Cricketer's stolen clubs left unattended: hotel

Security footage caught a man walking off with the golf clubs on Sunday, two days before England drew the final cricket test at Eden Park. Photo / Supplied

A bag of expensive golf clubs belonging to a member of the visiting English cricket team had been sitting unattended in a public part of a central Auckland hotel before it was stolen by an opportunist, the hotel manager says.

CCTV footage shows a man strolling through the Pullman Hotel in Waterloo Quadrant on Sunday with the bag across his shoulder.

Hotel operations manager Zac Lumsden said the clubs had been left in a downstairs function area accessible from the street.

"You can access it if you wanted to come into the hotel for a coffee or whatever. There's no swipe or anything to get into the hotel."

The clubs' owner had not noticed they were missing until Tuesday, after England's nail-biting test finale with the Black Caps at Eden Park.

The hotel had strict security procedures, including CCTV and full-time security guards, and the whole hotel was locked down to the public at night, Mr Lumsden said.

"I think it was an opportunist-type thing. Normally we don't have any occurrences like this at all."

Hotel management handed CCTV footage of the thief to police, who appealed to anyone with information to contact them

Golf Warehouse Newton store manager Conal Cooke estimated the bag and its contents - which included a set of Mizuno irons worth about $1500 and a set of TaylorMade R11 irons worth some $800 - would cost about $3900 new. "That's a very good set of clubs."

Police have asked secondhand traders to watch for the gear.

Nice kit

$350 TaylorMade golf bag
$300 Ping putter
$400 Ping three wood
$400 TaylorMade R11 driver
$800 Set of TaylorMade R11 irons
$1500 Set of Mizuno irons
$150 Black adidas rain jacket

Price estimates by Golf Warehouse