New Delhi | Jagran Sports Desk: Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies bowler Courtney Walsh are set to coach Australian legends Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne teams in the Bushfire Cricket Bash. The match is scheduled to take place on February 8 and will be played to raise funds and all match profits will go the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.
Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts said that they are honoured to be welcoming Tendulkar and Walsh are waiting for the special day.
In a statement, he said, "We are absolutely honoured to be welcoming Sachin and Courtney back to Australia where they both enjoyed a lot of success as players, and we can't wait to have them involved in what is going to be a special day."
"We're looking forward to our people at CA and the entire Australian cricket family coming together for the Big Appeal," he added.
Both Tendulkar and Walsh are part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame. Sachin is the highest run-scorer of all time in international cricket and Courtney has taken over 500 wickets in Tests.
Former Australia players Ricky, Warne, Australia coach Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Shane Watson, Alex Blackwell and Michael Clarke will feature in the match while Mel Jones and Steve Waugh will be involved in non-playing capacity. The remaining players will be announced soon.
In addition to the match,the Community Bushfire recovery Fund was announced to support cricket clubs and cricket communities affected to get back on their feet with a cash injection of USD 2 million from Cricket Australia to open the fund.
CA also announced that the ODI series against New Zealand in March will be dedicated to the volunteers and emergency services workers, people who lost their loved ones, properties and livelihood to the bushfires across Australia and community cricket club members impacted by the disaster.
(with ANI inputs)