Cricket legend Shane Warne’s famous “baggy green cap” has raised more than AU$1million (£530,000) for fire-ravaged communities.
The cap was sold to “M.C. from Sydney” at an auction than ended on Friday morning.
The top bidder was later revealed to be Commonwealth Bank chief executive officer Matt Comyn.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the Australian Red Cross bushfire appeal.
Spin bowler Warne, 50, wore the cap throughout his 145-Test career, during which he took 708 wickets.
“Thank you so much to everyone that placed a bid and a huge thank you/congrats to the successful bidder — you have blown me away with your generosity and this was way beyond my expectations!” he posted on social media.
Meanwhile, six-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has pledged to donate AU$500,000 (£380,000) to bushfire relief.
Authorities in Australia today warned that a “mega-blaze” was likely on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, expected to be almost 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) in size.
A quarter of a million people were urged to leave their homes ahead of the anticipated merger of two major fires, as temperatures and wind speeds picked up.
Emergency text messages, sent to 240,000 people in Victoria alone, told residents in danger areas to leave as soon as possible.
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp said: “If you can get out, you should get out, you shouldn’t be in the remote and forested parts of our State.”
In Towamba, a village in southern New South Wales, residents were evacuated as a forecasted wind change this evening put homes in danger.
As more than 100 bushfires continued to burn in NSW and Victoria, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the military was on standby to help firefighters and emergency agencies.
“I’ve given them very clear instructions that they are to stand ready to move and support immediately,” he said.
Meanwhile, officials revealed almost half of Kangaroo Island, in South Australia, has been destroyed by wildfires.
At least 27 people have been killed as fires ravaged more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres) of land, an area the size of South Korea, since the start of October.
