Adam Gilchrist may have become the first cricketer to hit a century of sixes but his 100th six not only went high in the air but also travelled beneath the ground.

The man who took the cricket ball Gilchrist hit for his record-breaking six buried it in the back yard of his relative’s house for a week before handing it over to Cricket Australia.

John put the ball in a box of socks, then dug a hole and buried it inside an ice-cream container as Gilchrist appealed for its return.

John said he wanted to collect a genuine Test ball because “there is a lot of fraud in memorabilia”.
“The only way I was ever going to get something I knew was legit was that situation like that,” he was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.

John said public pressure contributed to him giving the ball up.

“I started to think, ‘How am I going to get any enjoyment out of this ball with all the turmoil I’ve been through? It would be like if the fans couldn’t see the Ashes.”

John was also unsure if he was breaking the law by keeping CA’s ball and dug it up on Tuesday.

“I thought it would be a bit rough — more than rough, a tragedy — for the ball to be on someone’s mantelpiece.
“That’s when I realised the ball was bigger than one person, bigger than Gilchrist. It was the public’s ball.”
Gilchrist hit the ball out of Hobart’s Bellerive Oval last month to become the first Test player to hit 100 sixes. He did not ask for anything but Cricket Australia is considering how to thank him. CA will display the ball, with a note on its adventures, in cricket museums.

Gilly upset
Meanwhile, Gilchrist is sulking after the selectors ignored him and handed the captaincy reins to youngster Michael Clarke for Tuesday’s Twenty20 match against New Zealand in Perth.

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch admitted the decision to make Clarke leader of the Twenty20 side could not please Gilchrist but claimed the star stumper-batsman realised it was necessary to plan for the future.

“It is a matter we discussed at length. We recognise it is a great honour to represent your country...” Hilditch was quoted as saying by The Age.

“Adam is of the view he would like to be captaining his country but is pleased with the initiative. It is important we have forward planning,” he said.