The legendary West Indies cricketer, Brian Lara will feature in the Bushfire relief match on February 8, Cricket Australia (CA) has confirmed. Lara joins a host of former cricketers like all-rounders Wasim Akram and Yuvraj Singh where the two sides – Ponting XI and Warne XI – will be coached by the legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Courtney Walsh.
Nick Riewoldt, Dan Christian, and Holly Ferling will also be featuring in the game. The Bushfire Cricket Bash game is one of three headline acts on cricket’s day of giving the title of ‘The Big Appeal’. It will be held after the women’s T20 international between Australia and India and before the Big Bash League final on the same day.
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Talking about the match, Cricket Australia Executive General Manager of Fan Engagement, Anthony Everard said, “To have Brian Lara playing in this match is an unbelievable win for our fans. It’s also going to be a great experience for our playing squad, particularly the likes of Phoebe Litchfield who could find herself batting alongside Brian.”
He further added, “Nick Riewoldt, Dan Christian and Holly Ferling complete the squad nicely, adding a bit of bowling depth to an extremely talented line-up. We can’t wait to see Lara out on the SCG with the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Shane Warne, Grace Harris, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Mike Hussey, Matthew Hayden and Elyse Villani.”
The proceeds from the match will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund in order to aid the ones who suffered as a result of the bushfires in Australia recently.
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Players confirmed: Shane Warne (c), Ricky Ponting (c), Adam Gilchrist, Alex Blackwell, Andrew Symonds, Brad Fittler, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Elyse Villani, Grace Harris, Justin Langer, Luke Hodge, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Phoebe Litchfield, Shane Watson, Yuvraj Singh, Wasim Akram, Brian Lara.
Coaches: Sachin Tendulkar, Courtney Walsh
Non-playing capacity: Steve Waugh, Mel Jones, Andrew Johns
