Following CommBank’s national tour of Shane Warne’s baggy green to raise funds and boost the morale of Australians devastated by bushfires, the cap has now found a permanent home at Bradman Museum’s Baggy Green Exhibition in Bowral, NSW.
Warnie made his cherished baggy green available for auction to raise money for the bushfire appeal . CBA acquired the baggy green via a $1 million donation to the Australian Red Cross and took the cap – visiting schools, cricket clubs, and community centres. It even made an appearance at The Australian Women’s Cricket Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women’s Day earlier this year.
Today, on Sir Donald Bradman’s Birthday, the cap joins a collection of thirty baggy greens dating back to the 1800’s to present day at the Bradman Museum. Caps owned by Australia’s cricketing royalty, including Christina Matthews, Victor Trumper, and Bradman himself are featured in the exhibit.
After officially handing Warnie’s Baggy Green to the Bradman Museum at their opening ceremony today, CBA Chief Executive Officer, Matt Comyn, said: “I am delighted that CBA was able to secure Shane’s cherished baggy green cap. The cap not only raised more than $1 million for bushfire relief, it enabled us to raise further funds for the bushfire appeal, and now finds its home here at the Bradman Museum for all Australian cricket fans to enjoy.
“Even though our tour of the cap was cut short due to coronavirus, through the Bank’s contributions to disaster relief and the support of our customers, we contributed close to $20 million to support the community over the past financial year. Once again we see the power of the Baggy Green to inspire and lift our nation.”
The Hon. John Howard said, “Baggy Green 350[i] will remain on display at the Bradman Museum as a thank you and acknowledgement of the truly magnificent effort by all our emergency service personnel who assisted in communities across the country last summer.”
All-time leading Test wicket-taker, Shane Warne said, “All of us were touched by the loss of our devastating bushfires and how it affected so many. For me, I thought what can I do to help? I decided to auction my cherished baggy green cap and was absolutely blown away for how much it went for.
“When CommBank then took it around Australia to raise even more money, it was such a proud moment for me and my family to be able to raise money for other families who have suffered such loss. The cap now finds a home next to the greatest cricketer that’s ever played the game, Sir Donald Bradman, who has a wonderful Museum in Bowral.”
The Baggy Green Exhibit officially opened today and will be a permanent fixture at the Bradman Museum, located on St Jude Street in Bowral, NSW.
[i] The player numbers refer to when a player was selected for Australia. Although not considered important in the early days of Test cricket, these days, players treasure their number because it represents when they were selected for Australia and links them to all the great Australian players that have gone before them.
