Shane Warne’s 'Baggy Green' fetches bids worth $520,000; beats Don Bradman’s cap and MS Dhoni’s bat

Acquiring cricketing memorabilia is a dream for any cricket fan and some of the collectors can go for huge amounts in order to gain things they have their eyes set upon. Most of the time, famous cricketers put up their equipment up for auctions where the money goes to a good cause and helps out in dire needs. Something similar was seen when Shane Warne put up his baggy green for auction.

Warne announced on his social media that he will be auctioning his Australia Test cap which he has worn in his Test career spanning over 145 Tests, in which he picked 708 wickets and was chosen as one of the five Wisden cricketers of the 21^st century. The cricketing legend announced that all the proceeds will go towards helping out the victims of bush fires that have affected the majority of Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales.

The auction, which is taking place on Australian auction site pickles.com.au, crashed the servers as thousands of people started bidding for the cap, including former England captain Michael Vaughan, who bid $25,000. The bidding is still going on, but the baggy green has already become the most valuable cricketing item ever to be auctioned as it crossed the $500,000 mark.

Shane Warne’s Baggy green cap beats Dhoni’s bat and Bradman’s cap

At the time of writing this piece, the cap was up for a staggering $520,500 from a Sydney bidder. With such huge bidding going on for the cap with the leggie’s Test number 350 on it, it went past Sir Don Bradman’s baggy green which was sold for $425,000 in 2003. In his 21-year-long professional cricket career, Warne played 145 Tests for Australia, picking up 708 wickets – 2nd highest in the world after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800).

The final selling price of the cap can still rise further as the auction will end early morning on Friday and the lucky owner will also get an autographed certificate from Shane Warne. The cap also went past the price at which MS Dhoni’s bat was auctioned, the same bat he had used to hit that 2011 World Cup-winning six off Kulasekara in Wankhede Stadium on April 2.

Here are the most expensive cricket accessories ever sold at an auction with their auction price:

1. Don Bradman’s Test cap worn by him in his last Test – £170,000 in 2003
2. MS Dhoni’s match-winning bat from the 2011 WC final – £100,000 in 2011
3. Complete set of John Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanacks – £84,000 in 2008
4. Sir Gary Sobers’ bat to hit 6 sixes – £54,257 in 2000
5. Sobers’ bat with which he hit 365* against Pakistan – £47,475 in 2000

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