ONE OF IRELAND’S best-known cricketers fears that his personal cricket gear – including the bat he used in Ireland’s memorable defeat of England last week – has been stolen.

Niall O’Brien – whose 46 runs helped give Ireland a fighting chance against favourites India on Sunday, and who chipped in 27 runs in the win over England – has told Indian police that a bag containing six of his bats has gone missing from the team’s collection.

The Irish Daily Star reports that O’Brien – the elder brother of record-breaking batsman Kevin – had given his two bags of equipment to a member of the ground staff at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore following the narrow defeat to India on Sunday.

When he arrived back at the hotel, however, one of the two bags was missing – with six bats, including the one used against England, lost.

“These aren’t bats you can buy in a shop,” O’Brien told the Star of his handmade bats. “I can’t understand it – the ICC security is so tight.”

O’Brien had already been in foul humour, India Today reported, with the stadium authorities saying he had smashed the entry door to the team’s dressing room with his bat, out of frustration at the manner of his run-out dismissal.

Stadium authorities had sought damages of around €400 from O’Brien, but the newspaper added that the dispute was “resolved amicably”.

Indian police told sify.com, however, that they are confident the six bats can be recouped. ”The case is being investigated and we hope to trace the bag soon,” it quotes a Bangalore police spokesman as saying.

Regardless of whether the bats are recovered, O’Brien will have to make do with substitute equipment for the time being – the team has relocated to Mohali ahead of Friday’s crunch clash with the West Indies, where Ireland will fancy their chances of causing another major upset.

A win in that game – if Ireland were also able to defeat the Netherlands, who are considered the makeweights of Group B – would likely see Ireland qualify for the tournament quarter-finals.