Australian legend Shane Warne’s baggy green has become the most valuable cricket memorabilia in history. After Warne announced on Monday that he would be auctioning off his iconic cap to help those who have been affected by devastating bushfires in Australia, the bidding war went crazy with bids reaching $275,000 in just two hours. At the time of publishing this article, the cap was up for a staggering $520,500 from a Sydney bidder named ‘M.C.’.
The current bid for Warne’s cap has now surpassed the final auction price of the baggy green of cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman which was sold for $425,000 in 2003.
In his 21-year-long professional cricket career proudly donning the baggy green, Warne played 145 Tests for Australia, picking up 708 wickets – 2nd highest in the world after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800).
The final selling price of the cap could yet go even higher as the bidding is set to close at 10 am (AEDT) on Friday. After the bidding ends, Warne is also slated to award an autographed certificate to the highest bidder.
Warne’s cap has not just surpassed Bradman’s in terms of the auction amount but also zoomed past a number of other famous cricket memorabilia in the sport’s history – notably the bat used by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the 2011 WC final.
Here are the most expensive cricket accessories ever sold at an auction with their auction price:
1. Don Bradman’s Test cap worn by him in his last Test – £170,000 in 2003
2. MS Dhoni’s match-winning bat from the 2011 WC final – £100,000 in 2011
3. Complete set of John Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanacks – £84,000 in 2008
4. Gary Sobers’ bat to hit 6 sixes – £54,257 in 2000
5. Sobers’ bat with which he hit 365* against Pakistan – £47,475 in 2000
With Shane Warne’s cap set to break the above records, his wish to “raise some significant funds” to help the relief efforts has bore fruit alright!
“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 wrote on Instagram.
“Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis. This has lead me to auction of my beloved baggy green cap (350) that I wore throughout my test career (when I wasn’t wearing my white floppy hat).
“I hope my baggy green can raise some significant funds to help all those people that are in desperate need.”
