"It's lovely, isn't it?" Bradman Museum curator David Wells says longingly, before explaining why his organisation will not be bidding.

"Bradman had played against England in 1928/29 (in Australia) and the English said that when he got to England he would struggle on their pitches, which of course was a red rag to a bull for him. They thought his slightly unorthodox batting style wouldn't suit the English wickets. Well, the result was quite astonishing."

After lead-up scores including 236 against Worcester, 185 against Leicestershire and 191 at the expense of Hampshire, the phenomenon from country NSW "is really in form", Wells says, converting to present tense.

"In the second Test match, he hits what he calls the perfect innings, 254 runs at Lord's in which he doesn't give a chance. Then they head north to Leeds where he hits the world record 334. Then, in the fifth Test match – which this bat relates to – he scores 232.

"He then returns home to Australia and is feted as a hero. Then England come to Australia in 1932/33 with Bodyline to try and put him in his box."

One of two bats Bradman used in that final series-winning knock is expected to fetch between $25,000-35,000 at auction, a bargain price, insiders say, reflecting a depressed memorabilia market and the fact the piece was passed in last time it was offered, in 2013.

"This bat has been around a bit and it's provenance has been established previous to our auction. It's a well documented piece," says Simon Hill, of Lawsons auction house.

"Historically, it's a brilliant piece. I don't think the fact it failed to find a home the last time it was auctioned is necessarily a bad thing. It's still what it is. It presents very well. It's been restored and cared for very nicely. It's come from a very good collection."

The bat was previously held by Chris Moyle, who was well known in collectors' circles for his extensive Bradman compilation. Moyle parted with many of his items in 2012, several of which were sold to overseas collectors.

"With these types of things you always hope it would stay in Australia," Hill says.

"Whenever we have significant items like this, it's always our hope it may end up in an institution. But that tends to happen less and less these days.

"We have had some interest from both overseas and Australia for this bat. At this stage I'd say it's even money whether it stays in Australia or goes overseas."

The Bradman Museum will not be bidding for the bat. Wells says: "We're not in a position to pay the money that these bats go for. Sometimes people lend them to us or, in some cases, give them. That's how we build our collection."

Yet, the Museum does hold the other bat Bradman used in that deciding Test at The Oval, received from Cricket NSW, which had been presented the bat in 1997 by a relative of Frank Iredale, a representative in 14 Tests for Australia between 1894 and 1899.

Though there are many Bradman bats in collections, those he used in matches were often inscribed by him with a number on the bottom and were signed on the reverse side in what is known as the "ownership position". The bat for auction on Friday is signed in the ownership position and numbered nine, one of 30 bats Bradman was provided by Sykes bat makers upon arrival in England in April 1930.