Bradman's 'baggy green' cap from 1928 debut to be auctioned

A number of Bradman’s baggy green caps have previously been auctioned, with his 1948 edition from the famous Ashes tour of England selling for $425,000 in 2003.

Representative Image: The baggy green worn by Australian great Don Bradman during a Test match against India in 1947-48, the last Test he played on Australian soil, is pictured in this undated handout photograph at a Melbourne auction house.

Late Australian cricketing great Don Bradman's 'baggy green' cap from his Test debut against England in 1928 is being put up for auction this week, Pickles Auctions said.

“The Don” went on to become 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.

“In 1959, Sir Donald gifted the Baggy Green to his neighbour, Peter Dunham, whose house backed onto the Bradman's family home on the Parade in Kensington Gardens,” Pickles said in a statement.

 

“The Baggy Green has been on loan to the State Library of South Australia since 2003 and has been authenticated by Mr Barry Gibbs (former manager of the State Library of South Australia's Bradman collection).”

AAP reported that Dunham, an accountant, was jailed for eight years and two months in May for scamming $1.3 million from investors, with some of his victims seeking access to the cap to help pay off his debts.

Earlier this year, former spinner Shane Warne, Australia's leading Test wicket-taker, sold his prized baggy green for more than A$1 million ($743,000) to aid bushfire relief efforts.

In 2003, Bradman's last baggy green cap from his final tour of England in 1948 was sold for A$425,000 while his blazer from his first series as Test captain sold for A$132,000 in 2015.