PRIZED possessions from Yorkshire legend Geoffrey Boycott’s cricketing career are going under the hammer.
Christie’s London has announced The Sir Geoffrey Boycott Collection, which which will take place online from October 27 to November 16.
The sale features 130 lots chronicling the career of the Yorkshire and England cricketing legend, who played for Yorkshire and England between 1962 and 1986. Sir Geoffrey, now 80, made his international debut in a Test Match against Australia in 1964, playing in 108 Test Matches for England, becoming an established and well known member of the batting line-up.
His final Test Match came in 1982 when he retired as the leading run-scorer with over 8,000 Test Match runs.
He continued playing for Yorkshire until 1986. Sir Geoffrey was inducted into the International Cricketing Hall of Fame in 2009. This auction of memorabilia traces Sir Geoffrey’s cricketing career and also records one of international cricket’s most famous periods from the mid-1960s through to the 1980s; a unique collection of items from some of cricket’s most historic matches.
Cricket bats signed by Botham, Gooch, Willis and Gower are included with Greg Chappell’s baggy green, Michael Holding’s signed shirt from ‘that famous over’ and West Indian caps worn by Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Clive Lloyd.
Geoffrey Boycott’s 100th 100 bat (estimate £30,000-50,000) is included. This saw him became the first batsman in history to score his 100th century in a Test Match, doing so in an Ashes Test against Australia in front of his home supporters at Headingley on August 11 1977.
Viv Richard’s West Indies Cap, (estimate £5,000-8,000) also features in the sale, as does Australian ace, Greg Chappell’s baggy green cap (estimated £4,000-6,000), a Michael Holding framed shirt (est £8,000-12,000) A stump from the 1981 Ashes Test match at Headingley) also features (estimate £4,000-6,000). This match produced the most dramatic of England victories. The hosts were reduced to 135-7 on the fourth day, 92 runs shy of making Australia bat again, with several of the team including Botham having checked out of their hotel.
However, once Botham had been joined by Graham Dilley no bowler could escape his wrath. 110 of his 149 runs came in boundaries as he plundered 27 fours and one huge six.
By the close of play, England had the slimmest of leads, 124. With the lead increased to 130 on the final day, Bob Willis stepped up and produced his greatest spell of fast bowling.
The tourists fell from 56-1 to 75-8; an unprecedented reversal of fortunes occurred when they were all out for 111. England won by 18 runs and Willis’s figures were an astonishing 8- 43.
Christie’s Twenty20 Charity Cricket Auction, is a not-for-profit charity sale comprising iconic objects donated by some of the world’s greatest cricketers to support charities of their choice.
The sale is being launched to fill the void left by the postponement of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup and includes the ball with which Muttiah Muralitharan took his world record 503rd ODI wicket, (estimate £15,000-25,000) and the shirt from Shahid Afridi’s final international match, (estimate £3,000-5,000).
This exceptional auction traverses the cricketing world, from England to India via Australia and Sri Lanka, raising money for more than a dozen different charities across the globe.
To view the Sir Geoffrey Boycott sale here
To view the Christie’s Twenty20 Charity Cricket auction sale here
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