Cricket Australia appeals for public help to solve memorabilia theft

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland today appealed for public support to help solve the theft of 43 autographed cricket bats from a Melbourne storage facility in late July or early August year.

The 43 stolen items include signed bats from Australian and international touring sides dating back to 1994, as well as autographed Australian cricket bats from the 1999 World Cup.

Cricket Australia was notified of the disappearance by its storage company, RMS Distribution Services, who discovered the loss after conducting a physical stock take of the memorabilia at its Tottenham Warehouse last August.

Mr Sutherland said the autographed bats were of historical significance and appealed for the support of the Australian cricket public to assist police in their investigations.

"Any piece of Australian cricket memorabilia is a valuable item, and to discover that 43 autographed cricket bats have gone missing from our storage facility is quite disturbing and very disappointing," said Mr Sutherland.

"We understand the Police have several leads in their investigation, which has been progressing since August last year, but we are appealing to members of the public to come forward with any information they may have that could assist Police in their investigations and help us recover the missing bats.

"As Australian cricket fans would fully understand, the loss of these autographed bats, some of which are irreplaceable, is significant, and we are keen to obtain any information that may help to find the whereabouts of these important pieces of cricket history."

Anyone with information on the missing autographed cricket bats is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.