Tsunami charity match raises $11m
 |  Players lead a minute's silence before the charity match in Melbourne |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 World's top cricketers stage a charity match to aid tsunami victims.
|
|
MELBOURNE, Australia -- World cricket opened its collective hearts and wallets to the victims of the Asian tsunami with $11 million raised from the one-day charity match in Melbourne on Monday.
The Rest of the World XI beat an Asia XI by 112 runs but the result mattered little, as cricket's elite came together for a unique contest before 70,101 fans.
It was an inspirational occasion with old rivals unifying for the common cause of helping victims recover from the tsunami which killed more than 156,000 people.
"All the players really owed it to everybody concerned with organizing the game and all the people who turned up and the people who were watching on television all around the world to make sure it was really a competitive, good game of cricket," said man-of-the-match Ricky Ponting.
Asia XI captain Sourav Ganguly said: "I think being out on the field was more important than the result, it was a game for a cause and we are very happy with the way it went."
Australia's richest man Kerry Packer made a donation of three million dollars, while other funds came from ground entry, donation boxes, television appeals and corporate sponsorship.
Prime Minister John Howard tossed a silver dollar to begin the match.
World Vision leader Tim Costello said he was stunned by the generosity of Australian cricket fans.
As Cricket Australia chairman Bob Merriman presented him with the multi-million dollar cheque, Costello said, "I'm absolutely blown away".
Costello said he was still struggling to comprehend the scale of the disaster.
"Having been there and seen it, I still don't believe what I saw," he said.
A second match organised by the International Cricket Council will be played probably in Calcutta in February to renew fund-raising efforts for the huge reconstruction ahead.
Ponting cracked a 102-ball century and Brian Lara and Chris Cairns half-centuries as the Rest of the World blazed their way to 344 for eight after winning the toss.
The runs proved too much for the Asian all-stars, Indian stylist Rahul Dravid topscoring with an unbeaten 75 off 71 balls and Indian opener Virender Sehwag's 45 off 39 balls the highlights.
