Record 'six sixes' bat sold for over £54,000

Sir Gary Sobers' bat for sale

The historic bat used by cricket legend Sir Gary Sobers against Glamorgan to hit six sixes in one over has been sold for over £54,000 by Christies in Melbourne, Australia.

The short-handled Slazenger helped Sobers make history when the West Indies left-hander was playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at Swansea.

Sir Gary smashed his way into the record books by hitting Glamorgan spinner Malcolm Nash for six sixes off as many balls at the St Helens ground on 31 August, 1968.

How it happened

Nash saw his first two deliveries disappear into the stands of the Cricketer's Inn.

The third went into the pavilion enclosure and the fourth was sent over the scoreboard.

The fifth was driven straight and although Roger Davis caught it he fell over the boundary in the process, causing another six to be signalled.

On the last delivery wicket-keeeper Eifion Jones famously bet Sobers that he couldn't make it six out of six.

But Sobers simply grinned - and hit the ball out of the ground into a nearby street.

Ball is missing

The ball was recovered the next day, reportedly by a schoolboy, who returned the ball to Gary Sobers.

Sobers is understood to have given the ball to the Trent Bridge museum in Nottingham, but its current whereabouts are a complete mystery.

It is not known how much the ball would be worth, but today the bat fetched more than the £45,000 it was expected to raise.

The successful buyer - who paid £54,257 for the bat - has not been named.

Sobers' six sixes feat has only been equalled once, by India's Ravi Shastri, when batting for Bombay in the mid eighties.