The cap worn by Eric Hollies, the England leg-spinner who denied the great Don Bradman the chance of averaging 100 in Test matches, is to be auctioned in Melbourne this month.

Australia's Bradman, widely regarded as the finest batsman in cricket history, needed four runs in his final innings at the Oval, London, in 1948 to achieve the phenomenal statistic.

But Hollies, who died in 1981 aged 68, bowled 'The Don' second ball for a duck, leaving the Australian with an unprecedented average of 99.94 runs in 52 Tests.

The cap, which is accompanied by a letter of authentication from Australian opener Arthur Morris to whom it was handed after the match, is expected to raise up to A$30,000 when it goes up for auction on August 16.