New Delhi: Former Australia women’s cricketer Melanie Jones will essay the role of an umpire in the upcoming Bushfire Cricket Bash.
Jones confirmed the news on Twitter on Saturday and wrote: “It’s official. I’m umpiring the Big Appeal Bushfire Cricket Bash tomorrow. Who will I need protection from? Who can I give the Greg Davidson, out/not out nose scratch signal to and who will I send packing”.
Bushfire Bash was originally slated to be played at Sydney today but weather forecast prompted Cricket Australia to reschedule the game to ensure the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for the final of Big Bash League.
It will be now played on Sunday, February 9 at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.
The match will be played to raise funds and all match profits will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. It will be played between Ponting XI and Gilchrist XI.
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
The Bushfire Bash exhibition match will be a 10-overs-per-side contest, with a five-over Powerplay, no bowling restrictions, and batters unable to get out from the first ball they face.
Bowlers will not have over limits, fielders can sub on and off as it suits, while captains will have the ability to sub batters in and out during an innings.