Kookaburra goes retro for Bushfire Bash bats

The Bushfire Bash will see some of the greatest players of yesteryear playing the game once more for charity – and a few will be wielding some distinctly retro cricket bats.

Kit manufacturer Kookaburra has come to the party by reprising four retro bat styles for the Bushfire Bash.

The modern blades covered in vintage-style stickers will be used by Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Brad Haddin and Brad Hodge.

Each bat will be signed by the player and then auctioned off, along with other items from the Bushfire Bash including signed shirts and helmets to raise further funds.

Fans caught a glimpse of Ponting's blade when the former Australia skipper posted video of himself and Brian Lara in the nets at Junction Oval on Thursday.

It was revealed to be a Ridge Back design, reminiscent of the first version of the blade that Ponting used on the 1997 Ashes tour.

Ponting, who began his international career using a Kookaburra Bubble, used the Ridge Back from that 1997 Ashes tour until February 2002, when he switched to the Kahuna that he used for the remainder of his career.

Victorian batsman Dean Jones was the first to use the Ridge Back in international cricket as the blade made its debut in the 1989-90 World Series Cup final at the MCG against Pakistan, 30 years ago this month.

The Bubble originally was famous in the 1990s, used by Ponting at the 1996 World Cup and on his Test debut at the WACA in December 1995.

For Sunday's charity match the Bubble will be reprised by Haddin, who brought it back to international cricket in the 2013 Ashes, debuting it in that summer's Boxing Day Test match with another key knock that helped Australia on the path to a 5-0 whitewash.

Langer, who had used the Bubble throughout the 1990s since his Test debut in 1993, will bat with a Kookaburra Belta when he reprises his opening partnership with Matthew Hayden in Sunday's clash.

The modern Belta is modelled on the version Langer used for a two-year period in 2004 and 2005, including on that year's memorable Ashes tour. It is the blade with which he scored 191 against Pakistan at the WACA Ground in 2004, saving Australia from a precarious 5-78 in one of his finest innings.

Langer, who would come in to Kookaburra's Melbourne workshop to test out bats, was known to refer to the ones he liked as "belters" which led to the naming of the design.

The Beast was the bat of choice in the early 2000s for the likes of Brett Lee and Brad Hodge, who has the bat he scored a double century with hanging at the national sports museum at the MCG.

Hodge used the version with the full coloured sticker on the back when scoring his double-ton against South Africa, but will wield a version with the regular sticker on Sunday.

The Bushfire Bash and the BBL final, along with Australia's women's matches against India and England on Saturday and Sunday respectively, form part of Cricket Australia's 'Big Appeal'.

Fans can donate at cricket.com.au/BigAppeal with all match profits and funds raised going to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund, while fans in Australia can watch the Bushfire Cricket Bash live on Foxtel, Channel7, Kayo Sports, cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.