IAIE’s Goodwill Ambassador Matthew Hayden and Fellow Amol Wagholikar Support Bushfire Big Appeal Match

Over a hundred bushfires in Australia, raging since November across Queensland, New SouthWales, Victoria and South Australia have cast an unprecedented devastation in Australia inwhich over a billion animal species and 33 people including three firefighters perished. Over2000 homes and 25 million acres of green cover, about the size of South Korea has also beenturned to ashes. Smoke from the bushfires traveled over a 1000 km to New Zealand which is apotent indicator of the size and intensity of the disaster. The sway of the bushfires, largely fannedby a long-drawn drought season and extreme weather conditions was so over-whelming forAustralia to tackle alone that firefighters and volunteers and law enforcement agencies were sentin from the US, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu among others. Theimages of the raging infernos gradually drew global concern and support, as governments, artists,philanthropists, charity organisations, community groups and even individuals threw theirsupport behind Australia in its hours of need.

One such effort was the Bushfire Appeal Charity match at Junction Oval in Melbourne organisedby Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne along with others on 8 February (originally scheduled inSydney). The match was played between Ricky Ponting XI which included:
Ricky Ponting (c), Brett Lee, Matthew Hayden, Brad Haddin (wk), Brian Lara, JustinLanger, Wasim Akram, Daniel Christian, Alex Blackwell, Phoebe Litchfield, Luke Hodge (AFL)and Nathan Lyon.

and Adam Gilchrist XI which included:
Adam Gilchrist (C & WK) Andrew Symonds, Yuvraj Singh, Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, PeterSiddle, Courtney Walsh, Fawad Ahmed, Elyse Villani, Nick Riewoldt (AFL) and CameronSmith (National Rugby League).

Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar also flew in from India to support the endeavour and playedone over from the Australian woman pacer Ellyse Perry during the break which had enthralledthe spectators at the Oval.

As an ardent fan of the sport and a player myself, I was deeply moved by the gesture of theselegends of cricket, Australian Footy league and National rugby League. On behalf of the Institutefor Australia India Engagement (IAIE) it was an honor to travel to Sydney, and without anyhesitation reschedule my ticket for Melbourne to support ‘The Big Appeal”.

As a Fellow of IAIE, I was also deeply proud and motivated to know the Institute’s GoodwillAmbassador to India Matthew Hayden AM and member of the IAIE Board made a significantcontribution to the Appeal. It was a surreal experience to see legends of the sport from differentcodes, countries, and era come together to support such a noble cause. It was an amazing experience to witness the goodness of humanity being displayed in its most pristine form in the Big Appeal at the Junction Oval. One of the most powerful images of the experience was to seeold rivals on the cricket field from India, Pakistan, Australia and West Indies wearing the greenand gold in solidarity, for which Australia and Australians will always be in their debt.

The enthusiasm of the spectators for the cause was electric at the Oval and it will be fair to positthat the spirit of Australian community and their kind heartedness triumphed on the day. For usspectators it was nothing short of watching history in the making. People from all walks of life,young and old supported this event. The community came together to Advance Australia Fair!We stand by each other in times of stress and difficulty and never leave anyone behind. As PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s government expressed solidarity and support for Australia in theIndian parliament, the Australian and Indian players and the Indian diaspora came together in apowerful display of friendship and understanding. As a former Indian, now a proud Australianand an IAIE Fellow I am deeply proud to have participated and supported the Big Appeal whichraised over A$ 7.7 million for firefighting, reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.