Courtney Walsh to play during Bushfire relief fundraiser match

Melbourne: Former West Indies pacer Courtney Walsh will be playing the upcoming Bushfire relief fundraiser match, Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed on Thursday.

As Walsh gets ready to play the match, current Australia skipper Tim Paine will step into the role of coaching the Gilchrist XI. Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will be coaching the Ponting XI.

Also being known as Bushfire Bash, the match was originally slated to be played at Sydney on Saturday but weather forecast prompted Cricket Australia to reschedule the game to ensure the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for the final of Big Bash League. The match will now be played on Sunday, February 9 at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.

"We have moved the Bushfire Bash from the SCG because we want to provide every opportunity for the BBL09 Final to be played on Saturday night. We have no doubt that the SCG pitch and outfield will be in great condition for the final," Kevin Roberts, Cricket Australia CEO said in an official statement."Thanks to Shane for his incredible fundraising efforts and contribution to the planning of this event. He hands over the captaincy to Adam Gilchrist who will now lead the Gilchrist XI against the star-studded Pointing XI," he added.

Bushfire relief match was scheduled to be played between Ponting XI and Warne XI, but now Adam Gilchrist will be taking over the captaincy from Shane Warne, as the former spinner has prior commitments.

Current playing squad for the Bushfire Cricket Bash: Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Alex Blackwell, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Dan Christian, Matthew Hayden, Luke Hodge, Justin Langer, Phoebe Litchfield, Andrew Symonds, Nick Riewoldt, Elyse Villani, Shane Watson, Yuvraj Singh, and Wasim Akram.

The Bushfire Bash exhibition match will be a 10-overs-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.