Cap auction irks Steve Waugh

Steve Waugh: in the middle of a cap controversy © Getty Images

Steve Waugh has denied that he ever owned a baggy green cap which is going up for auction in Melbourne on Sunday (May 15). According to Keith Attree, a collector who was a room attendant at the WACA in Perth between 1992 and 2002, Waugh gave him the cap which was signed "To Keith, many thanks, Steve Waugh", but Waugh denied the incident. A statement issued by his manager Rob Joske said: "Steve Waugh has never given away one of his Test baggy green caps. To auction this item is a misrepresentation of the truth."

The auction, which also includes a battered helmet and an Australian one-day international yellow cap said to belong to Waugh, is being organised by Charles Leski Auctions. Leski himself told Channel Nine: "We have a statutory declaration [saying it is authentic]. If it is not a cap that was owned by Steve Waugh, it will not be auctioned."

According to auctioneers, the baggy green cap is expected to fetch around around Aus$15,000 (US$11,500).