Maestro

Fascinating story of Garry Sobers, the greatest cricketer of his generation, who rose from poverty in Barbados to become West Indies captain and receive a knighthood. Yet his life was not without drama and controversy – both personal and political.



By acclaimed cricket writer David Tossell, whose work has been shortlisted seven times in the British Sports Book Awards and three times for MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year.


Maestro offers a full and impartial study of Sir Garfield Sobers, including his feats and his flaws, and celebrates perhaps the greatest talent ever seen on a cricket field. This compelling book:


• Traces his boyhood in Barbados, where he grew up in poverty after the wartime death of his father at sea, when Garry was only four

• Shows how Sobers developed from a left-arm spinner into the game’s premier all-rounder, and recalls his greatest achievements, including his Test-best innings of 365, his six sixes in an over for Nottinghamshire, triumphant tours of England in 1963 and 1966 and his great success in Australia, including smashing an unforgettable 254 against a rampant Dennis Lillee

• Explores the significance of Sobers’s appointment as West Indies captain, which was as important culturally as that of Frank Worrell, his nation’s first black captain

• Looks at the impact of the tragic car crash that killed Garry’s friend Collie Smith and could have cost Sobers his own life or liberty

• Dissects the political storm Sobers ignited by playing in Rhodesia, splitting the Caribbean community and creating a diplomatic incident between governments, almost costing him the West Indies captaincy

• Assesses his eight years as West Indies captain and looks at whether his infamous ill-fated declaration in Trinidad was bad luck, a bold gamble gone wrong or an indication that he was not cut out for the role

• Studies the lifestyle that set Sobers apart from many of his colleagues: the all-night drinking and gambling that rarely prevented him from performing great feats on the field


A must-read for all cricket-lovers, Maestro uses new and historical testimony from those who shared the field with Sobers to bring us a 3D picture of this great player.