David Warner's cherished baggy green caps are still missing a day after the star player took to social media to plead for their return – but the shocking turn of events raises a very important question.
Warner said on Instagram on Tuesday that his backpack, containing two baggy green caps, had disappeared during transport between Melbourne and Sydney this week.
It is believed the bag contained the well-weathered cap that Warner wore for most of his Test career, as well as another one, which he was given when he temporarily lost the original before the 2017 tour of Bangladesh.
“Unfortunately, someone took my backpack out of my luggage, which contained my backpack and my girls' presents,” Warner said in an Instagram post.
Qantas' exhaustive search for Warner's beloved baggy green caps has so far come to nothing
Warner is pictured wearing the original wide green he was given just before his first Test for Australia in 2011
'My baggy green was in this backpack. It's sentimental to me. It's something I'd like to have in my hands when I walk around there this week.
“If it's the backpack you really wanted, I have a spare here. You won't get into trouble.'
Qantas is now conducting an extensive search for the missing headgear, with teams from the airline examining terminals in Melbourne and Sydney and searching CCTV footage.
However, anyone familiar with the likelihood of a passenger's luggage going missing on a flight will wonder: Why didn't Warner pack two of his most prized possessions in his carry-on?
The vast majority of fliers did not want to put their wallet, purse or cell phone in their checked luggage, so Warner made a very confusing decision when he allowed the two irreplaceable items to be separated from him.
The 37-year-old is seen wearing his cap on the final day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. This went missing shortly afterwards when the team flew to Sydney.
Anthony Albanese has now joined the chorus of those begging for the return of Warner's cap, sending Sunrise reporter Liam Tapper a message that he read on air Wednesday morning.
“A missing baggy green? Well, that's just not cricket!' read the Prime Minister's text.
“Davey has earned the right to wear it one last time. If you can help, let's make it happen.”
Pakistan captain Shan Masood also backed Warner and called for the return of the baggy green during his pre-match press conference.
“There should now be a nationwide search by the Australian government,” he said.
“Maybe we need the best detectives to get that back. (Warner) has been a great ambassador, and he deserves all the respect and celebration for his incredible career.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured center with Warner and his family, right, at Kirribilli House on Monday) has now become involved in the hunt for the missing caps
Masood mentioned the reverence in which the Australian baggy green was held.
“Test cricket is the pinnacle and the Test cap is special,” he said.
“The way the Australians look after their Test caps, they wear them with pride. Sometimes in the past we have switched our caps, but for them it is the same wide green.
'I hope they find it. It is the most prized possession for any cricketer and I hope David Warner gets it back.”
Schapelle Corby received almost 250 likes when she replied to Warner's post with the comment: 'Qantas! Well, I have a story for you,” accompanied by an exploding head emoji.
Schapelle Corby (pictured) went viral when she made a hilarious joke in response to Warner's post asking for help in locating his missing caps
Viewers on Instagram couldn't get enough of her joke, responding with comments like “love your work,” “just spit out my drink,” “there can't be a better comment for 2024” and “god tier comment.”
Corby's legal defense team raised the possibility that a Qantas baggage handler had planted marijuana in her boogie board bag when she was on trial for smuggling the drug into Indonesia in 2004.
That defense did not work and she was found guilty in 2005.
Ny Breaking Australia does not conclude that a Qantas employee was in any way involved in the discovery of the drug in Corby's luggage.