CWI chief Dehring hails Sobers as West Indies cricket’s lasting standard

Cricket West Indies has stood with Barbados, the Caribbean, and cricket followers worldwide to mark the death of The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers, calling his imprint on the sport and the region beyond measure.

In a statement attributed to CWI president Kishore Dehring, Sobers was described as far more than the finest all-rounder the game has known. Dehring cast him as West Indies cricket at its peak — daring, gifted, inventive, and unashamedly first-rate — whose feats reshaped how cricket was played and pushed later players to aim higher than earlier limits suggested.

Those now charged with guiding Cricket West Indies, Dehring said, treat Sobers’s life as both spur and duty. The bar he set still shapes what every maroon-capped player seeks. His example, the statement added, shows what Caribbean cricket can achieve when ability, resolve, and regional pride meet.

Dehring recalled that Sobers stirred affection for West Indies cricket from childhood. Youngsters copied his distinctive walk and upturned collar, even when his talent was out of reach. Sobers stayed kind, open, and firmly invested in the game’s progress across the islands. He freely offered counsel, backed emerging talent, and kept championing cricket to the end.

The loss is vast, Dehring said, yet the inheritance endures. Players, officials, and fans in every era will keep drawing from the path he cut — not only the records and honours, but the quiet strength, modesty, and Caribbean pride he carried.

Speaking for Cricket West Indies, Dehring offered deepest sympathy to Sobers’s family and close circle, to Barbados’s Government and people, and to supporters everywhere. The board grieves with them while honouring a life that remade the sport and lifted West Indies standing abroad.

Sobers, Dehring concluded, will always rank among the region’s foremost ambassadors. Wherever cricket is played, his mark will remain, and his spirit will stir each time a young West Indian longs to wear maroon with honour.

May he rest in eternal peace.