Lara confirmed for Aussie bushfire relief

MELBOURNE, Australia (CMC):

Brian Lara has joined fellow Windies legend Courtney Walsh in confirming his participation for Saturday’s Bushfire Cricket Bash fundraising match.

The 50-year-old Lara is widely viewed as the finest batsman of his generation with 11,953 runs in 131 Tests at an average of 52 and 10,405 runs from 299 One-Day Internationals at 40.

Lara, a former Windies captain, still holds the record for the highest score in Tests with 400 not out and in first-class cricket with 501 not out.

The Trinidadian will form part of a dazzling line-up for the relief match, which will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and will be in the form of a 10-overs-per-side affair.

There will be a five-over ­power-play, no bowling restrictions will be enforced, and captains will be allowed to substitute ­fielders and batsmen during innings.

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke, wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, Pakistan’s legendary left-arm speedster Wasim Akram, and retired India batsman Yuvraj Singh are all set to participate.

Australian spin legend Shane Warne and ex-Aussie Test captain Ricky Ponting will lead the teams for the game, with the line-ups set to be determined shortly.

However, iconic former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar will coach the Ponting XI while Walsh, the Windies’ record wicket-taker in Tests, will coach Warne’s XI.

The relief match is one of three games on the day, with the Big Bash final and a women’s Twenty20 International between Australia and India also scheduled.

Raging bushfires across Australia have already killed 33 people, destroyed nearly 28 acres of bush, forest, and parks and plunged the country into crisis.

Players confirmed:

Shane Warne (c)

Ricky Ponting (c)

Adam Gilchrist

Alex Blackwell

Andrew Symonds

Brad Fittler

Brad Haddin

Brett Lee

Brian Lara

Dan Christian

Nick Riewoldt

Elyse Villani

Grace Harris

Holly Ferling

Justin Langer

Luke Hodge

Matthew Hayden

Michael Clarke

Mike Hussey

Phoebe Litchfield

Shane Watson

Yuvraj Singh