The 2014 edition of the Big Bash League is set for an explosive start with defending champions, Perth Scorchers taking on an all-star Australian Legends XI—to be led by former Australian keeper, Adam Gilchrist, in an exhibition match next Monday.
West Indies legend Brian Lara will join a host of former Australian stars in the Western Australia Festival of Cricket Twenty20 exhibition match, to be held at Aquinas College in Perth’s southern suburb. The match, which was originally scheduled to be held on Wednesday, has now been postponed to next Monday, following rescheduling of games by Cricket Australia (CA), in the wake of the unfortunate demise of Phillip Hughes.
“The Festival of Cricket presents the public and corporates with a unique opportunity to not only watch a high-quality T20 match in a relaxed, social environment, but also to mix and mingle with many current and past greats of the game,” Gilchrist said. “The chance to run around with a bunch of old mates and pit ourselves against the current BBL Champions is exciting and sure to be entertaining for all,” he added. The change of dates though has left Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne scrambling for confirmation after having had to juggle prior commitments.
Squads:
Australian Legends XI: Adam Gilchrist (c), Brian Lara, Andy Bichel, Matthew Hayden (tbc), Michael Kasprowicz, Shane Warne (tbc), Justin Langer, Andrew Symonds, Jimmy Maher, Murry Goodwin and a WACA Future
Star (to be confirmed)
Perth Scorchers: Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Hilton Catwright, Andrew Tye, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ashton Turner, Joel Paris, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Michael Klinger, Brad Hogg, Michael Carberry and Yasir Arafat
