50 Years Ago: from the Radcliffe Times of August 2, 1957

CRICKET clubs across the country were battling it out to sign up the "brilliant young West Indian cricketer" Garfield Sobers, but it was Radcliffe where he had decided to play.

Sobers was the most talked about cricketer of the season, and although it was still a year until he would officially join the town as their professional player, the Radcliffe Times printed a profile of him.

Born in Bridgetown on the island of Barbados in 1936, Sobers showed outstanding talent. He played for Barbados and at the tender age of 17, he was chosen for the West Indian touring team to play a test series in England in 1953.

Although he only played in one match, he became the second youngest player ever to take part in international cricket.

He continued to tour with the West Indies and played in test matches against Australia and New Zealand.

His performance improved even further and it was Frankie Worrell, a former Radcliffe professional, to whom he turned for advice.

During a tour of England in 1957, Sobers reached the score of 219 not out, which was the highest individual score of any of the touring party. He was the only West Indian to get a double century and scored more runs on aggregate than any other batsman.

The Radcliffe Times reported that the future looked bright for Sobers and predicted that he would be skipper the West Indies team.

But the reporter said the "disturbing feature" for Radcliffe was that a number of first-class county clubs were eager to sign him, including Lancashire and Worcester.

However, he had signed for Radcliffe before the tour of England started, and was due to take up professional duties from Freddie Goodwin at the Racecourse the following year.