Giant World Cup cricket statue up for sale in Bristol - but the buyer has to collect it

A 20ft high statue of a batter has been put up for sale by Gloucestershire Cricket Club, five years after it was placed outside their ground in Bristol.

The giant statue was placed in Millennium Square in Bristol to celebrate the city hosting matches in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and then moved to the entrance to the Nevil Road ground in Ashley Down, where it has been ever since.

But now Gloucestershire Cricket Club has taken the unusual step of putting the statue up for sale on eBay, saying it needs to ‘make more room’ near the entrance to the ground.

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The statue is of a batter with bat raised ready to strike the ball, and was painted by volunteers who took part in a painting workshop day at Millennium Square on the eve of the tournament in May 2019. It is painted with flags to represent all ten of the cricketing nations that took part in the tournament, which was won in dramatic fashion in the final by England in a ‘Super Over’ shoot out. The statue itself was unveiled by Bristol comedian Mark Watson.

In a statement, the club said: “To make more room near our Nevil Road entrance we’re selling our iconic Cricket World Cup statue, and it could be yours! Whether you’re a local cricket club, business or have a passion for cricket memorabilia, you could own a piece of history.”

The listing on eBay says whoever buys it has to collect it in person only - the club won’t be responsible for sending it on its way. It also lists the item as ‘used and stored outside, will need a clean but otherwise in good condition’.

“This auction is for the world famous cricket statue that was first seen during the 2019 Cricket World Cup,” said the club’s eBay listing. “It is approximately 20 feet tall from ground level which includes its base. It depicts all nations from the competition and is a real piece of cricket history.

“The size of this statue needs to be seen to be believed. Due to this the statue will need to be collected at the buyers own expense,” it added.

Bristol hosted three games in the group stages of the 2019 World Cup, but the tournament was a bit of a disappointment for cricket fans in the city. The first match saw Australia easily beat Afghanistan, but subsequent games between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were completely washed out by heavy rain without a ball being bowled.

Those wash-outs may well have cost Pakistan the chance to progress to the semi-finals - they lost out in the final league table to New Zealand on run-rate and would have qualified had they had the chance to play and beat Sri Lanka.

The listing for the statue went up on eBay this morning and already - as of lunchtime today - has attracted one bid of £500. Bidding ends at 5.05pm next Thursday, May 23.