WEST Indies all-round legend Gary Sobers led a tribute for boxing great Muhammad Ali at the Lord’s cricket ground yesterday.During the lunch interval of the third Test between England and Sri Lanka black and white images of a meeting between Sobers and Ali flashed on the big screens around Lord’s. Sobers then rang a bell in the Lord’s pavilion to signify the passing of the great boxer.
Ali died at the age of 74 last week after years of battling with ravaging Parkinson’s disease, which had severely impacted his motor skills. Ali, born Cassius Clay, is widely regarded as the greatest boxer of all-time and was an assertive pugilist whose social influence extended well beyond the ring.
Sobers the brilliant left-handed batsman, who could also bowl left-arm fast medium, slow left-arm orthodox and left-arm chinaman is considered by some as the greatest all-rounder of all-time.
The two sporting legends met in 1966 when Sobers was at Lord’s for the West Indies Test match against England and Ali was in London for his second fight with Britain’s Henry Cooper. The Barbadian-born Sobers played 93 Test matches for the West Indies between the period of 1954 and 1974.