Australia's Bushfire Charity Match Shifted From Sydney To Melbourne

The Australian Bushfire bash has been rescheduled. Now, it will be played on Sunday (9th February), at Melbourne’s Junction Oval. Cricket Australia gave an update on the new venue on Thursday after the threat of torrential rains in Sydney. Thus, the weather forecast has prompted the CA to shift the venue from the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) to Melbourne.

The charity match was originally scheduled for Saturday, but to ensure the best possible pitch and outfield conditions, Aussie board decided to shift the venue to the Junction Oval.

The fixture is being organised, as a sign of goodwill, in the aftermath of the devastating bushfires that gripped the Australian continent last year. Profits from the Bushfire bash will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

Adam Gilchrist to replace Shane Warne as skipper in the Bushfire charity match:

The fixture was originally slated to be played between Ponting XI and Warne XI but Adam Gilchrist will replace the latter as he has some prior commitments on Sunday.

The fact that this bushfire charity match has been postponed by one day has further ruled out Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey both of whom won’t be able to take part in the One-off fixture.

However, that’s not a reason to fret for cricket fans, as they will nonetheless witness two star-studded line-ups in the match.

Former Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh will be a part of the game, and they will be joined by the likes of Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Bret Lee, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson and many other former legends of the gentleman’s game.

Sachin Tendulkar and Courtney Walsh to act as coaches in Bushfire bash:

The fundraiser will be a T10 format game, with a powerplay of five overs and no bowling restrictions.

Furthermore, batsmen will not be declared out on the first ball that they will face. The captains will further be able to substitute their batsmen at any point of the innings.

Tendulkar and Tim Paine will oversee their duties as coaches for both teams respectively. The skippers will announce their playing XI on Thursday.

Earlier, Walsh was bound to coach Warne’s XI but he has decided to feature as a player, this time around.