Warnie, The One True Spin King, Is Flogging Off His Baggy Green For Bushfire Relief

In what’s easily going to be one of – if not the – highest-profile memorabilia auctions in this enormous wave of bushfire fundraising, spin king Shane Warne has announced he will be putting his treasured and borderline sacred Baggy Green Cap up for grabs, in a move that will almost certainly attract hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Warne announced his famous cap – Australian Test number 350 – will go under the hammer, with all proceeds benefiting those affected by the horrific bushfires across the country.

In a social media post made a short time ago, Warne stated that “everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis.” He also stated that he hopes the auction can “raise some significant funds to help all those people that are in desperate need.”

The Baggy Green Cap, for those not quite up to speed, is almost inarguably the most mythologised – and certainly the rarest – item of apparel in Australian sport.

The cap is only awarded to players selected to play in the Australian test team, and is not manufactured for commercial purposes.

The cap’s rise to mythological levels occurred throughout the tenure of Australian men’s team captains Mark Taylor and, more significantly, Steve Waugh, who mandated the entire side wear the hat throughout the first session of each day’s play when in the field, regardless of the weather.

Players are issued multiple caps throughout their careers as-needed, but it’s not known how many were given to Warne. He did, on one occasion, gift a cap of his to the late media mogul Kerry Packer.

That said, the one being auctioned off is game-worn and was used by Warne throughout his 145-Test, 708-wicket career.

The market for Baggy Green caps is rare, unclear, and based largely on personality. The only remotely comparable sale came in 2003 when a cap worn by Sir Donald Bradman fetched a staggering $425,000 at a charity auction. So the price tag for a Warnie cap could wind up floating somewhere in that ballpark.

If, somehow, you have a lazy six figures lying around unused, you can put it to use by chucking a bid on the cap down at its official auction page. Bidding closes this coming Friday morning at 10am.

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