Melbourne, July 29: Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Matthew Hayden will once again play at the Gabba after Cricket Australia confirmed the trio would be part of the All-Stars Twenty20 match to launch the 2009-10 season.
Warne will captain the All-Stars line-up, which will play against a full-strength Australian XI on November 22, four days before Australia’s first home Test of the summer.
“I can’t wait to be playing back on Australian soil with Pigeon and Haydos and the rest of the crew,” Warne said. “As the All-Stars captain I’m really looking forward to working with Australia’s new and upcoming players. It will be a great experience to take on the Aussie team and should be a very fun and exciting match for all.”
The concept of an All-Stars match was launched last year, when Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer joined an All-Stars team otherwise made up of leading domestic Twenty20 players under the Australian Cricketers’ Association banner. Gilchrist’s team beat the Australians and the game provided an entertaining opening to the season.
Australia’s previous three summers have featured gripping Test series against England, India and South Africa, and with the less powerful drawcards of West Indies and Pakistan visiting this season, the big-name trio of Warne, McGrath and Hayden should help attract plenty of attention. McGrath said he was keen to get back on the field in Australia after being limited to IPL appearances recently.
“The All-Star match is a great start to the summer and I’m really looking forward to getting back out on Aussie soil,” McGrath said. “The match is going to support the Cricket Cares initiative so I encourage all cricket fans to get on board and come along to the match, or watch it on TV.”
Hayden, the most recently retired of the three stars, is also looking forward to the chance to play again at his home venue in Brisbane. “I have really enjoyed my Twenty20 post-retirement, and this is a great way to play a game I love in my home town,” Hayden said. “This match is the perfect way to launch the summer and a great way for me to support the ACA.”
The match will support Cricket Cares partners the Shane Warne Foundation, McGrath Foundation and Movember Foundation.
—-Agencies