The cricket authority Wisden has called Bradman the finest player to “have ever graced the gentleman’s game” and he retired with an all-time high Test batting average of 99.94.
Don Bradman, Australia’s best batsman, wore a headgear that will be up for auction Tuesday in Sydney. The worn “baggy green” cap might bring up to US$260,000. Bradman wore the woollen cap on India’s 1947–48 tour of Australia, which was the first time the visiting team had played Test matches abroad following independence. It was described by auction firm Bonhams as “the only known baggy green” that Bradman wore during one of his most successful series.
Bradman amassed three hundreds and a double-hundred runs in six innings against the tourists, scoring 715 runs at an average of 178.75. The dark green hats, which are coveted by both players and spectators, are given to Australia’s Test cricket players. Even though the cap has a torn peak, significant fading, and insect damage, Bonhams estimates it will sell for between US$195,000 and US$260,000.
The cricket authority Wisden has called Bradman the finest player to “have ever graced the gentleman’s game” and he retired with an all-time high Test batting average of 99.94.
One of the cricket legend’s caps, a different “baggy green” that he wore during his 1928 Test debut, brought US$290,000 in 2020, setting a record at the time. However, that was a lot less than the US$650,000 that was paid for spin legend Shane Warne’s baggy green to aid Australian bushfire victims earlier that year.
Bradman died at the age of 92 in 2001, while Warne died at the age of 52 in 2022.
