Cricket figures pay tribute after Garry Sobers dies at 89

Tributes from across cricket followed the death of West Indies all-rounder Garry Sobers on Friday at the age of 89.

Sobers was widely regarded as one of the greatest players in cricket history. Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott said anyone who saw Sobers at his peak would remember "a great batsman, the greatest all-rounder" and described him as an icon, an exceptional cricketer and "a lovely man".

Kishore Shallow, president of Cricket West Indies, called Sobers "a son of Barbados" whose career became part of the region's story and whose brilliance carried the name of the West Indies around the world.

Former India batsman VVS Laxman described Sobers as "a true giant of the game" whose skill, grace and sportsmanship inspired generations of cricketers. India's teenage batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi said he had not watched Sobers play but had grown up hearing about his greatness from his father.

Sobers's English county, Nottinghamshire, said it was extremely saddened by his death and called him cricket's greatest-ever all-rounder and an important figure in the county's history. England Cricket described him as one of the greatest to play the game.