DEAN Jones tagged him the "$50 million man" but for Sir Garfield Sobers life on the world cricket stage was all about giving for your country.

Sobers is acknowledged as the greatest cricket all-rounder of all time having retired with a Test batting average of 57.78 and 235 wickets captured with his medium pace, finger and wrist spin bowling.

Yesterday the West Indies legend was in Toowoomba entertaining 350 cricket enthusiasts during a fund-raising lunch at Wellcamp airport for the It's A Bloke Thing Foundation.

Jones described the quietly spoken Sobers as an "absolute magician" during a pre-lunch media interview.

"Sir Garfield is the second greatest cricketer of all time and an absolute magician with the numbers and stats he accumulated," Jones said.

"If he wasn't earning $50 million today he'd have to be looking for a new manager.

"He had an x-factor about his batting, bowling and fielding."

Sobers wrote his name into folklore when he became the first player to hit six successive sixes from an over during a county match in England.

"I am over the moon to be rated second behind Sir Don Bradman," Sobers said.

"But for me it was all about playing for your country.

"It wasn't a run for me - it was always for the team.

"When we were playing we loved the game and we loved our country.

"It was a great opportunity to see the world.

"It was the greatest incentive you could have growing up and I'm very pleased to have done it."

https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/sir-garfield-leaves-his-all-round-mark-on-world/3120778/