A “baggy green” Test cap worn by Australian cricketing legend Don Bradman has been purchased for Aus$438,550 (US$287,000) by the nation’s National Museum, which known as it an iconic slice of historical past.
Skipper Bradman, who famously averaged 99.94 in Test matches, sported the cap during England’s 1946-47 Ashes tour of Australia, the primary to be performed between the 2 sides after World War II.
National Museum director Katherine McMahon stated that with cricket removed from folks’s minds during the warfare, the Test collection represented an indication of hope and optimism.
“Sir Donald’s baggy green marks the life of Australia’s most celebrated batsman and reflects a time when sporting heroes gave Australians hope, following the heartbreak and hardship of World War II,” she stated late on Friday (August 29, 2025).
“We are delighted this national treasure has found a home here at the National Museum of Australia for all Australians to enjoy.”
The cap, purchased from a non-public proprietor, is considered one of 11 worn by Bradman recognized to exist.
One that he used during India’s 1947-48 tour of Australia, his closing Test collection on house soil, fetched US$250,000 final 12 months.
Australia’s cricketers are awarded the darkish inexperienced woollen caps earlier than Test debuts and they’re revered by gamers and followers alike.
Arts Minister Tony Burke stated the acquisition safeguarded an vital piece of nationwide historical past.
“You’d be hard-pressed to meet an Australian that hasn’t heard of the great Donald Bradman, arguably the greatest cricketer of all time,” he stated.
“Now to have one of his iconic baggy greens in the National Museum of Australia means visitors will have the opportunity to get up close and connect with our sporting and cultural history.”
The cap will go into the National Historical Collection in Canberra alongside different Bradman memorabilia, together with an autographed bat from the primary Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham during the 1934 Ashes collection.
Bradman, described by cricket authority Wisden as the best to “have ever graced the gentleman’s game”, died in 2001 aged 92.
