Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar will bat for one over as part of the fund-raising efforts for Australia’s bushfire victims on Sunday, thanks to a challenge thrown by Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry.
Perry will bowl an over to Tendulkar during the innings break of the star-studded charity match between Ricky Ponting XI and Adam Gilchrist XI at the Melbourne Junction Oval with 10 of her Australian teammates on the field.
Tendulkar will coach the Ponting XI while Australia Test captain Tim Paine will play the same role for Gilchrist XI in the 10-over charity match. The revenues for the game will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.
The proceeds of the match will help victims of the blazes which began in September and have left at least 33 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed. Perry threw out the challenge on social media on Saturday afternoon via a video message that quickly went viral.
“Hey Sachin, it’s awesome to have you out here in Australia supporting the Bushfire match. I know you’re coaching one of the teams but a few of us were sitting around last night chatting and we thought it would be absolutely amazing to see you potentially come out of retirement for one over in the innings break out here at Junction Oval,” she said.
Perry added: “We’d love to have a bowl to you and obviously fetch a few balls from over the boundary that you’ve hit. We thought it would be an awesome way to raise a bit more money for the Bushfire Appeal, which I know you’re already doing so much for. If you’re at all up for it, we’d love to have you out here I know there’d be some girls very keen to field some balls that you hit. So let us know, and thanks again for everything.”
Tendulkar, who played his last international in November 2013 but has appeared in the occasional exhibition match since, was quick to respond.
“Sounds great Ellyse. I would love to go out there and bat an over [much against the advice of my doctor due to my shoulder injury],” the 46-year-old said. “Hope we can generate enough money for this cause, and to get me out there in the middle.”
The match, named the Bushfire Cricket Bash, was earlier scheduled at the SCG on Saturday but will now be held at Melbourne’s Junction Oval on Sunday.
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.
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.
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.