Sir Don Bradman’s Test debut ‘baggy green’ sets another auction record in Australia with THIS price

The “baggy green” cap awarded to late Australian cricketing great Don Bradman on his Test debut in 1928 has been sold to a local businessman for AUD 450,000 after it failed to sell at auction last week. Auctioneers had hoped to reach between AUD 1 million-AUD 2 million for the cap, which had failed to reach its reserve price of AUD 400,000 in the online auction. The sale still surpasses the AUD 425,000 paid for Bradman’s baggy green cap from his final tour of England in 1948 that was sold in 2003. Australian businessman Peter Freedman said in a statement released by the auction house Pickles that he had bought the cap and intended to tour it around the country.

“All too often, memorabilia such as this ends up spending its life on the wall of some boardroom or in some basement bar of a well-heeled sports fanatic,” Freedman said. “I want as many people to enjoy it as possible.”

Warne’s cap shatters records

Sir Don Bradman, who was known as “The Don”, is regarded as one of Australia`s greatest captains and his remarkable consistency with the bat saw him retire with a test batting average of 99.94, a mark that has not been eclipsed in 72 years. Earlier this year former spinner Shane Warne, Australia’s leading test wicket-taker, sold his prized baggy green for more than AUD 1 million to aid bushfire relief efforts.

The baggy green is a prized possession for any Test cricketer and the ‘King of Spin’ had put it up for auction for a greater cause.

As expected, the cap fetched a bid of AUD 520,500 from a Sydney bidder named ‘M.C.’. The cap comes with an autographed certificate of authenticity from Warne and 100 per cent of proceeds from the online auction will be donated to the Bushfire Appeal.

This means Shane’s cap overtook MS Dhoni’s hat and Sir Donald Bradman’s cap which was sold for jaw-dropping price tags of GBP 100,000 in 2011. “The horrific bushfires in Australia have left us all in disbelief. The impact these devastating fires are having on so many people is unthinkable and has touched us all,” Warne had written on Instagram.