Our Next Event….
Wednesday, 30th May 2012
Speakers: Sir Garfield Sobers & Aaron James
Members Tickets: £57 + VAT each
Non Members Tickets: £77 + VAT each
Our Subsequent Events in 2012
Tuesday, 25th September 2012
Monday, 3rd December 2012
Speaker Profiles
Sir Garfield Sobers
Born in Barbados, Sir Gary or Garry (as he is widely known) is generally regarded as cricket’s greatest ever all-rounder, because he was outstanding in all of the game’s essential skills, batting, bowling and fielding. Such was his contribution to cricket that he was Knighted by HM The Queen in 1975 and named as one of the ten National Heroes of Barbados.
The fifth of six children born to parents in Bridgetown, this world-renowned cricket icon began to demonstrate the talent of a natural ball player from an early age and could easily have excelled at football and basketball as well. It was hardly a surprise to many that he made his Test debut – in only his third appearance in first class cricket – at the tender age of 17, against the touring England team in the final Test match in Jamaica in 1954.
A left hander ‘par excellence’ with bat and ball, Sir Gary enjoyed a glittering International career that spanned twenty years and 93 Test appearances, 39 of them as Captain from 1965 to 1972. Along the way he amassed a total of over 8000 Test runs, including 26 centuries, and 235 wickets. Sir Gary scored a massive 365 runs against Pakistan in 1958 at Sabina Park, Kingston – a record for an individual batsman in a Test match that stood for 38 years. A decade later, he became the first ever batsman to hit six sixes in a single over in first class cricket, whilst playing in a county match here in the UK at Swansea against Glamorgan for Notts, whom he also captained for 3 seasons, up to 1971. In January 1972, in an unofficial Test match against Australia in Melbourne, Sir Gary scored 254 – a feat that was described by the great Sir Donald Bradman as the best innings that had ever been played in the history of the game. He retired two years later after a knee cartilage finally gave out.
Sir Gary’s appearance in Bournemouth is part of a UK speaking tour, during which he is being accompanied by his good friend and former Nottinghamshire playing colleague, “Basher” Hassan who, born in Kenya, played county cricket at Notts for nearly 20 years.
Aaron James
Aaron was already known as a sporting impressionist but he has since gained a reputation as a first class speaker. With over 15 years of experience, he is an extremely versatile professional with the ability to adapt to any environment and type of audience.
Impressions of celebrities, not only from the world of sport but also television and politics, only work with the vital ingredient of comedy. The humour that Aaron adds to the mix has made him an outstanding and hugely entertaining performer and an experience not to be missed.
He has appeared as a pre-match entertainer in the corporate facilities at prestigious sporting venues such as Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, and regularly at Twickenham for England rugby Internationals. In addition, Aaron has a single figure golf handicap and so he is often invited to play in celebrity golf days for the likes of The Variety Club and other well known Charities. He has also been a guest speaker at Wentworth, Sunningdale, The Belfry and many other top Clubs.
Aaron is also a much sought-after regular on the after-dinner circuit where he has worked alongside many of the country’s best known sporting celebrities at a multitude of corporate business events.