Truth about David Warner's returned baggy greens as $40,000 detail comes to light
The Aussie cricket star was reunited with the cherished caps ahead of the third day of the SCG Test.
They are the $40,000 caps that were not worth a cent. If it was a thief – or thieves - who nicked David Warner's treasured baggy green caps, they are among the dumbest crooks in the country.
They may have thought they'd come across Australian sport's version of the crown jewels, but in reality they were left with items they could do little with. Warner's caps went missing from his luggage en-route from Melbourne to Sydney following the Boxing Day Test.
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Despite the retiring opener's plea for their return and the subsequent worldwide publicity about their disappearance, the baggy greens remained MIA until Thursday evening. Warner took to social media to confirm the caps were back in his possession after being located in the team's Sydney hotel.
David Warner's baggy greens worth everything and nothing
Mystery remains as to how they went AWOL in the first place and how they happen to turn up at the hotel. Michael Fahey has been valuing and selling sporting items for 30 years through his company Sports Memorabilia Australia.
Apart from being a trusted authority in the industry, Fahey also co-authored 'The Baggy Green' (a book celebrating the history and reverence of the cap) and knows the value of the prized piece of wool and cotton better than anyone. He told Yahoo Sport Australia the Warner caps are worth everything and nothing at the same time.
"I'm not across the condition of both of them but the rough value of his battered cap would be between $20,000-$40,000," Fahey said. "The cap(s) are indeed worthless or would be sold for next to nothing given the publicity.
"It's not a really well thought out crime, if that's what it was. I'm just glad they are back in David's possession. The baggy green is a big part of an Australian cricketer's career."
The four big ticket items in the Australian sports memorabilia market are baggy greens, Brownlow Medals, bats used by Don Bradman and Melbourne Cup paraphernalia. Fahey continued: "It's hard to value the baggy caps of the players from the past 25 years, who received just one maybe two caps over a whole career, as virtually none from this era have come to market. The modern players earn so much more money, so there is no financial need for them to sell." Warner will wear his battered baggy green one last time as Australia chases victory over Pakistan in the third Test at the SCG.
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