MELBOURNE: A sun-faded and insect-damaged Test cap worn by Don Bradman has sold for A$479,700 ($311,000), a record for a cap worn by the Australian cricket icon.
Bradman wore the “baggy green” cap during India’s first tour to Australia as an independent country in 1947-48, scoring 715 runs in six innings at an average of 178.75.
During the five-Test series, Bradman also became the first Australia player to score 100 first-class centuries, as he led the hosts to a 4–0 victory.
At the end of the tour, Bradman gave the cap to Indian team coach Pankaj “Peter” Gupta, who passed it on to wicketkeeper PK Sen.
It was purchased by the previous owner in 2003 and had been on loan to the Bradman Museum in the cricketer’s hometown of Bowral since 2010.
Put up for auction with an estimated value of between A$300,000 and A$400,000, it was sold to an Australian bidder, Sydney auction house Bonhams said.
Bradman’s first Test cap worn in 1928 sold for A$450,000 in 2020, almost a year after Australia’s spin bowling great Shane Warne sold his baggy green one for more than A$1 million to help the efforts to combat forest fires.
Revered as the game’s greatest batsman and one of Australia’s finest captains, Bradman retired after 52 Tests with a stratospheric batting average of 99.94, almost 40 better than any other player with a minimum of 20 innings.
The sale of the latest cap coincided with India’s five-Test tour of Australia, with the visitors leading 1-0 ahead of the second match, which starts at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
