Sports stars to bat for Victorian bushfire victims

Sydney, Feb.23 (ANI): About 20,000 Sydney residents turned up to watch a celebrity match to raise funds for victims of the Victorian bushfires on Sunday.

Organized by Peter Garrett, the Federal Member for Kingsford, the match was played between the Steve Waugh's XI and Mark Taylor XI in the Big Bash Twenty20 match at the SCG.t was a game in which former Australian opener Matthew Hayden returned to the crease for the first time since he announced his retirement, Blues opener David Warner was dismissed by a girl and Anthony Mundine was booed by the crowd before getting run out for a golden duck to end the Steve Waugh XI's innings of 8-190.hile it was played in good humour, the reason why they were there could not be missed.

"The generosity from Australians following this terrible event has been incredible. A total vindication of that deep spirit of commitment and mateship that we have. The fact we can be on the SCG, on a Sunday afternoon, with a game of cricket, with captains of the calibre of Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor ... we live in a harsh land, but we have generous hearts," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Garrett, as saying.layers and coaches - from Sydney Roosters captain Braith Anasta to Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart to Australia coach Robbie Deans - met some of the fire victims before the match.

"It's very difficult to know what to say," Stuart said.

Hayden and Warner piled on the runs in the first six overs before Hayden (37) let his bat fly and was run out in surfing champion Mick Fanning's first over.

Wallaby Lote Tuqiri was unlucky not to have Hayden out twice after Roosters flyer Anthony Minichiello and Aussie women's vice-captain Lisa Sthalekar put down catches.

However, Sthalekar made sure Warner (65) will cop plenty in the coming months after he skied one of her deliveries into the gloves of former Wallaby Matt Burke. (ANI)