COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – West Indies cricket icon Sir Garfield Sobers will be honoured during the upcoming Test Series between West Indies and Sri Lanka.
The two-match series will be played for the Sobers/Tissera trophy as tribute to the former West Indies allrounder and captain and Michael Tissera, the former Sri Lanka captain.
The announcement was made by Sri Lanka Cricket at the official pre-series launch on Tuesday night. The two teams will play Test matches at the Galle International Stadium (October 14-18) in the coastal town of Galle; and the P Sara Oval (October 22-26) in the capital, Colombo.
Speaking at the launch West Indies captain Jason Holder said naming the trophy after Sir Garry, was a “special touch”.
“Having the trophy named after Sir Garfield Sobers is something truly special. He was one of the greatest to play the game and he still makes a major contribution to the game. Only recently he joined us in Barbados and wished everyone the very best for this tour of Sri Lanka. It is always good to see him and interact with him and it would be great for us to take home the trophy with his name on it,” Holder said.
“We have players in the team who are eager to do very well for West Indies cricket. We all look up to Sir Garry and the legends of West Indies cricket who paved the way for us to be here. We will look to play in the true spirit of the game and look to emulate the great things of our past heroes.”
Sir Garry, 79, is rated as the greatest allrounder of all time. The left-hander played 93 Test matches for West Indies between 1954 and 1974. He scored 8,032 runs with 26 centuries and took 235 wickets. He also held 109 catches.
Tissera, 75, is a high-respected former Sri Lanka captain and team manager. He represented the country in the pre-Test era and played in the first Cricket World Cup in 1975.
SQUAD
Jason Holder (Captain)
Kraigg Brathwaite (Vice Captain)
Devendra Bishoo
Jermaine Blackwood
Carlos Brathwaite
Darren Bravo
Rajindra Chandrika
Shane Dowrich
Shannon Gabriel
Shai Hope
Denesh Ramdin
Kemar Roach
Marlon Samuels
Jerome Taylor
Jomel Warrican
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
October
Thu 8 to Sat 10: vs SLC President’s XI – Singhalese Sports Club, Colombo
Wed 14 to Sun 18: 1st Test – International Cricket Stadium, Galle
Thu 22 to Mon 26: 2nd Test – P. Sara Oval, Colombo
Thu 29: vs SLC President’s XI – Colts, Colombo
November
Sun 1: 1st ODI – Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (day/night)
Wed 4: 2nd ODI – Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (day/night)
Sat 7: 3rd ODI – International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele (day/night)
Mon 9: 1st T20 International – International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele
Thu 12: 2nd T20 International – Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
What is also little known is that Sobers was hailed by Sri Lankans as having a major influence on their players during a short stint as a special coach. He encouraged positive stroke play and Sri lanka went from being very cautious (as India also was) to an attacking yet competent test team.