A Baggy Green cap that belonged to Sir Donald Bradman is set to stay in Australia and will be displayed in a museum, after it was sold at auction on Monday.
Lloyds Auctions confirmed that the Australian cricket legend’s Baggy Green was purchased for an incredible $460,000 by an anonymous bidder.
The ‘Australian Treasure’ was worn by the iconic batsman during Australia’s 1947-48 Test series against India.
While some of Bradman’s Baggy Greens have gone on sale in the past, this particular cap holds great significance given that it was worn by the Aussie batter during his last Test series on home soil before he retired from Test cricket in 1948 at the age of 40.
It was also India’s first Test series since the country gained independence in August 1947. Bradman would go on to be crowned the highest run-scorer of the series, amassing a whopping 715 runs.
During the series, Bradman came up against young Indian bowler Sriranga Wasudev Sohoni. The Australian had gone into the India team’s changing rooms at one point during the series and had gifted Sohoni his Baggy Green.
Sir Donald Bradman’s Baggy Green cap has been sold at Auction for a whopping $460,000
Bradman gifted the baggy green to Sriranga Wasudev Sohoni during India’s first Test since gaining independence in 1947 – his family later stored the cap in a glass cabinet for safekeeping
The cap has been locked away in Sohoni’s home in Mumbai for 75 years.
Sohoni’s family have passed down the cherished collector’s item to the former India cricketer’s granddaughter.
The cap has never been publicly displayed until it went on a tour of Australia, prior to going under the hammer.
The auction took place in the Gold Coast on Monday, with the hat being dubbed ‘cricket’s holy grail’.
The successful bidder has chosen to remain anonymous.
Lloyds Auctions Chief Operations Officer Lee Hames said it was ‘fitting’ that the hat will remain in Australia.
‘This is a genuine piece of Australian cricket history that Sir Donald Bradman personally gifted and that has been preserved by the same family for more than 75 years,’ Mr Hames said.
‘It is in remarkable condition, combined with Bradman’s status as a national icon, which makes it extraordinarily rare to see an item like this enter the public domain.
Lloyds confirmed the sale on Monday, with the hat now set to be placed in a public museum
‘That it will remain in Australia and be publicly displayed is a fitting outcome.’
Bradman is widely regarded as one of the greatest to have ever played cricket.
He amassed 6,996 runs across 52 Test matches for Australia, with an average of 99.94.
Another of Bradman’s Baggy Green caps from the 1947-48 home Test series against India had gone on sale back in December 2024. It was bought for $390,000 at auction, with auctioneers later adding buyer’s premium on top, bringing the sale price up to $479,700.
