Gibbs' six sixes bat fetches £15,000 at auction

Herschelle Gibbs became the first batsman to manage the feat in a one-day international when he took Netherlands spinner Daan van Bunge to all parts of Warner Park in St Kitts during a World Cup encounter

How much would you pay for a piece of cricketing history?

The bat with which Herschelle Gibbs cracked six sixes in an over in 2007 has gone under the hammer at an auction in Adelaide, and fetched nearly £15,000.

Gibbs became the first batsman to manage the feat in a one-day international when he took Netherlands spinner Daan van Bunge to all parts of Warner Park in St Kitts during a World Cup encounter.

Eleven-and-a-half years on, the South African batsman put the blade up for sale, alongside the shirt he was wearing that day and a letter authenticating the famous piece of willow.

And for one collector in particular, the lot was very appealing.

^{A Don Bradman bat fetched £61,052}

The anonymous bidder, described as a "cricket fanatic" by auctioneer Marc du Plessis, took home the bat with a successful offer of £14,990.

The same collector also purchased a bat used by the great Sir Don Bradman to collect autographs of both team-mates and opponents.

The item, which features the scribbles of players involved in the infamous Bodyline tour, commanded a fee of £61,052.

"You'd think as the more important bats such as this one actually get snapped up by major museums, any which are in private hands do increase in value because the general public have less chance of actually owning one," Du Plessis told ABC.