Jos Buttler to auction off Cricket World Cup final shirt to raise money for London hospitals fighting coronavirus

Wicketkeeper secured the World Cup for England last summer by running out Martin Guptill and is looking to raise funds for the coronavirus relief effort – with Piers Morgan opening the bidding at £10,000

England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler is auctioning the shirt he wore during last summer’s triumphant World Cup final to raise funds for two London hospitals.

Buttler was the man who broke the stumps during the decisive super-over victory against New Zealand at Lord’s, the act which ultimately secured England’s first World Cup success in unforgettable fashion.

He has now decided to place the powder blue one-day jersey, which will forever hold a place in English cricket history – on eBay. The profits raised will be given to the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity. Both hospitals are heart and lung centres on the frontline of the coronavirus response.

Buttler posted on Twitter: “I’m going to be auctioning my World Cup Final shirt to raise funds for the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals charity. Last week they launched an emergency appeal to provide life saving equipment to help those affected during the Covid-19 outbreak.”

The official posting, which had attracted bids topping £10,000 after less than an hour of the seven-day auction time, described the item as follows: “The iconic long sleeve wicket keeping shirt that Jos Buttler wore during the 2019 World Cup final at Lords signed by the team.

“As you can see from the photos of the shirt with Jos this is the genuine item and will be accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Phoenix Management.

“Whilst this shirt is precious to Jos his memories of the day will last a lifetime and he hopes it can raise a lot of money to support this hospital with their life saving work.”

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan said on Twitter that he would “kick off the bidding with £10,000”.

At time of writing, the leading bid was just short of £66,000.

PA