London: The baggy green cap worn by Australian cricket legend Don Bradman in the 1946-47 Ashes series was sold for a record auction price of $58,600 on Tuesday.

Christie’s auction house said the cap was bought by an Australian collector who lives in London.

It is the highest price ever paid for a cricket cap, Christie’s said.

The buyer, who was not identified, plans to add the cap to his private cricket collection but also hopes to display it in Australia.

“As we were getting ready to auction the cap, there was a hum of excitement in the room,” said a Christie’s spokesman. “And the bidding took a couple of minutes. After we sold it, there was a clap in the room, which you don’t always have.”

A bat Bradman used on the tour of England in 1930 went for $48,850 to another collector. Bradman hit 232 runs with the bat in the tour’s fifth Test.

Bradman’s teammate Keith Miller claimed he swapped caps with the Australian captain before the first Ashes Test in Brisbane in November 1946 but Christie’s said they were sure of the green cap’s authenticity.

The legend’s name was hand-written on the manufacturer’s label, and the cap matched Bradman’s size.

Bradman, who died two years ago, is considered by many to be the best batsman ever to play cricket.

He captained Australia from 1936-48 and made 19 centuries against England from 1928-48.

The 1948 tour of England by Bradman’s ‘Invincibles’, where they won the Test series 4-0, is still regarded as one of Australia’s greatest performances.

A 1953 Miller cap was sold for $23,380, the previous high for Christie’s the spokesman said.