By Jon Pierik
Brian Lara insists he does not miss playing cricket but that changes the moment he dons the gloves and picks up a bat. There was arguably no more feared batsman in world cricket than Lara at his peak, and it's hoped he can reclaim some of that old magic in Sunday's bushfire appeal match at Melbourne's Junction Oval.
The West Indian maestro and Pakistani great Wasim Akram will be on Ricky Ponting's side in the Twenty20 clash against an XI captained by Adam Gilchrist and including Courtney Walsh and Shane Watson.
"I don't miss the sport but the minute you put your pad on and your glove and you start to move your feet and get going, it's an amazing feeling," Lara said on Saturday.
Wasim Akram and Brian Lara.Credit: Paul Jeffers
"Everything comes back for that moment. It makes (Sunday) more exciting on a personal note as a former cricketer to get out there and see if I can get a few runs off a few balls."
Lara, 50, had been in Australia earlier this summer, when he was shocked to learn that Australia and the West Indies would not clash in a Test series until 2022 under the International Cricket Council's future tours program. But his love of the country, and strong relationships with those he once played against, meant he was more than keen to return from the Caribbean once Cricket Australia confirmed there would be a relief match.
"A lot of my friends in the Caribbean say: 'Have you seen what is going on in Australia?' There is nothing you can do being that far away but when I heard about the match, and there was a little bit of contact made to my manager here, immediately I said: 'I am available'," he said.
"It was something I wasn't going to miss. If I had the privilege and honour to play in such a match, I wanted to be here."
Shane Warne and Lara remain good friends but the Australian great won't be on hand for the match because of a prior commitment to help the Mandela Foundation in South Africa. Warne was due to play in the match had it gone ahead in Sydney on Saturday but inclement weather forced a late change.
"It's great to be again in this atmosphere with some of the greatest players that have played the game and for this purpose. As I said, you get me here every day," Lara said.
While somewhat of a batting genius in his pomp, Lara had a controversial career, having had three stints as captain but through this he finished with almost 12,000 Test runs at an average of 52.88. In 31 Tests against Australia, he crunched nine of his 34 Test centuries and averaged 51.
Akram, 53, is also back in Australia, having had two visits here already this summer, including a morning with the St Kilda Football Club. He has a Melbourne-raised wife, Shaniera, and was delighted to have been asked to play by CA chief Kevin Roberts.
The former fast-bowling ace said he hadn't bowled in two years but joked he would "be able to bowl about six deliveries" on Sunday. Lara was delighted Akram was on his side.
"I am very happy about that. He is one of the bowlers during my career that I did not look forward to facing," he said.
However, Akram dismissed Lara only twice in the seven Tests they met in.
The Bushfire appeal match follows the Twenty20 clash between the Australian and England women's teams. That game begins at 11.40am, with the bushfire appeal match starting at 3.15pm.
Ponting XI: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (c), Elyse Villani, Brian Lara, Phoebe Litchfield, Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Wasim Akram, Dan Christian, Luke Hodge. Coach: Sachin Tendulkar.
Gilchrist XI: Adam Gilchrist (c & wk), Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Yuvraj Singh, Alex Blackwell, Andrew Symonds, Courtney Walsh, Nick Riewoldt, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed (one more to be announced). Coach: Tim Paine.