Commonwealth Bank chief buys Shane Warne’s baggy green for $1m

Commonwealth Bank chief Matt Comyn has dropped more than $1m to buy Shane Warne’s Baggy Green for bushfire relief.

Shane Warne with his baggy green on Friday. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Shane Warne admits he has been completely bowled over by Commonwealth Bank chief Matt Comyn after he dropped more than $1m to buy the former spinner’s Baggy Green during an online auction raising money for bushfire relief.

Mr Comyn secured the treasured cricket cap, which Warne wore throughout his 145-match Test career, with a final bid of $1,007,500 under the name “MC” shortly after 10am on Thursday.

It followed a tense bidding war that erupted in the final 12 hours of the online auction, with a two-way tussle tipping the price over the $1m mark two minutes before the hammer fell.

“Thank you so much to everyone that placed a bid,” Warne said online. “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.”

Mr Comyn said he was “delighted that CBA has been able to secure Shane’s cherished baggy green cap” and pledged to send it on a “fundraising tour across the country” before it became a permanent fixture at the Bradman Museum in Bowral, NSW.

The 50-year-old Warne, who remains Test cricket’s second-most-successful bowler, with 708 wickets, behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan with 800 wickets, is the latest in a long line of celebrities to lend their star power to the growing bushfire relief effort.

Russell Crowe auctioned off his Rabbitohs baseball cap for $100,000 in November, while Sydney businessman Justin Hemmes pledged $500,000 on Monday, after RFS crews saved properties owned by the hospitality billionaire and the Hollywood heavyweight.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban pledged $500,000 at this week’s Golden Globes, while sisters Kylie and Dannii Minogue also donated $500,000.

Elton John donated $1m, while singer Pink was the first American pop star to publicly donate, when she pledged $500,000 last Saturday.

Hilary Duff, Margot Robbie, Paris Hilton, Selena Gomez and Lizzo have all promised to donate, while Kylie Jenner and Chris Hemsworth have each pledged $1m.

Thankyou 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 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vyVcA7NfGs

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) January 9, 2020