The Bushfire Cricket Bash which was held on Sunday raised over USD 7.7 million to help the communities affected by the fires that wreaked havoc over Australia for the last few months. Cricket Australia confirmed that the charity event was a success. The two teams, captained by Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, played against each other in a friendly 10-over match in which Ponting XI emerged victorious over Gilchrist XI by 1 run.
The charity event, held at Melbourne Junction Oval stadium, saw Ponting XI post a score of 104 for 5 on the board in 10 overs, with former West Indies captain Brian Lara scoring the most – 30 runs off 11 balls. His smashing innings included 5 boundaries including two sixes. Ponting made 26 runs, Matthew Hayden scored 16 runs, and Luke Hodge put up 11 runs on the board.
Gilchrist XI bowled exceedingly well, with Yuvraj Singh, Courtney Walsh, and Andrew Symonds picking up a wicket each for their side.
In the second innings, Gilchrist XI found a stable partnership in Shane Watson and Adam Gilchrist, who put up a partnership of 49 runs. The former was the top scorer of his team with 30 runs, while Gilchrist managed to score 11.
Their partnership was broken by Brett Lee, and he along with Luke Hodge went on to pick 3 wickets in quick succession. Lee picked up 2 wickets for 11 runs, while Luke Hodge finished with 8 runs for a wicket. Brad Hodge was dismissed for a duck, while Yuvraj Singh scored only 2 runs off 6 balls. Andrew Symonds, the second-highest scorer, scored 29 off 13 balls.
During the mid-innings break, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar faced the 2019 Women’s Cricketer of the Year Ellyse Perry and Annabel Sutherland for an over. He said that he had picked up a bat for the first time in five years. Tendulkar had also coached Ponting XI for the game.
The 46-year old hit a boundary off the first delivery and then scored a couple runs before blocking out all other deliveries. Perry bowled 3 balls to Tendulkar before handing the reins over to Sutherland.
