magnificent 254 in the second innings at Melbourne in the unofficial Test series between Australia and Rest of the World in which Dennis Lillee took eight wickets for 29 runs in the first innings.

``After I was able to hit the first few deliveries from him I knew it was going to be a special day. Whatever he bowled, went for four.

``In the next 4 to 5 hours, it was only trouble for him. After I got out and was walking back, he looked at me and said `I had heard about you. Now I know you.' That's the thing about it. Since then, Dennis and I have been the best of mates,'' said Sobers about the match played in 1970-71.

``I know Sir Donald Bradman rated it as the best innings by a visiting batsman in Australia. I too rated it high but I have never considered it my best knock. Somehow you feel the best knock has to come in a contest between two countries,'' he said.

``The first time I played against him I was batting at number seven for some reason. I remember walking in and watched Rodney Marsh stand so back, almost near the boundary line.

``Even the slips were a good 20-25 yards away. As I walked in, I asked Ian Chappell what it was all about. He said I would soon find out.''

``I remember the first delivery was a short one and even as I was preparing to lift my bat, it had whizzed past my ear and Marsh was collecting it head high. Soon enough I had edged him to the slips,'' Sobers said.

``As Lillee kept bouncing me I said I was also going to test him with a few short ones when he comes in to bat. Tony Greig, who has an elephant's memory, egged me on to bowl a few short ones at him.''

``Now I bowled a few full length deliveries to him and he came forward and played them elegantly down the pitch.

``Then I let go a short one. It screamed past him and he was pink in the face. A few deliveries later he had slogged me into Greig's hands,'' Sobers recollected.

``I was told later that Lillee, no sooner than he had entered the dressing room, violently threw his bat to a corner. He is said to have uttered that I would be facing some real scary stuff from him.''

When Rest began its batting ``Sunny Gavaskar opened the innings and the first delivery zipped past his head. A lot of our guys in the dressing room had started to look at each other and wanted to change their batting order,'' Sobers said laughing. — PTI

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