Coronavirus: Jos Buttler auctions off his World Cup final shirt, raises £65,000

Extending a helping hand amid the crises, England wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler had auctioned the shirt he wore during the 2019 World Cup finals against New Zealand. He raised more than 65,000 pounds (USD 80,000) for two London-based hospitals to combat COVID-19. 

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pounds.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: “It’s a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.”

England had managed to defeat New Zealand in the finals of the 2019 World Cup by the barest of margins. The Three Lions lifted the trophy on the basis of the boundary-countback rule.

In order to raise funds, Buttler had posted a video message on Twitter and captioned it: “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 lifesaving equipment to help those affected during the COVID-19 outbreak”.

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. Link to auction in my bio. pic.twitter.com/ODN9JY4pk1

— Jos Buttler (@josbuttler) March 31, 2020

So far, 55,242 people have tested positive in the UK - an increase of 3,634 on Monday's figures.