Squads confirmed for Bushfire Cricket Bash; Adam Gilchrist to replace Shane Warne as the skipper

With the forecast for a record-breaking rainfall in Sydney this weekend, Cricket Australia was forced to reschedule the Bushfire charity match from Saturday afternoon at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground to Junction Oval in Melbourne on Sunday as part of the double-header with the Commonwealth Bank Women’s Tri-nation T20I series fixture between Australia and England.

Following a last-minute rescheduling of the fixture, several players including champion leg-spinner Shane Warne, who was due to captain one of the sides’, have been ruled out due to a prior commitment with the Mandela Foundation in Cape Town. Former players like Steven Waugh, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris and Rugby great Brad Filter are also unavailable due to the change of date.

That said, there wouldn’t be any shortage of star-power as Adam Gilchrist has replaced Shane Warne as the leader of the side that will face a star-studded Ponting’s XI. West Indian legend Brian Lara will complete what is shaping to be a power-packed top-order of Ponting’s XI. Apart from Ponting, the top-order boasts of legendary opening pair of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. 

Australia’s women cricketer Elysse Vilani will bat at No.5 followed by teenage sensation Phoebe Litchfield, who rose to prominence courtesy her performances in the Rebel WBBL. The fast bowling unit will be spearheaded by the legendary Wasim Akram, Aussie all-rounder Dan Christian while former chinaman Brad Hogg and Australian Rules football great Luke Hodge will round out Ponting’s XI- which will be coached by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

Adam Gilchrist’s XI also boasts several high-profile names

The swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman will open the batting alongside former compatriot Shane Watson, followed by Brad Hodge and the flamboyant Yuvraj Singh. Former Aussie captain Alex Blackwell will bat at five and will be followed by two-time World Cup winner and swashbuckling all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

Windies great Courtney Walsh, AFL legend Nick Riewoldt, recently retired pacer Peter Siddle and leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed will round off Gilchrist XI. Tim Paine, the current Australian Test captain, has been named as the coach. Two more names will be added to the Gilchrist XI in the upcoming days.

Squads for the Bushfire Charity game:

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

Freehit: 20 Questions with Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza