Ex-Aussie legend’s cap sells for R9.8m in aid of bushfires

Legendary Australian cricketer Shane Warne has raised in excess of one million Australian dollars (about R9.8 million) in aid of his country’s bushfire crises following the sale of his “baggy green” Australia cap at an auction.

Read: Aussie bushfires – Federer, Williams, Nadal to serve in aid of crisis

The cap is the same one the Australian leg-spinner wore throughout his 145 match-long Test career – enjoying in it successes which include taking a total of 708 wickets – making him the second-highest wicket-taker of all-time in Tests, behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan.

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Former Australia legend Shane Warne relinquished the baggy green cap he wore throughout his prolific career in aid of raising funds for the bushfire crises in the country (Image: Sourced).

Australia’s bushfire crisis has been raging on since September with reports suggesting that over 20 people have lost their lives. Commenting on the successful auction of his cap, Warne said he was blown away by the generosity displayed. He said the final figure was “way beyond my expectations” after Australia’s Commonwealth Bank won the bid for the famous baggy green cap.

All money raised will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. The Commonwealth Bank revealed the cap will be taken on a national tour, to continue to raise money for communities affected by the bushfires, before it permanently resides at the Bradman Museum.

Shane Warne wearing his baggy green for the last time in his final Test in 2007 against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground (Image: Getty Images).

The final price is more than double the A$425 000 legendary Australia batsman Sir Donald Bradman’s baggy green fetched in 2003. The baggy green is given to an Australia player upon making his Test debut, with cricketers usually wearing the same cap throughout their career.