Sir Don Bradman’s iconic Baggy Green Australia cap sells for over $470,000 at auction

Sir Don Bradman’s iconic Baggy Green Australia cap has been sold at an auction in Sydney.

The legendary cricketer wore the cap between 1947 and 1948 with the piece of history being sold by auctioneers Bonhams on Tuesday for a price of $390,000, which increased to a fee of $479,700 after buyer’s premium was added.

Bradman, who played 52 Tests for Australia, returning 6,996 runs, wore the cap during Australia’s Test series against India, during which the Aussie batter averaged an astounding 178.75 across six Test innings.

That had also included three centuries and a double hundred with Bradman also going on to score his 100th ton – which was described by the legendary Australian batter as his ‘magic milestone’.

It was also the last series that Bradman had played on home soil.

The auction lasted 10 minutes, with bids starting at a price of $160,000 for the cap. 

Bradman is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen to have ever played cricket  

The auction lasted 10 minutes, with the starting price for the iconic piece of memorabilia being set at $160,000

The 80-year-old cap had been gifted to Pankaj Gupta, the manager of the Indian cricket team following the end of the series, which Australia won 4-0 with one match being drawn.

He had passed the cap on to his Bengali wicket-keeper Probir Kumar Sen, who married Gupta’s niece, Reena, in 1948.

Sen had gone on to represent India at Test level, making his debut on New Year’s Day in Melbourne. 

Bradman’s cap is understood to have been hand-embroidered and features a label on the inside that has the cricketer’s name hand-written in blue ink.   

Despite the reverence of this collector’s item, today’s sale came up short against the fee paid for Shane Warne’s Baggy Green in 2020, which was sold for $1,007,500.

That auction set a landmark price for any piece of cricket memorabilia with the legendary spinner putting the cap up for sale to raise funds for bushfire relief. It had been bought by Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn.

Warne’s cap had subsequently gone on a national tour of Australia, visiting schools and cricket clubs, before it had been put on display at the Bradman Museum in Bowral, New South Wales.

It is not the first time a piece of Bradman’s cricketing equipment has fetched a large sum at auction. 

The cap was worn by Bradman during the 1947-1948 season, during which Australia would go on to beat India in a Test series  

Bradman’s cap is understood to have been hand-embroidered and features a label on the inside that has the cricketer’s name hand-written in blue ink

Bradman would score his 100th century during that series as he struck two centuries and a double hundred

In 2021, the bat he used to score a triple-century during the 1934 Ashes series sold at auction for more than $245,500. 

Given Bradman’s legendary achievements in the game, the bat was described as ‘one of the rarest pieces of Australian sporting memorabilia’ by Pickles Auctions executive director Gavin Dempsey.

It remains on display at the Bradman Museum. 

Hailed by many as one of the greatest batsmen to have ever played cricket, and seen as a legend throughout Australia, Bradman, born in Cootamundra, New South Wales, would go on to play First Class cricket for both NSW and South Australia. 

During his time in Australia’s premier domestic red-ball format, Bradman amassed over 28,000 runs for both NSW and South Australia. 

He’d go on to score 6,996 runs for Australia at Test level, averaging 99.94.