News Sports Cricket Bushfire charity match shifted from SCG to Melbourne due to rain forecast, to be held on Sunday

Bushfire charity match shifted from SCG to Melbourne due to rain forecast, to be held on Sunday

The Bushire charity match will now be played on Sunday at the MCG after rain forecasts in Sydney on Saturday.

bushfire cricket bash, bushfire charity match, ricky ponting, sachin tendulkar Image Source : GETTY IMAGESThe Bushire charity match will now be played on Sunday at the MCG after rain forecasts in Sydney on Saturday.

The star-studded charity match to raise funds for Australia's bushfire victims, which will see Sachin Tendulkar as coach one of the teams, has been shifted from the SCG because of forecast of torrential rain and will now be played in Melbourne on Sunday.

The match, named 'Bushfire Cricket Bash', was earlier scheduled at the SCG on Saturday but will now be held at Melbourne's Junction Oval on Sunday.

Indian batting legend Tendulkar will coach the Ricky Ponting XI while Australia Test skipper Tim Paine will manage the other team to be captained by former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist.

Australia spin great Shane Warne was to lead the side but as a result of the change of date, he will not be available for the match due to prior commitments, and Gilchrist will take over as captain, according to cricket.com.au.

Tendulkar's side will feature a star-studded top order in the form of Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden and Ponting, who scored thousands of runs in Australia's Test side during their decorated careers.

Following that, legendary trio in the Ponting XI will be West Indian batsman great Brian Lara, Australian women's player Elyse Villani and teenage sensation Phoebe Litchfield, who rose to prominence in this season's Rebel Women's Big Bash League.

Legendary fast bowlers Wasim Akram and Brett Lee as well as Brad Haddin, Dan Christian and Australian Rules football great Luke Hodge are the other members of the side to be coached by Tendulkar.

Gilchrist XI also boasts a powerful top order as well feature the legendary opener himself, former Australia stars Shane Watson and Brad Hodge and Indian great Yuvraj Singh.

Former Australia women's team captain Alex Blackwell, Andrew Symonds, Windies legend Courtney Walsh, AFL great Nick Riewoldt, recently-retired Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle and leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed. Australia's Test skipper Tim Paine has been named coach.

Two more names will be added to the Gilchrist XI over the coming days, with the late rescheduling of the match forcing some players to drop out, like former Australia captains Steve Waugh and Michael Clarke, and former batsman Michael Hussey.

The game was scheduled as a curtain-raiser to the Twenty20 Big Bash League final, but with downpours expected Cricket Australia (CA) said it would no longer be possible.

"Change of plans! To ensure the SCG is in the best possible condition for the BBL final, we've made the call to not go ahead with Saturday's Bushfire Cricket Bash at the SCG," CA tweeted.

All profits and funds from the match would go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund, which will help victims of the blazes which began in September and have left at least 33 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed.

The match will be a 10-over-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.