England and India players wear black armbands and observe silence in memory of Sir Garfield Sobers | WATCH

Both England and India players are wearing black armbands in the ODI series decider at Lord's to mourn the passing of the West Indian great Sir Garfield Sobers. Sobers passed away in his hometown of Barbados on July 17 at the age of 89. He was regarded as the greatest allrounder to have played the sport.

Both the Indian and English players lined up horizontally before the start of play on Sunday. They observed a minute's silence in memory of arguably the greatest cricketer to have emerged from the Caribbean. He was one of the most versatile cricketers of all time, blessed with the skill to bowl left-arm pace, finger spin and left-arm wrist spin.

A perfectly observed minute's silence for one of the greats of the game, Sir Garfield Sobers 🖤 pic.twitter.com/Pi8ZJD2tSG

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 19, 2026

Sobers also had the exceptional ability to stand as a close-in fielder on both sides of the wicket and took some breathtaking catches. Sir Garfield Sobers' stature could be fathomed simply by the fact that the ICC's highest annual award, the Men's Cricketer of the Year, is named after him.

After making his Test debut in April 1954 against England in Kingston, Sobers went on to play 93 Tests, aggregating 8032 runs, averaging 57.78, including 26 centuries and 30 fifties. He also claimed 235 wickets at an average of 34.03, including six five-fors.

His last Test appearance also came against England in Port of Spain in 1974. Sir Garry played a solitary ODI in his career, which also came against England in Leeds on September 5, 1973. He also captained Windies in 39 Tests with nine victories and 10 defeats. Sobers also holds the record for being the first player to hit six sixes in first-class cricket, a feat he achieved while representing Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan's Malcolm Nash in Swansea.