Ashes to Ashes

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Can someone enlighten me as to the significance of Ponting's moth-eaten old cap?

The Aussies have a "tradition" (dating back only a few decades) of wearing only their first test cap, no matter how tatty it gets. The supreme example of this quaint tradition was Steve Waugh, whose cap became so dilapidated that Cricket Australia begged him to have it re-made, which eventually he did. But something died in him that day, and he was never quite the same again.

Of course, in days long gone, older and cleverer players such as Don Bradman used a different cap each match, then sold their caps for vast sums of money. Nowadays however, they just release another "tour dairy" to raise funds. Or join the IPL. Or become commentators on Sky.

Not the same, is it?