A costly delivery seemingly damaged in transit has sparked customs concerns after it arrived showing obvious signs of tampering, with no receipt of interception in sight.

The brand new cricket bat cost its owner around $750, but after the devastating discovery, he says it may as well be thrown away.

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Sydney-based cricket bat maker and repairman Josh Gavan, 27, received a package on Thursday containing six new bats sent to him to have some stickers removed and the willow sanded back.

When he opened the package he found that the bubble-wrap has been slashed open, leaving “knife marks in the wood”, and a hole in the middle of the face of one of the bats that appeared to have been made with a drill bit.

It was sent via UPS from a customer in Canada, where Gavan said “they don’t have many repairers”, and that “somewhere in between it’s been drilled through the middle of the face and basically destroyed in the process”.

“There was absolutely no care taken at all. I’m not sure if it was customs or UPS, or what happened,” Gavan told 7NEWS.com.au.

The SF bat cost around $750 when it was purchased, but the nearest available bat on the market in Australia now costs almost $1000.

“It was expensive for him to ship here, and for me to ship it back, so obviously there’s a lot of money wasted in this process,” he said.

“He sent it with five other bats, so six in total, and this was the only one drilled.

“My assumption was that it was done by customs somewhere, either in Canada or Australia.

“There was absolutely no notes or anything with the bat, no contact about discussing anything.”

An Australian Border Force (ABF) spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au that officers may examine any goods subject to customs control “to ensure prohibited goods are not entering Australia”.

“Where an item is found not to contain illicit goods or be subject to any duty or taxes payable, the item is returned to the normal course of carriage with notification that it has been opened for inspection by the ABF, acknowledging any damage that has resulted.

“Any person who believes that they are due compensation for any damage caused by the ABF to their item during the course of an inspection can make an enquiry via the Department of Home Affairs website through the Global Feedback Unit.”

7NEWS.com.au has contacted UPS for comment.

Gavan called UPS who sent him a list of questions to begin the investigation from their end, but he said most of the questions were about the packaging and “why it was damaged, not why it was drilled”.

The customer was contacted straight away, and asked if he had sent the bat with a hole in the face.

“No mate, these bats are brand new, SF,” the customer replied, sending a picture as proof.

“I got it two years back but never even opened the seal and used it.

“Do me a favour and can you trash that bat for me? I don’t want you or me to spend money or effort on that.”

While it is possible to fill the hole, balance is incredibly important when it comes to a cricket bat, and Gavan said: “It’s not gonna be the same.”

“You’d almost have to avoid hitting the middle which goes against a lot of cricket ... it may lose some performance in that area.”

Gavan told 7NEWS.com.au this was the first time he had ever received a package like this in the 10 years since he started his business.

His career began as a passion project for the enthusiastic lover of the sport when he was just 16 years old. Now his operation offers repairs and quality custom bats.

Over the years, he’s repaired bats for Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and other members of the West Indies team, and Aussie cricketers Steve Smith and Chris Lynn.

His most recent accomplishment was signing Australian all-rounder, Ellyse Perry, for whom he has been refurbishing bats since 2017.

They’ve partnered together to collaborate on a line of accessible cricket gear, which Perry said, “will hopefully be more accessible, streamlined and cool for everyone to use - from juniors all the way through to adults”.

By Scott Bailey / Rugby League

By Scott Bailey / Rugby League