Australia bushfires: Shane Warne auctions baggy green cap
Warne: "Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis."
Monday 6 January 2020 06:54, UK
Shane Warne will auction his baggy green Test cap to raise funds towards the bushfire relief efforts in Australia.
Australian sports figures, along with several international tennis players, have pledged to raise funds in support of recovery efforts for victims across the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
Since September, fires in Australia have killed 24 people and an estimated 500 million animals, with over 1,000 homes destroyed and millions of hectares of land scorched.
The leg-spin great announced he was going to auction his baggy green cap on social media during the fourth day of the third Test against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis," Warne, who hails from Victoria, wrote on Instagram.
"This has lead me to auction off my beloved baggy green cap (350) that I wore throughout my test career ...
"I hope my baggy green can raise some significant funds to help all those people that are in desperate need."
The baggy green is given to a Test player when he makes his international debut and cricketers usually wear the same cap throughout their career.
Sir Don Bradman's baggy green was sold at auction for £325,000 ($425,000) in 2003.
Warne is Test cricket's second-most successful bowler with 708 wickets in 145 tests - behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800).
