Warne's 'Baggy Green' cap sold for over 1 million Australian dollars

Shane Warne

Melbourne: The 'Baggy Green' cap that former Australian spinner Shane Warne put up for auction for donating the amount to the bushfire relief fund, on Friday got sold for more than AUD 1 million. The bidding for the cap got closed earlier today, and the amount for the cap is twice the amount of Don Bradman's 'Baggy Green' in 2003.

"Thank you so much to everyone that placed a bid & a huge Thankyou/congrats to the successful bidder - you have blown me away with your generosity and this was way beyond my expectations! The money will go direct to the Red Cross bushfire appeal. Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou," Warne tweeted.

The 50-year-old Warne is the most successful Test bowler for Australia, scalping 708 wickets in the longest format. Warne on Monday announced to auction his Baggy Green cap to raise funds for victims of the devastating bushfires in Australia. Taking to Twitter, Warne made an announcement and posted a statement.

"The horrific bushfires in Australia have left us all in disbelief. The impact these devastating fires are having on so many people is unthinkable and has touched us all. Lives have been lost, homes have been destroyed and over 500 million animals have died too," Warne said.

"Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis. This has led me to auction my beloved baggy green cap (350) that I wore throughout my Test career," he added.

Warne joined a growing list of cricketers, who are raising money for the bushfire victims. Australian players Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short have already announced that they will donate AUD 250 each for every six they hit in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) to support the bushfire victims.

Athletes from other sports too joined the movement as tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic decided to donate 25,000 dollars each for Australia's bushfire relief fund.

Wildfires have been raging across Australia for months, killing 23 people, burning about 6 million hectares (23,000 square miles) of bushland and killing a billion animals.

Naval and air rescue operations were launched last week as mass evacuations of towns at risk of being engulfed by flames got underway.

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