Dermot Reeve - TV Commentator and Controversy

TV Commentator and Controversy

Following his retirement from cricket, Reeve was involved with the Channel 4 broadcasting coverage of cricket from the start when the channel won the rights from the BBC to show England Tests in the UK. Duties included fronting the studio discussions with pundits, commentary, introducing and presenting awards after televised matches, and interviewing both present and past players. In May 2005, Reeve admitted that he had an addiction to cocaine, and had used the drug prior to commentating on the 2004 first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord's. Reeve duly quit Channel Four after working for five years as part of their commentary team. He also admitted to using marijuana whilst he was an active player for Warwickshire but only out of season.

In more recent years, Reeve has worked as a commentator on the BBC radio show. Test Match Special. He has also commentated on the IPL television coverage.

"Following his cocaine revelations in 2005, Reeve's family, who have no involvement in his memorabilia business, built a lucrative new life in Australia and New Zealand. Their assets included a $4 million waterfront mansion at Clontarf. Reeve also built a reputation as a prolific seller of memorabilia on the online auction site eBay."

Further scandal was to follow Reeve at the end of 2009, when he was exposed as a seller of highly dubious Donald Bradman "signatures" on plain card and limited edition Weet-bix cards which were later confirmed by the Bradman Museum to be poor copies of the original Legend's signature. Reeve had been selling these "poorly mimicked and inconsistent" copies of signatures on the website eBay for 3 years at prices ranging from AUSD $100 to AUSD $1500 to hundreds of unsuspecting buyers. Reeve explained that he had bought the contested autographs from a source in the UK, however his eBay feedback account showed that he had bought a high quantity of unsigned packs of Bradman Weet-bix collectors cards from other eBay traders between 2005 and 2008.

These cards (now duly signed, despite Bradman dying in 2001) reappeared on commemorative bats and other associated Bradman cricket memorabilia.

Several complaints were made to the guardian of Bradman's name, reputation and copyright, the Bradman Museum, by a number of concerned collectors who knew the items to be highly questionable but no action appeared to be taken until a well-known memorabilia collector, John Alvarez, challenged Reeve and exposed him to the media. At the time of writing, Reeve has decided to cease his lucrative but unethical practice via eBay. Reeve believed that by issuing a Certificate of Authenticity to buyers (confirming his opinion that the signature was genuine) meant that his status as a former International cricketer would add extra credibility to the scam. Several well-known authenticators throughout the world issued press releases to collectors informing them of Reeve's activities in the Bradman memorabilia market.