Cricketing ties between India and Australia got a boost when the cap that was worn by Sir Donald Bradman during a match against India in 1948, was sold at an auction recently. The green cap that Australian cricketers wear is known as the Baggy Green and this particular one, belonging to Australia’s most famous cricketer fetched Rs 2.63 crores in Indian currency.
Incidentally, this 1948 tour of Australia by the Indian team was historic since it marked the first tour by an Indian cricket team after the nation had gained independence from British rule.
According to reports quoting the auction house Bonhams, the cap was a little faded and worn out and bore the marks of age, including “some insect damage” and “loss to the edge of the peak. But despite its weathered appearance, the cap is a significant and valuable symbol of Bradman’s great cricketing legacy.”
That series against India went heavily in favour of the home side Australia. Don Bradman who is often hailed as the greatest batsman in cricket history, amassed an incredible 715 runs in the series that included three centuries and a double century. His dominance with the bat helped Australia secure a 4-0 victory over India, with one match drawn. Bradman finished the series with an astonishing average of 178.75.
Praised Lala and supported Mankad
In his book Farewell To Cricket, Bradman wrote about the series and praised the skills of Lala Amarnath. About the infamous incident wherein Vinoo Mankad ran out Bill Brown at the non-striker’s end, Bradman supported Mankad. Bradman wrote: “For the life of me, I can’t understand why the press questioned his sportsmanship. The laws of cricket make it quite clear that the non-striker must keep within his ground until the ball has been delivered.”
After the series ended, Bradman gifted his green cap to the team manager Pankaj Gupta. The manager later passed the cap on to the Indian team’s wicketkeeper, Probir Kumar Sen, and he, in turn, donated it to the custody of the BCCI. The cap remained with the Indian team for decades before it was given to the Bradman Museum in Bowral (Bradman’s hometown), in 2010.
Scandalous incident
Another cap that was worn by Sir Don during his debut series in 1928 was involved in a scandalous incident a few years ago. In the 1950s, Bradman had gifted the cap to a boy named Peter Dunham. He grew up and became an accountant in a business firm. But many years later, Dunham was jailed for fraudulent deeds and swindling of money. Bradman’s cap was then seized and sold in an auction to pay off a part of his debts.
Peter Freedman, who bought the cap, said: “Sir Don Bradman is an Aussie legend. Not only as one of our greatest talents on the sporting field but as an icon of Australian fortitude and resilience. I have some exciting plans for the baggy green that will see it travel across the country and be seen by sports fans and cricketing communities everywhere in Australia.”
World’s most expensive bat
On another occasion, the bat that Bradman had used while scoring two of his triple centuries became the most expensive cricket bat in the world after being sold at an auction.
Using that slim and lightweight piece of willow manufactured by William Sykes & Sons, Bradman amassed hundreds of runs. It was the one he played with during the 1934 Ashes series in which he piled up a total of 758 runs to emerge as the top scorer of the series. He used this bat while partnering Bill Ponsford in a second wicket stand of 451 runs which at that time became a world record.
After a prolonged online bidding war, Bradman’s blade was sold for a whopping price of about USD 250,000. But the unnamed new owner of the bat agreed to keep it on display at the International Cricket Hall of Fame (ICHF) and did not take it to his home. The ICHF is located at the same premises where the Bradman Museum exists.
Van numbered DB 99.94
Interestingly, a white-coloured van used by the museum authorities bears an unusual registration number. It is DB 99.94. The letters stand for Don Bradman and the number is Bradman’s average when he played his last Test match and walked away from cricket battles forever. That van remains as a reminder of Bradman’s unsurpassed Test record.
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