The record
Written from the 1 report below. Nothing here is unsourced.
- Former tennis world number one Ashleigh Barty will return to competitive cricket after ten years in a celebrity T20 match on 22 November 2026 at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns.
- Barty will play for Team Cricket against Team Footy in the T20 Cairns Gold Clash, an event popular in New Zealand now being held in Australia.
- Barty won four Grand Slam titles in tennis, reached world number one in singles for 121 weeks, and retired in March 2022 while still the top-ranked player.
- Cricket is not new to Barty, who trained with Queensland's women's team and played nine matches for Brisbane Heat in the inaugural Women's Big Bash League season of 2015-16, scoring 68 runs.
- The match matters to fans because Barty will share the field with stars like Brian Lara, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey and rugby league great Jonathan Thurston.
What to watch next
- Further announcements about other celebrity participants in the T20 Cairns Gold Clash.
- Details of Barty's role and batting position in Team Cricket.
- The success of the Cairns event and whether more such matches are held in Australia.
Coverage1
1 report
Indian-language1
All filed from India
Named Australia · Brisbane Heat · Cazalys Stadium · Ashleigh Barty · Brian Lara · Johnathan Thurston · Matthew Hayden · Mike Hussey · Usman Khawaja
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