Steve Smith has revealed his iconic baggy green cap is "falling apart" after it was eaten by rats during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in June.
During the recent Test series against the West Indies, fans were quick to comment on social media about Smith's tattered baggy green, which he has worn across 88 Test matches. After one fan described the state of Smith's cap as the "defacing of an iconic and treasured garment of national pride", former Australian footballer Melissa Barbieri defended the cricketer.
"If your baggy green doesn't look like this it's because it's sitting on the sidelines… much rather a baggy green that's been doused in blood sweat & tears," she tweeted. And Smith has now revealed the reason why his cap is in such a state, telling the Australian he is hoping to "get it fixed".
"I left it overnight in the change room in Galle like I do everywhere and turned up next day and rats had got to it I think," he explained. "I'm going to try and get it fixed this week, it's falling apart."
Smith is not the only Australian cricketer to have had his baggy green eaten by a rat, with Mark Waugh revealing in 2020 he had to get a new one. "I had my baggy green in a safe on the ground and I opened the safe and a rat ate half of my baggy green cap," Waugh said while on commentary for Fox.
"I don't know [how], but he got in there and ate it. I actually had some money in there. It left the money alone and ate the cap. I got a new one… I'm pretty sure I kept [original baggy green] it."
All-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who played the last of his seven Tests back in 2017, also admitted earlier this year that his baggy green had been "absolutely destroyed". Speaking in June, he said: "I took it out last year and had a look at it and it was deteriorating and I thought 'that's not a good sign.
"My wife took it out [at home] this week and it had completely fallen apart. She said 'I don't think I can bring this,' it looked terrible.
"Unfortunately when it goes in the [kit] bag and it's wet, it doesn't dry that well when you leave it in the bag...It's absolutely destroyed."
