Jandal-clad Seddon Park ‘ball thief’ clears the air on ACC’s The Agenda podcast

The jandal-clad souvenir enthusiasts can be seen making their getaway. Photo / TVNZ

The man at the centre of a high-speed pursuit along Hamilton streets has gone public to tell his side of the story — and alleged he was threatened with a lifetime ban from Seddon Park.

During the Black Caps T20 against Pakistan at Seddon Park last Sunday, a spectacular scene unfolded as a man was accused of stealing the match ball after it was hit all the way out of the park.

Speaking on the ACC’s The Agenda podcast, Kirikiriroa local Chris said he was out the front of the ground enjoying a cigarette when the ball dropped out of the sky.

“We’d just gone outside for a smoke because they don’t let you smoke inside the grounds, obviously. So we’d literally just walked outside the front gates, right in front of me the ball just landed and my mate yelled out ‘Hey look at that, that’s the ball’ and we both legged it.”

Chris says his instincts took over in a fight or flight reaction to the sudden appearance of the ball.

“I think it’s just a natural instinct. I just grabbed the ball and without thinking, you know, just legged it. I thought this will be a great souvenir for the game, bit of memorability.

“It was like run Forrest, run.”

Having local knowledge on his side, Chris says he turned for home with security staff hot on his heels. Unfortunately for Chris, security must have employed some summer sprint exercises and he didn’t make it far before being apprehended.

“The security chased me down ... right down the street there, by Seddon Park, there’s a little side street. I tried to get away but they caught up with me and they sort of insisted I had to come back to the ground and I had to give the ball back.”

“I said, do I really have to give the ball back? They’d already replaced it by that stage, it’s not like I’d taken out of the ground — it’s a public street.”

Chris went quietly and without a fuss, he says.

“There was no physical altercation, they just insisted that I give the ball back.”

He was sticking to his guns with the argument that he had been outside the ground in a public space.

“It was made very clear to me from the security guard and someone that introduced themselves from New Zealand Cricket that if I didn’t hand the ball back immediately they’ll be ringing the police and I will be prosecuted for theft.

“They did also threaten that if I didn’t hand the ball back that I would be banned from Seddon Park for life, which is obviously devastating for me because I love going to the cricket.”

Chris says that faced with the possibility of prosecution and a ban from his beloved Seddon Park, he had little option but to return the ball.