SYDNEY:
A “dishevelled inexperienced” Take a look at cap worn by Australian cricketing legend Don Bradman has been purchased for Aus$438,550 (US$287,000) by the nation’s Nationwide Museum, which referred to as it an iconic slice of historical past.
Skipper Bradman, who famously averaged 99.94 in Take a look at matches, sported the cap throughout England’s 1946-47 Ashes tour of Australia, the primary to be performed between the 2 sides after World Battle II.
Nationwide Museum director Katherine McMahon stated that with cricket removed from individuals’s minds throughout the struggle, the Take a look at collection represented an indication of hope and optimism.
“Sir Donald’s dishevelled inexperienced marks the lifetime of Australia’s most celebrated batsman and displays a time when sporting heroes gave Australians hope, following the heartbreak and hardship of World Battle II,” she stated late Friday.
“We’re delighted this nationwide treasure has discovered a house right here on the Nationwide Museum of Australia for all Australians to get pleasure from.”
The cap, purchased from a non-public proprietor, is one in every of 11 worn by Bradman recognized to exist.
One which he used throughout India’s 1947-48 tour of Australia, his ultimate Take a look at collection on dwelling soil, fetched US$250,000 final 12 months.
Australia’s cricketers are awarded the darkish inexperienced woollen caps earlier than Take a look at debuts and they’re revered by gamers and followers alike.
Arts Minister Tony Burke stated the acquisition safeguarded an necessary piece of nationwide historical past.
“You would be hard-pressed to satisfy an Australian that hasn’t heard of the nice Donald Bradman, arguably the best cricketer of all time,” he stated.
“Now to have one in every of his iconic dishevelled greens within the Nationwide Museum of Australia means guests can have the chance to stand up shut and join with our sporting and cultural historical past.”
The cap will go into the Nationwide Historic Assortment in Canberra alongside different Bradman memorabilia, together with an autographed bat from the primary Take a look at at Trent Bridge in Nottingham throughout the 1934 Ashes collection.
Bradman, described by cricket authority Wisden as the best to “have ever graced the gentleman’s sport”, died in 2001 aged 92.
