Australian greats to reunite for Legends XI side in T20 match

Gilchrist will lead the Legends XI side that will also feature Langer, Hayden, Ponting and Symonds

Australian cricket legends Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Andrew Symonds will reunite for a T20 friendly game in December, Cricket Australia’s official website reports. They will play for the Legends XI side which will face Perth Scorchers on December 11 in the match which will act as a tune-up to the Big Bash league which begins 10 days later.

The former international cricketers were part of Australia’s dream team that went on to dominate world cricket at the beginning of the century in what is described as the team’s ‘golden era’. Hayden and Langer are second only to the West Indies pair of Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge in terms of most Test runs for an opening pair while Ponting led Australia to 48 Test victories, the most in their history.

What will add to the excitement of the contest is that Langer is the coach of the Scorchers team and Gilchrist, the skipper of the Legends XI side, their most famous ticket holder. Langer believes that his side has been given a golden opportunity to mingle with some of the best cricketers to have played the game.

"This is an unbelievable opportunity for our players, especially our younger players, to come up against some of the most respected names in cricket," Langer said. "The experience they will gain from playing against these players and having the opportunity to speak with them on the day can only help them with their cricket.”

The event titled ‘WA Festival of Cricket’ was a huge success in its debut appearance last year and Langer expects the result to be the same this time around as well.

"The Scorchers played against the Legends last pre-season and BBL|04 (Big Bash League Season 4) went pretty well, so hopefully we can repeat that formula."