Reviewed by Richard Tutin
I have enjoyed watching cricket in its various forms for most of my life. It’s enjoyable to watch closely contested five-day test matches with scarce wickets and runs.
In the games where Australia participates, the baggy green cap is frequently seen. Of course, not all players are wearing it throughout the match. Some favour broad brimmed hats and if batting or wicket keeping the hard and very durable helmet.
Despite changes in headgear, the baggy green remains iconic and mysterious. When a new test player is welcomed to the squad it is a baggy green that they are given, usually by a former test player who offers a few words of encouragement as it is handed over. After that it is up to the player to decide when to wear it except when the captain of the day orders all players to wear it during the first day sessions.
Michael Fahey and Mike Coward, in this slim tome on our test players head gear, open the door into the way in which the baggy green has become the icon that all Australian players aspire to one day wear as they represent their nation in test cricket around the world.
The information they offer is at times a real eye opener. This includes the fact that the baggy green is a unique cap that has no replicas. Unlike a lot of cricket memorabilia you cannot go and buy a baggy green as a souvenir along with the team shirt and small bat that is often used to gather autographs of team members.
This does not mean that baggy greens have not been bought and sold. At auction they have fetched high prices depending on their age and who wore them. A baggy green worn by the great Don Bradman commands a greater price than one worn by a player such as Ricky Ponting or Dennis Lillee.
Fahey and Coward also reveal that players become very attached to their baggy greens especially if they have been worn during significant moments during a match such as when a century is scored. They are so attached that many wonder more about the health of the cap than the health of the player. Photos of Steve Waugh are a case in point.
The text includes information and photos of various players wearing their baggy greens at different times in their careers.
The question can be raised about why the baggy green has such a long history. In its different forms it has been part of the test cricket uniform since the late nineteenth century. Identity is certainly part of the answer. It is a great sign that those who wear it are the elite – the best of the best. While many may aspire to having one only a few are chosen to don it as they go out and represent their nation on the grounds of international cricket.
Michael Fahey has been one of the major players in the sports memorabilia scene for much of the past 40 years. He has been trading and valuing sports memorabilia since 1993.
Mike Coward a freelance senior journalist and one of Australia’s most experienced cricket writers and commentators. He has covered the game throughout the world since 1972.
The Baggy Green
by Michael Fahey and Mike Coward
(2024)
Gelding Street Press
ISBN: 978 192266 211 8
$34.99; 190pp