The Bushfire Cricket Bash, organised by Cricket Australia, was going to be held on Saturday, February 8 at Sydney. However, the match has now been rescheduled due to the forecast showing chances of torrential rain, and will be held on Sunday at Melbourne. Shane Warne, who was supposed to lead a team for the match will not make a showing due to prior commitments. Instead of Warne, Adam Gilchrist will lead the team. The other side will be captained by Ricky Ponting.
“Change of plans! To ensure the SCG is in the best possible condition for the BBL final, we’ve made the call to not go ahead with Saturday’s Bushfire Cricket Bash at the SCG,” CA tweeted.
The rescheduling of the match has caused a number of cricketers to drop out of the game, including Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, and several female cricketers who will be playing a match before the Bushfire Cricket Bash event.
Ponting has stated that he is interested in having Brian Lara join his team for the Melbourne clash. The 45-year old cricketer will bat at number 3, and he wants Lara to bat at number 4. The Australian cricketer had uploaded a video on Twitter, where the two legends could be seen practicing at the nets.
“If I’m batting three on Sunday, hopefully, this guy is on my team and batting four @brianlara,” tweeted Ricky Ponting.
Ricky Ponting XI will be coached by cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar. Shane Warne XI will be coached by West Indies legend Courtney Walsh. Australian Test captain Tim Payne has been called to coach Adam Gilchrist XI.
Ricky Ponting was last seen playing cricket for Shane Warne’s Warriors in 2015 at the Cricket All-Star series in Los Angeles. He had scored 43 runs in 25 balls, helping his team chase down the target of 220 runs set by Sachin Warriors XI. Brian Lara’s last cricket match was a T20 match where he played for Bravo XI in the Port of Spain. It was a charity event.
