The world's greatest living cricketer Garry Sobers recently also became one of the few players to have a statue erected in his honour while still alive. It's been almost half a century since he played his first Test but his memory is sharp and his humour keen. In this interview to Wisden Asia Cricket he let his mind range over all things cricket. On his favourite players
It was a real thrill for me to play against Australia, to play against [Ray] Lindwall, [Keith] Miller, Bill Johnson, Ian Johnson, Ron Archer, Neil Harvey and Arthur Morris. Lindwall and Miller were great, great bowlers, although they were a little bit on the decline when I played them. But they still were great bowlers

Richie [Benaud], too, was a great allrounder. He could bat well, bowl, and he was a fantastic fielder. The problem with Richie was that though he was very, very accurate, he didn't spin the ball like Shane Warne or Abdul Qadir. If they had Richie's accuracy with the amount that they turned the ball, they would be exceptional.

Ted [Dexter] was a tremendous player. He used to put bat to ball and he was so much like a West Indian player. He didn't get as many runs as he should have but you can't always class a player by the hundreds he makes because sometimes hundreds are not as good as fifties.

Freddie Trueman was a great bowler by any standard. He had a big heart. He bowled on any wicket and he'd get wickets on any wicket. He moved the ball and he was quick. Didn't matter how placid the wicket, he would always make you believe that something was happening. He would run down the wicket and say, "Gee, did you see what that one did? You were lucky you so-and-so". He was always at you. Wes Hall was another one of those, Michael Holding, [Joel] Garner, Roberts. These fellows found the way when things were against them. They'd still run in and bowl.

[Sunil] Gavaskar, to me, was an outstanding cricketer, one of the great players that India has produced. He's proved it all over the world and I believe he made as many runs outside India as he did in India. He always took up the challenge, as we can all remember from that Test match in Trinidad where West Indies gave them over 400 to win and Gavaskar and [Gundappa] Viswanath got the runs.

On Tendulkar v Lara
I think people like Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara have got the chance to join that elite few [the all-time greats]. I have seen quite a lot of Sachin, I talk a lot to him and he talks a lot to me and I think he has got the ability that can take him as high as any. The difference between the two that I find is that Sachin concentrates a little bit better and he seems to think a little bit better than Brian, although Brian in the last couple of years has started to put his real mental attitude into operation.

I think that they are two players that have got a long way to go. They are still young, they still have a lot of cricket before them. I think that they will prove to the world that they are worthy of being ranked among the greatest of the greats.

On making comparisons between the past and the present
I do not really put modern cricket and cricket in the past in the same category because there have been too many changes over the years…

When we played cricket we had a back-foot rule. Some bowlers used to bowl from about 18 yards. Today when you are bowling, your front-foot heel should be behind the batting crease. So that means the bowlers have gone back by at least a yard or two...

We never had helmets, chest guards, back pads, thigh pads or arm guards. And we played with any number of fielders behind square. Today there are only two behind square. We were also never limited about how many bouncers you could bowl an over. So how can you make comparisons with people who have played the game in times when the bowler could bowl with all 10 men, if he wanted, behind square, and bowl six bouncers an over, and if he bowled a no-ball, still bowl another bouncer?

I look at it this way: class players in this era with other players in this era; forget the players in the past because we played under different conditions. And not just one or two, we played under a lot of different conditions. I am not saying that cricket today is not good and there are not a lot of good players. There are.

Who knows, some of us may have been run out years ago, one never knew. Today you can't get away with that. So it works the other way too. A snick, a catch, today they can use the cameras to see that. Some of us may have been given out with people taking the ball first bounce. A lot of things have changed on both sides, but you cannot make comparisons between the past and the present as far as I am concerned.

For the full interview, get a copy of the July 2002 issue of Wisden Asia Cricket.

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