Herschelle Gibbs has decided to put the bat he used in the record-breaking run chase on auction to raise funds for families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Gibbs helped South Africa create history on March 12, 2006, with his career-best 175, a record that still stands in the 50-over format.
The former South African cricketer posted a photo of his bat with a message written on it with the date of the match.
Supersport showing the #438 game . The bat i used that day will be up for auction to raise funds for covid. Kept it all these years. pic.twitter.com/VyGyAzKVSn
— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) May 1, 2020
Gibbs came on to bat at No.3 in the run chase of 438 after opener Boeta Dippenar’s wicket in the second over. The explosive batsman shared a 187-run partnership with skipper Graeme Smith to keep the run chase alive. He did the bulk of the scoring in the third-wicket partnership with AB de Villiers who scored just 14 runs from 20 deliveries.
He got out in the 32nd over of the run chase after scoring 175 runs from 111 deliveries including 21 fours and seven sixes. South Africa chased down the total winning the match by one wicket with one ball to spare as wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher scored the winning runs.
Over a decade later, the Cape Town-born cricketer revealed in his ‘To the Point: The No-holds barred Autobiography’ that he was nursing a hangover after a night of drinking just the previous day.