Melbourne: Legendary spinner Shane Warne and former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting will captain the star-studded teams for a bushfire relief match scheduled to be played on February 8.
All match profits and funds raised on the day will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund to aid in rescue and relief owing to the devastating bush fires.
“While the financial support of rebuilding is, without doubt, one of the best ways to contribute, we know the recovery efforts will take months beyond the fires being managed and we want to do what we can to support these communities,” said Kevin Roberts, CEO, Cricket Australia.
“Our people, right across the Australian Cricket family including all States and Territories and the ACA, can together, through this initiative provide more than 4000 days of volunteering to assist wherever they are needed,” he added.
Retired stars Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Justin Langer, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, and Alex Blackwell will also be the part of the game.
Three matches will be played on February 8, the Commonwealth Bank Women’s Tri-Series T20I clash between Australia and India, followed by the Bushfire Cricket Bash, which will lead to the KFC Big Bash League Final.