A whodunnit? – but with a ball instead of a body

THAT’S the intriguing subject of a talk being given at the Thame Arts and Literature Festival (TAL) later this month to mark the 50th anniversary of one of sport’s most iconic moments.

Most cricket fans know that West Indian cricketing legend, Garry Sobers, became the first batsman to hit six sixes from six deliveries when he smashed 36 runs off a Malcolm Nash over at Swansea in 1968. But what happened to the battered ball? And was the one sold by Christie’s for a world record £26,400 at an auction in 2006 the real deal?

Freelance broadcaster and journalist Grahame Lloyd has investigated the controversial sale and his 2013 book, Howzat? The Six Sixes Ball Mystery, proved that the Duke & Son ball sold at auction was a wrong ‘un because it was the wrong make – even though it was accompanied by a certificate of provenance signed by Sobers.

The actual ball used in the over was manufactured by Stuart Surridge and BBC TV footage confirms Nash’s assertion that it was the only one he bowled – not the last of three as claimed by Christie’s – during the Glamorgan versus Nottinghamshire county championship match.

Lloyd will be recalling both the famous feat and the infamous fate of the ball in his illustrated talk, Fifty Not Out: The Six Sixes Revisited, at Thame Museum on Sunday,  October 21.

“I used the same ball for all six deliveries,” said Nash, “and it was charred, scarred and scuffed but never changed. It’s interesting to note that Christie’s have never bothered to ask me about the ball I bowled and how many balls were used in the over.”

After the Duke ball was withdrawn from a Bonhams sporting memorabilia auction in Chester in 2012 because of Lloyd’s “compelling and conclusive” evidence, the plot thickened. Lloyd then launched an 18-month investigation through which he traced the balls’ owner to India.  After appearing on BBC Radio’s Test Match Special programme to celebrate the Six Sixes’ 50th anniversary in August, he has now called on Christie’s to admit they sold the wrong ball.

“I unequivocally support Malcolm Nash’s contention that the ball isn’t genuine,” says Lloyd.  “I’ve tried to uncover the truth about its sale by Christie’s but with half the people involved in the auction refusing to discuss it, my search hasn’t been easy. I’m very disappointed that the unwritten 43rd Law of Cricket covering the exercise of common sense has been ignored by Christie’s. What happened to that ball in 2006 is ‘just not cricket’ and the 50th anniversary is an appropriate time to highlight the discrepancies in the sale and for Christie’s to do the right thing and admit they made a mistake. It’s a sad and disturbing tale of fake news.”

Lloyd is currently on a speaking tour of literary festivals with his hour-long talk: – “It’s not just cricket – a tale of mystery and intrigue which had our audience laughing, singing, questioning and clapping from the first ball bowled to the last.” (Cardiff)

“Frank, astonishing and delivered in a very easy, enthusiastic and delightful style” (Ilminster)

“A fantastic event and an excellent speaker (Swindon)

“Completely engaged the audience throughout, using the kind of versatile delivery that would have credited an international bowler” (Frome),

During his investigation, Lloyd discovered that

* Sobers didn’t profit from its auction at Christie’s and the former West Indies and Nottinghamshire captain describes himself as a “very innocent bystander.”

* Two former Christie’s sporting memorabilia specialists, David Convery and Max Dunbar, declined to discuss their part in the ball’s sale

* Glamorgan County Cricket Club’s archivist and the curator of the Museum of Welsh Cricket, Andrew Hignell, refused to answer questions about his role in the ball’s verification process

* Having re-investigated the 2006 auction, Christie’s stand by the ball’s original “good provenance” and the “signed certificate”.

Howzat? The Six Sixes Ball Mystery features extensive interviews with Sobers, his former agent, Basharat Hassan, Nash and Jose Miller, the former secretary of the Nottinghamshire Supporters’ Association, who sold the ball via Christie’s in 2006.

Nominated for the 2014 MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year award, it has been described as “an unput-downable read, ranking with the best of mysteries, be they fact or fiction” (Welsh Books Council); “a terrifically dotty whodunnit, driven by one man’s relentless, borderline-psychotic quest for answers” (Wisden),; “the most original cricket book that has been published in years” (cricketweb.net);  “a cracking read and unhesitatingly recommended” (Cricket Society), “the
product of diligent and disciplined investigative journalism…a compelling read” (Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians) and “a skilfully crafted and highly absorbing book…a triumph” (Backspin magazine).

Grahame Lloyd’s talk, including DVD, poetry and song, takes place at 2pm on Sunday, October 21, at Thame Museum, 79, High St, Thame OX9 3AE. Tickets cost £7- LINK HERE