Legends gear up for Cricket All Stars - Shane Warne sparkles in comeback match, VVS Laxman pads up after 3 years
The twenty six star players to be involved in the Cricket All Stars League in November have begun training for the event in earnest – Shane Warne took four wickets and scored a quick 40 on his comeback match for his former junior club East Sandringham CC on Saturday, while VVS Laxman padded up for the first time since December 2012.
The 46-year-old Shane Warne, who learnt his craft at the club as a junior before moving to St Kilda in the district ranks and subsequent world fame, delighted the Australian crowd by snaring figures of 2/31 and 2/17 over two innings. While batting, Warne came in to bat at No. 3 and scored a brisk 48-ball 40.
Warne did have some trouble on the field, seen clutching his groin and stretching, especially in the second innings. However, he produced a lot of turn when he bowled, and his figures show who won the battle between his mind and body.
A video of the show stealer from Warne:
[Video] Watch: @ShaneWarne returns to bowling : http://t.co/zx5aF9Cbwi
— The Crick Blog (@TheCrickBlog) October 17, 2015
Laxman returns to nets
The T20 league, the inaugural season of which will be played in the USA, will have only three matches played in the first season – effectively making the league a series of very high-profile exhibition matches.
The matches are scheduled to be played at some of the most iconic baseball stadiums in USA. The first game will be played at the Citi Field in New York which is the home ground for the New York Mets. The retired superstars will then move to Los Angeles to play a match at the Dodgers stadium. The final game will take place at Texas.
The players will also hold coaching clinics alongside the games in a bid to encourage young Americans to give cricket a try. The 26 players are yet to be distributed in two teams but most of them have already started training in full earnest.
Just finished my 1st net session since Dec2012 in preparation for #cricketallstars in the USA.Enjoyed the session pic.twitter.com/MvxFq8etzZ
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) October 17, 2015
India: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Ajit Agarkar
England: Michael Vaughan, Graeme Swann
Australia: Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Glen McGrath, Mathew Hayden, Andrew Symonds
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori
Sri Lanka: Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara
Pakistan: Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq
South Africa: Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener, Allan Donald, Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock
West Indies: Brian Lara, Carl Hooper, Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose