The dog-eared cap worn by spinning great Shane Warne has landed at its new permanent home after a months-long tour of Australia and will now reside alongside the headgear of fellow cricket royalty including Don Bradman, Christina Matthews and Victor Trumper.
Warne put his baggy green up for auction to raise funds for the bushfire appeal in January this year. It exceeded expectations and fetched $1m after the Commonwealth Bank acquired it via a donation to the Australian Red Cross.
It has since been on a national tour, visiting schools, cricket clubs and community centres – and even the MCG for the Women’s World T20 final earlier this year – to raise further funds, although the coronavirus pandemic ultimately cut its travels short.
It now finds a new place to call home at the Bradman Museum in Bowral, where it will remain as part of a permanent exhibition officially opened on Thursday, which boasts a collection of 30 baggy greens dating back to the 1800s.
Warne, a member of the ICC’s hall of fame, said: “All of us were touched by the loss of our devastating bushfires and how it affected so many. For me, I thought what can I do to help? I decided to auction my cherished baggy green cap and was absolutely blown away for how much it went for.
“When CommBank then took it around Australia to raise even more money, it was such a proud moment for me and my family to be able to raise money for other families who have suffered such loss,” Warne said.
“The cap now finds a home next to the [cap of the] greatest cricketer that’s ever played the game, Sir Donald Bradman, who has a wonderful museum in Bowral.”
Warne’s cap, which made an appearance in 145 matches during a Test career spanning 15 years, will continue to serve as a reminder of the devastating bushfires that impacted so many communities, according to the former Australian primer minister and self-proclaimed cricket tragic John Howard.
“Baggy green No.350 will remain on display at the Bradman Museum as a thank you and acknowledgement of the truly magnificent effort by all our emergency service personnel who assisted in communities across the country last summer,” Howard said.
