Sir Don Bradman's Test debut baggy green to be auctioned

Arguably, the greatest batsman of all time, Australia’s Sir Don Bradman’s another ‘baggy green’ cap would be auctioned this week. This time his ‘baggy green’ cap from his Test debut against England in 1928 would be put to auction. After causing a stir in the domestic arena with his stunning numbers with the willow, Bradman was finally given a place in the Australian team against England in a Test match on November 30, 1928.

He went on to score 18 and 1 across two innings in Brisbane on his debut and that was followed by Australia’s humiliating defeat against England by a humongous 675 runs. As a result, Bradman was axed from the side in the second Test.

However, he returned in the Third Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground and went on to score 79 in the first innings. Batting in the second innings, he registered a score of 112, his first hundred in the international circuit but Australia lost the game and the series too.

Nonetheless, “The Don” went on to become one of the greatest captains and batsmen in the history of the game and brought a lot of laurels for his country. He retired from the game after registering a stunning average of 99.94 in the purest format of the game, a mark that has not been eclipsed in 72 years.

Don Bradman had presented his baggy green as a gift to his neighbour

Speaking about the upcoming auction on Don Bradman’s debut cap, Pickles Auctions revealed that the veteran batsman had presented his baggy green to his neighbour Peter Dunham as a gift. It is reported that Dunham was jailed for a period of eight years and two months after he was found guilty for scamming $1.3 million from investors. Thus, a few victims are looking at access to this prestigious cap to cover their loss.

“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 Auctions said in a statement as quoted by Times of India.

“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),” he added.

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