SYDNEY. Oct 9 (AFP): Question I low do you per-xuade a little American boy to I »lay cricket? An swi i Huv him the world's most famous md expensive cricket bat. of course.

The bat. worth a cool 78.500 US dollars, is the Sktzenger with whidh the great West Indian all-rounder Gary Sobers — now Sir Garfield — clubbed six sixes in one over in Wales in I9(.S

It is now on its way to the I nurd States as a christening pirsenl to encourage the American son of a wealthy English cricket Ian to take up the great game when he's a big boy.

Sobers, who was here lor the Olympics, put the hat and an-oiher oi his famous hots ui> lot

auction at Christie's in Melbourne and got a world record 146.876 Australian dollars (78.500 US) for it, a spokesman foi Christie's said Monday

It was bought by English-born. Washington-based management consultant Martin Cannon, who had to get up in the middle of the night to bid by. telephone.

"I was having trouble coming up with a christening present for my baby boy who I'm going to have a tough time getting interested in cricket given he's an American.” Cannon told The Australian newspaper. "But 1 thought I'd give it a go."

He said he vividly remembered Sobers achieving first class cricket’s greatest feat — it has only ever been equalled by one other player. Indian allrounder Ravi Shastri — ami

when he saw tlie sale advertised in London, he decided to have it

Cannon was on the line to Christie's when Sobers' other bat. one with which he scored a (hen-record 365 runs in a Test innings, sold for another record — 129.250 dollars.

"The auctioneer announced the 365 bat had set a world record price and I said down the phone that it wasn't going to be a world record for long," he said.

The bat bought by Cannon was used by Sobers in a match for his English county side Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at Swansea in August. 1968

His victim was spin bowler Malcolm Nash, who saw all six halls hit over Ilie boundary, the last one finishing out of the ground and down a street

Christie's spokesman Robert Parsons said the two bats had been on loan for 30 years to the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Chib when Sobers recently decided to sell them.

"He offered to sell them to Nottinghamshire, but the club only wanted them if it could have them for nothing.' Parsons told AFP

So he decided to put them up for auction at Christie's. Melbourne which is world famous lor sporting memorabilia

I suppose some of Sir Donald Bradman's gear might be worth even more If It ever came on the market. But the Bradman bat that would probably fetch the most would be the one that's most famous — the one he used for his last innings when he was out for a duck."