BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – The Barbados government Tuesday said that the state funeral of National Hero and former West Indies cricket captain, Sir Garfield Sobers, will take place on July 29, at the Kensington Oval.

The cricket legend died last  Friday at the age of 89.

“The State Funeral for the Right Excellence, Sir Garry Sobers, is going to be held at Kensington at 10:00 am on July 29th. This is the Mecca, this is where Sir Garry is best known, this is one of the iconic cricketing grounds, and so we will send him off in a thanksgiving ceremony that will take the format of a state funeral on the 29th of July,” Health and Wellness Minister, Lisa Cummins, told a news conference.

“But we also have to acknowledge that he is our own, he is a Barbadian first and foremost, he is loved by our people but he is also a family man,”  she said.

“And on that basis we have also in the core planning team a representative of the family, the Sobers family, and that is the person of Lady Carol Jacobs who is representing the family and ensuring that the family’s wishes are incorporated in the planning of the state funeral,” she added.

Sir Garry, considered the greatest all-rounder in the sport of cricket,  passed away at his home in Highgate Gardens. Since his death, the world has been paying tribute to the Barbadian and West Indian cricket legend.

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