Bushfire Cricket Bash rescheduled from Sydney to Melbourne: Details here
The highly anticipated charity match for the Bushfire Relief Fund was to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Saturday. However, it has now been rescheduled to Melbourne after reports came in that Sydney is to receive heavy rainfall this weekend. Also, the upcoming Big Bash League (BBL) final at the SCG is under threat on Saturday, with no reserve day.
Meanwhile, Cricket Australia (CA) has confirmed that the Bushfire Cricket Bash has been moved out of Sydney to Melbourne and would be held at the Junction Oval. It has been done to keep the SCG safe and be match ready for BBL final, so that groundsmen do not take more time to prepare for the tie, even if it is five overs per side.
Following the mover, Sydney Sixers batsman Steve Smith termed the decision as a wise one, as he felt the wickets is best left untouched prior to the big finale. "If it's going to be raining and things like that, it'll make things really difficult. That's a wise move. I think we've earned the right to host the final, the way we've played," he said.
Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar and Windies great Courtney Walsh have been roped in as coaches for the upcoming bushfire relief match in Australia. While Tendulkar would coach the team led by Ricky Ponting, Walsh would manage the side of Shane Warne. The current squad: Ponting(captain), Gilchrist(c), Lara, Yuvraj, Akram, Walsh, Langer, Hayden, Watson, Symonds, Haddin, Lee, Blackwell, Christian, Riewoldt, Villani, Hodge, Cam Smith.
Australia saw dozens of fires erupting in New South Wales in November and things rapidly spread across the entire continent to become some of the most devastating on record. An area, roughly 15 million acres, has burned already. More than 1,000 houses have been destroyed by the fire. People were forced to evacuate their houses, with 33 deaths occurring. It is a countrywide catastrophe.
