Former West Indies skipper Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer will play under Ricky Ponting in the Bushfire Cricket Bash. The other team, which will be led by Adam Gilchrist, will have the likes of Shane Watson, Yuvraj Singh and Andrew Symonds.
Earlier, taking to his official Twitter timeline, Ponting had expressed his desire to have Lara in his squad. The former Australian captain had posted a video of himself and the West Indian legend hitting the nets for the charity match.
If I’m batting three on Sunday, hopefully this guy is on my team and batting four @brianlara pic.twitter.com/dsaXhJTLoU
— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) February 6, 2020
The playing elevens for both Ponting XI and Gilchrist XI were revealed on the official digital platform of Cricket Australia. The Ponting XI, which will be coached by Sachin Tendulkar, will also have former fast bowlers Wasim Akram and Brett Lee.
The other team were earlier supposed to be led by Shane Warne. But the postponement of Bushfire Cricket Bash from February 8 to 9 has resulted in the change in captaincy.
The Gilchrist XI will be coached by Australian Test team captain Tim Paine and will have West Indian legend Courtney Walsh in playing capability.
The Bushfire Cricket Bash is one of three headline acts on the cricket’s day of giving ‘The Big Appeal’, which will also see two other cricket matches. Other than the bushfire relief match, there will be the Big Bash League final at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and a women’s tri-series match between India and Australia at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.
All the profits raised in The Big Appeal will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund which will be then used for the upliftment and betterment of the people affected in the devastating bushfires which have burnt 18.6 million hectares (46 million acres; 186,000 square kilometres;) and killed 34 people.
The match was originally scheduled to be played at the SCG as a curtain-raiser for the Big Bash League (BBL) 2019-20 final.
Teams for Bushfire Cricket Bash
Ponting XI: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (C), Elyse Villani, Brian Lara, Phoebe Litchfield, Brad Haddin (WK), Brett Lee, Wasim Akram, Dan Christian, Luke Hodge. Coach: Sachin Tendulkar
Gilchrist XI: Adam Gilchrist (C & WK), Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Yuvraj Singh, Alex Blackwell, Andrew Symonds, Courtney Walsh, Nick Riewoldt, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed (one more to be announced). Coach: Tim Paine