Sobers' bats smash auction records

ELBOURNE, OCT. 5. West Indies cricket great Sir Garfield Sobers smashed his way back into the record books when two bats he used in the 1950s and 1960s sold for record prices, auction house Christie's said on Wednesday.

The bat Sobers used to hit his then record Test score of 365 not out for the West Indies against Pakistan in Jamaica in 1958 sold for $ 69,930 at an auction - the highest price ever paid for a piece of cricket memorabilia.But minutes after that sale was knocked down to a private British buyer, another Sobers bat broke the mark.

The bat he used to club a record six consecutive sixes in a single over in an English county match in 1968 was sold for $ (A) 146,875 to a private buyer in the United States. Christie's said the previous record for a cricket bat sale was $ 55,200, set in 1999 for willow wielded by another of the world's great cricketers, Australia's Sir Donald Bradman.

Sobers' record Test score of 365 was bettered by fellow West Indian Brian Lara, who hit 375 against England in the 1993-94 season.

- Reuters

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