An Australian leg-spinner named Warne is aiming to be a star turn at Manningham Mills on Sunday.

Michael Warne – cousin of Australian legend Shane – is playing in a special challenge match as part of the Yorkshire Cricket Mela.

Warne, who plays for Ossett in the Central Yorkshire League, is in a Mela Australia XI which is taking on a Mela Pakistan XI at Scotchman Road in a 40-overs-a-side contest, starting at 12.30pm.

The Australian XI, drawn from players currently competing in leagues in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire, will be captained by Tong Park-Esholt’s prolific run-scorer Luke Waters.

Hartshead Moor all-rounder Tom Manvell is another player who will feature in the Australian side.

Babar Butt of Pudsey Congs will captain the Mela Pakistan XI, which is being selected from top Asian players from the JCT600 Bradford League.

Admission to the match is free and there will be junior coaching and entertainment during the day. There will also be food stalls around the game.

The match is being sponsored by Khan Solicitors, the company run by Manningham Mills president Sarwar Khan.

He said: “We are delighted to be hosting the match and want to play our part in making the Yorkshire Cricket mela a success.

“We hope the local community and cricket followers will come and support the day.”