Statement from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley On The Passing Of The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers

This is a solemn hour for our nation. It is with profound sadness that I now advise the people of Barbados, the region and the wider cricketing world of the passing of The Right Excellent Sir Garfield St. Aubrun Sobers, our beloved Sir Gary. Across Barbados and across the world, we hold him with gratitude, with reverence, and with the tender sorrow that comes when a people have to say farewell to one of their greatest sons. 

Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, our Sir Gary, did not begin life among privilege or parade. He began in Walcott Avenue, Bay Land, a boy of Barbados, shaped by family, community, loss, discipline and faith. 

He travelled from Bay Land to Kensington, from Kensington to Sabina Park, and onto the world stage, carrying his country Barbados, carrying the West Indies, and carrying the Caribbean as a whole with distinction. 

Long before people spoke about the GOAT, the Greatest of All Time, the Mighty Sparrow settled the debate in song. He asked, “Who is the greatest cricketer on earth or Mars?” Anyone can tell you. It is the great Sir Garfield Sobers. 

He is remembered as the greatest cricketer, the greatest all-rounder the world has ever seen, not simply because of his records, but because he became the standard by which greatness would forever be measured. 

We remember the image of him kneeling to receive his knighthood in 1975, less than a mile from where he was born in the Bay Land, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, knowing full well that his people had already crowned him in their hearts. 

For many years, Sir Gary was our only living National Hero, though the world had recognised him long before Barbados made it official. 

There is a story from Swansea in 1968 that still feels larger than sport. On the fifth ball of that immortal over, Roger Davis held the catch, then the momentum carried him beyond the rope. The boundary itself could not contain Sir Gary. That was his life. 

Every innings, however great, must at some point come to a close. The finest innings do not end in silence. They end with a whole ground rising, and with a grateful people saying thank you and yes we love you. 

I had the opportunity to speak to his children, and I therefore publicly now say that, on behalf of the Government and people of Barbados, I extend my deepest condolences to them, to Matthew, to Daniel and to Genevieve, and to his stepchildren Stuart and Trisha, children of Sir Gary’s longstanding partner Jackie White, who predeceased him; to his grandchildren, we say we are so sorry, especially Gabriel, who lived with him; to his former wife and the mother of his children, Prue; and to his younger brother, Cecil, whom we know as Saul; and to all of his family, loved ones, friends, cricket lovers, cricketers, admirers across Barbados, the Caribbean and the world.

The Government has declared today, July 17, a Day of National Mourning. There will also be a Day of National Mourning on the day of the interment of Sir Garfield. On these two days, there will be no official functions. The flag will immediately be flown at half-staff and will remain so until the interment of Sir Gary. Further information regarding the place and date of the State Funeral and all other arrangements will be provided by Senator Lisa Cummins, who has been given the responsibility of coordinating the funeral with the Cabinet Office and the Barbados Defence Force.

Sir Gary, Barbados stands for you. The West Indies stands for you. The world stands for you. 

For an innings that was so well played, Sir Gary, so well played. We will always love you.