1 Ball retention device and method Field of the Invention This invention relates to a device for holding (retaining) a ball and a method for using 5 such a device. Background to the Invention It is common in the game of tennis for a player to hold more than one tennis ball at a time in order to minimise interruptions to the game, for example by avoiding the need 10 for the player to retrieve a ball which is not still in play or which has been hit away from the court area. Various methods have been adopted to enable players to carry tennis balls in addition to the balls with which they are playing, even when such additional balls are not 15 immediately needed. In some cases this may entail the use of pockets, or special gussets incorporated into clothing, or devices such as tubes or bags that players may carry on their persons. However, such methods fail to provide a convenient way for a player to pick up balls from the ground, and it is often awkward to quickly extract balls from such receptacles. 20 A similar issue can apply in the case of other sports where multiple balls are routinely used, such as squash, cricket, and so on. It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate disadvantages of the 25 prior art or to provide a useful alternative thereto. Summary of the Invention According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a ball-retaining device for use in the playing of a sport involving at least one sports ball and at least one ball-hitting 30 implement having an implement head, the device including: a ball holder including a plurality of spaced-apart gripping members defining a ball-retention space between the gripping members, the gripping members being adapted for releasably grippingly retaining one said sports ball at a time in the ball- 2 retention space; an interconnector component having a connector adapted for connection to the ball holder, the interconnector component having a plurality of retainer portions; and a mounting component having a joint portion and a clip formation connected to 5 the joint portion, wherein the retainer portions of the interconnector component are releasably connectable to the joint portion to releasably connect the interconnector component to the mounting component, and wherein the clip formation is adapted for releasable connection to a strap support, wherein the retainer portions are adapted, when the interconnector component 10 is not attached to the mounting component, to be releasably connected to a said implement head. In a preferred embodiment, the sport is tennis, the sports balls are tennis balls, and the at least one ball-hitting implement is at least one tennis racquet. 15 In a preferred embodiment, the joint portion has a part-spherical outer surface such that, when the retainer portions of the interconnector component are connected to the joint portion with the interconnector component being connected to the ball holder, the retainer portions are slidable on said outer surface thereby enabling relative swivelling 20 between the ball holder and the mounting component. Preferably, the interconnector component is adapted for being releasably connected to the ball holder. 25 According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of handling at least one sports ball using a ball-retaining device adapted for use in the playing of a sport involving at least one said sports ball and at least one ball-hitting implement having an implement head, the device including a ball holder including a plurality of spaced-apart gripping members defining a ball-retention space between the gripping 30 members, the gripping members being adapted for releasably grippingly retaining one said sports ball at a time in the ball-retention space; an interconnector component having a connector adapted for connection to the ball holder, the interconnector component having a plurality of retainer portions; and a mounting component having a joint portion and a clip formation connected to the joint portion, wherein the retainer portions of the 3 interconnector component are releasably connectable to the joint portion to releasably connect the interconnector component to the mounting component, and wherein the clip formation is adapted for releasable connection to a strap support, wherein the retainer portions are adapted, when the interconnector component is not attached to the 5 mounting component, to be releasably connected to a said implement head, the method including selectively performing at least one of two steps wherein: one of the steps includes releasably connecting the clip formation to a strap support while the ball holder and mounting component are interconnected to each other by the interconnector component, thereby attaching the device to 10 the strap support, and inserting one ball of the at least one ball in the ball retention space such that the inserted ball is grippingly and releasably retained by said gripping members; and the other of the steps includes detaching the retainer portions from the joint portion to disconnect the interconnector component from the mounting 15 component, releasably connecting the retainer portions to the implement head of a said ball-hitting implement so as to mount the ball holder to the implement head, and picking up a sports ball lying on a ground surface by manoeuvring the ball-hitting implement so as to cause ball holder to engage the ball such that the ball is inserted in the ball-retention space with the inserted ball being grippingly 20 and releasably retained by said gripping members. Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 25 Figure 1 is a top view of a ball retaining device according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the device of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side view of the device of Figure 1; 30 Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the device of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a top view of the device of Figure 1 with its mounting component removed; 4 Figure 7 is a front view of the partial device of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a side view of the partial device of Figure 6; Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of the partial device of Figure 6; Figure 10 is a side view of the mounting component of the device of Figure 1; 5 Figure 11 is a front view of the mounting component of Figure 10; Figure 12 is a perspective view of the mounting component of Figure 10; and Figure 13 is a bottom view of the mounting component as shown in Figure 10. Detailed description of the invention 10 Referring to the drawings, a ball retaining device 10 according to an embodiment of the invention comprises three main components, namely a ball holder in the form of a basket component 12, an interconnector component 14 and a mounting, swivel clip component 16, these components each being of plastics or another similar suitable material. 15 As illustrated in the drawings, the basket component 12 includes three gripping members 18, defining a ball-retention space 20 between them. The gripping members 18 are shown to define part of a substantially spherical shape. The gripping members 18 are adapted to fit snugly around a tennis ball (not shown) that 20 is accommodated in the ball-locating space 20 and to hold the ball securely whilst still enabling the ball to be removed manually without use of any tool, or more force than could commonly be exerted by a person's fingers. The basket component 12 is also provided with a downwardly extending formation 22. 25 As shown, the swivel clip component 16 includes a clip formation 24, a post 26 extending from an upper surface 28 of the clip formation, and a joint portion in the form of a substantially ball-shaped formation 30 joined to the post. As shown, the ball-shaped formation 30 has an outer surface 32 which is substantially part-spherical. 30 The interconnector component 14 is adapted to clip onto the swivel clip component 16, and, in particular, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, to be attached to the ball-shaped 5 formation 30. The interconnector component 14 is also adapted to be attached to the basket component 12. 5 As shown in the drawings, the interconnector component 14 incudes retainer portions in the form of a pair of opposed bracket portions 34. Each bracket portion 34 is disclosed as having a central rounded wall 36, two lower rounded protrusions 38 extending from opposite sides of the rounded wall, and substantially rectangular formations 40 disposed 10 on the protrusions. The bracket portions 34 enable the interconnector component 14 to be attached to the ball-shaped formation 20, thereby attaching the interconnector component to the swivel clip component 16 as mentioned above. Thus, when the interconnector component 14 15 is attached to the basket component 12, interconnector component also serves to attach the basket component to the swivel clip component 16. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, because the rectangular formations 40 project radially inwardly beyond the radially inner surfaces 42 of the rounded 20 protrusions 38, when the bracket portions 34 are attached to the ball-shaped formation 30, it is the rectangular formations that are in contact with the ball-shaped formation. Also as will be understood by those skilled in the art, because of the part-spherical outer surface 32 of the ball- shaped formation 30, the bracket portions 34 are slidable over the 25 outer surface thereby enabling the basket component 12 to and interconnector component 14 to swivel relative to each other. The interconnector component 14 is also shown to be provided with an upwardly projecting spigot formation 44, and a central hole 46. When the basket component 12 is 30 clipped onto the interconnector component 14, the downwardly extending formation 22 of the basket component is accommodated within the spigot formation 44 as will be understood by reference to Figures 2, 4 and 5.
6 Also as will be understood by reference to Figure s 2, 4 and 5, when the bracket portions 34 of the interconnector component 14 are engaged with the ball-shaped formation 30 of the swivel clip component 16, the ball-shaped formation extends towards the hole 46 so that the hole constitutes a space that can accommodate an upper portion of the ball 5 shaped formation. The clip formation 24 is shaped so as to capable of being clipped onto a belt, waistband or similar item of clothing worn by a person, or other strap or belt such as may be attached to a bag (such belts, waistbands, straps or similar items being collectively 10 referred to herein as "strap supports"). Thus, if the basket component 12 and swivel clip component 16 are interconnected to each other by the interconnector component 14, and if the clip formation 24 is clipped onto such a strap support, this will serve to attach the basket component to the strap support, for example to attach the basket component to the clothing or bag. This can further serve to support a ball on the strap support if the 15 ball is held in place by the gripping members 18 in the ball retention space 20 of the basket component 12. If the interconnector component 14 is attached to the basket component 12 as described above but not to the swivel clip component 16, then the interconnecting component can 20 be clipped onto the head of a tennis racquet (not shown), thereby attaching the basket component to the tennis racquet. In particular, as would be understood by a person skilled in the art, the bracket portions 34 can be used to effect this attachment to the racquet in a similar manner to that described above in relation to the attachment of the bracket portions to the ball-shaped formation 30 of the swivel clip component 16. 25 The ball may be inserted manually in the ball retention space 20 between the gripping members 18 so that the gripping members grip the ball. In this case, when the basket component 12 is combined with the interconnector component 14, a player may support the ball on the player's clothing or body (e.g. on the player's belt or waistband). By 30 using a plurality of similar devices 10, the player can simultaneously support a plurality of balls in the same manner Alternatively, if the interconnector component 14 (while attached to the basket component 12) is clipped onto the head of a racquet as described above, the player can 7 use the racquet to support the basket component while picking up a ball from the ground by pushing the basket component onto the ball so that the ball is received in the ball retention space 20. In this way, the player can pick up the ball while avoiding or minimising the need to bend over. Accordingly, this use may be suitable for players 5 suffering from back pain or other back ailments. Although the invention is described above in relation to preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is not limited to those embodiments, but may be embodied in many other forms. 10 For example, while the above embodiments are described primarily with reference to the game of tennis and use of the invention with tennis balls, the invention may be used with other balls, including those of different weights, especially those of comparable shape, and possibly comparable dimensions. Examples of other balls with which other 15 embodiments the device 10 may be used are cricket balls, baseball balls, and squash balls. The device 10 may also be used as a promotional item, souvenir, memento or the like, and may bear appropriate branding or logos, or display the name of an event. 20 An advantage of the swivel clip component 16 is that it is not limited to use in a particular location on a player's clothing, or other belt, strap or like. For example, it can be suitably positioned on a player's belt or clothing so as not to interfere with the player's swing and movement around the court. 25 The device 10 can also be used at the completion of a tennis game, to store or transport tennis balls for later use. In addition, by using a plurality of these devices 10, multiple tennis balls may be held 30 or stored at a time.