A piece of cricketing history, the bat used by the legendary Don Bradman in the 1934 Ashes series with which he scored two triple-centuries is up for auction. Follow Ashes 2021-22 live on InsideSport.IN.
Donald Bradman’s history-making bat up for auction
Bradman, the former Australian captain, had also used the bat to score his highest-ever Test partnership of 451 runs with opening batter Bill Ponsford.
The bat has been on display at the Bradman Museum in Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands since 1999, on loan from a private owner. The William Sykes and Son bat was used in all the five Test matches of the Ashes in England where Bradman amassed a total of 758 runs.
Bradman, who had scored 6,996 runs from 52 Tests at an astounding average of 99.94, wrote his top scores from the series on the bat, including 304 at Headingley and 244 at the Oval.
“It’s provenance is indisputable,” museum Executive Director Rina Hore was quoted as saying by abc.net.au.
“Sir Donald has actually written in his own handwriting the fact that he made those scores with this bat.
“I think it is a treasure.”
According to the report, there is no reserve price for the bat. Another of Bradman’s bats was sold for Australian dollar 110,000 in 2018.
Bradman used that bat after the Bodyline series in Australia. The tactic was employed by the England to counter the prolific run-scoring of Bradman.
In December 2020, Sir Donald Bradman’s first-ever Test cap has been sold for a whopping $340,000 (Rs 2,51,23,586) and it has set a new record by becoming the second-highest priced cricket memorabilia.
The price for Bradman’s 1928 Australia cap sits behind the $1,007,500 ($760,000) paid at auction for Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne’s test cap earlier this year — the world-record price for an item of cricket memorabilia, auction officials said.
Donald Bradman’s history-making 87-year-old bat up for auction
Editors pick
