Bushfire Bash gifts Villani healthy dose of perspective

When Elyse Villani finds herself needing a dose of perspective, she need look no further than the cause she is getting behind in this weekend’s Bushfire Cricket Bash.

Villani, who has played 99 international matches but missed out on a place in Australia’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, is part of the star-studded group of players who have signed on for the Ponting XI v Warne XI match at the SCG, to be played ahead of the KFC BBL final.

The Big Appeal, cricket’s day of fundraising, will also include Australia’s clash with India at Junction Oval in the ongoing CommBank T20I Tri-Series.

Villani cannot deny she would dearly love to be in Melbourne with the Australian squad as they prepare for the ICC tournament, but the aggressive opening batter is also relishing the opportunity to play alongside, and against, greats of the game including Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Yuvraj Singh, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Brett Lee and Wasim Akram.

"I’m feeling pretty chuffed to be asked to be honest, reading through the names of all the legends of the game who are involved," Villani told cricket.com.au.

"I’m looking at it as an enormous opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the world’s best and to play a small part in putting some smiles on people’s faces and helping to raise some much-needed funds.

"When I saw the names I was thinking, ‘why am I in this list?’

"It’s incredible to see this happen and I’m really proud of cricket for thinking of an initiative to bring people together and raise some funds."

 Villani has no preference around which XI she ends up playing on, but admits some trepidation around the possibility of facing the likes of Warne, Lee and Akram.

"There’s a list of bowlers I don’t want to face, to be honest," she laughed.

"I’m happy to face Grace Harris because I’ve faced her a bit but apart from that, I’m not sure there’s too many I do want to face, I’m a bit nervous."

Villani has fallen out of favour with selectors since the Ashes in the United Kingdom last July, where she was part of the 15-player touring party but did not play a match.

She was dropped for subsequent series' against West Indies and Sri Lanka and after an up-and-down first season as Melbourne Stars captain in the Rebel WBBL, where she averaged 24.57, could not force her way back into international reckoning for the World Cup, with Australian selectors instead placing their faith in extra allrounders.

"It was pretty heartbreaking," Villani said. "I thought I was an outside chance if they were to pick a back-up batter and then hopefully work my way back in that way, but the selectors have gone down the route of allrounders and that’s not something I can offer at the moment.

"Anyone that has missed out on selection knows it sucks, but it’s nice to be playing in this Bushfire Cricket Bash.

"It helps you maintain perspective … you can get caught in the cricket bubble, so to maintain perspective is really important.

"I try not to be too consumed by it, but it is always disappointing when you miss out."

The right-hander says she is not giving up on her hopes of playing international cricket again, but for now her focus is on helping to ensure the Big Appeal is a resounding success, and on helping Victoria’s depleted 50-over domestic side – who have lost six players to Australian duties – in their tilt at the Women’s National Cricket League Final.

"I still have a burning desire to play cricket for Australia and I caught up with (coach) Matthew Mott and spoke to (national selector) Shawn Flegler and I understand where I sit at the moment, I’m not really at the forefront of selectors’ minds.

"I feel personally I’m playing some really good cricket at the moment and I don’t see why, in the future, if I’m playing good cricket why I couldn’t be on the selection table again."

While her international future remains up in the air, Villani has been laying the foundations for a second career off the field.

Through the summer she has appeared on the Seven Network’s coverage of both the WBBL and BBL, while also commentating on SEN 1116 and Macquarie Sports Radio.

"It’s something I’m really enjoying," Villani said. "It’s really important to maintain balance outside of cricket because it can be such a rollercoaster and you can get pretty consumed.

"The commentary is still within the sport but it’s completely different to playing, and I think I learn a great deal about the game from watching it and commentating on it.

"It’s amazing to combine a bit of part-time work with my playing commitments and looking towards the future in terms of what off-field roles I might hold in the future – but hopefully not for a few more years."