The legendary prowess of Sir Donald Bradman, combined with the almost mythical status of the baggy green, has led an Australian to pay nearly half a million dollars for one of the Don's Test caps.

Unlike contemporary Australian cricketers, players from Bradman's era wore a different cap for each series. Thus, the cap worn by Bradman during the 1947-48 home summer against India is not unique. However, it still fetched $479,700 at auction, setting a record for a cap worn by the great batsman.

This sum is less than half of what Shane Warne's cap raised in aid of emergency services during the 2019-20 bushfires, which was purchased by the Commonwealth Bank for $1,007,500. Warne, however, wore only one cap throughout his career.

Bradman's first cap, from his 1928 debut season, was sold for $450,000 in 2020, while the one he wore on his final tour to England in 1948 went for $425,000 in 2003 and was later resold for around $400,000 in 2008.

The baggy green sold on Tuesday in Sydney was worn by Bradman during India's first tour as an independent country and his last on home soil. He scored 715 runs in six innings at an average of 178.75, becoming the only Australian player to score 100 first-class centuries. Australia won the series 4-0.

At the end of the tour, Bradman gifted the cap to the Indian team manager, Pankaj Gupta, who passed it on to his nephew-in-law, the team's wicketkeeper PK Sen. It was purchased by the current owner in 2003, according to Bonhams Sydney. The cap had been on loan to the Bradman Museum in Bowral since 2010 and was sold as a single star lot to an Australian bidder.

The cap was bought for $390,000 before the addition of a buyer's premium. Described by the auction house as 'sun faded and worn', it had 'some insect damage' and 'some loss to the edge of the peak'.

'This very special baggy green has been part of cricket and sporting heritage for decades,' said Bonham's senior specialist Alex Clark.

Bradman, who passed away in 2001 at the age of 92, is recognized as cricket's greatest batsman, averaging 99.94 in his 52-Test career.

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