The World Cricket Tsunami Appeal was an effort by the International Cricket Council to raise funds to support the humanitarian relief efforts following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. It was scheduled to be held over two games but was reduced to one due to an over-crowded international playing schedule and concerns for players' health playing in the April heat in Kolkata. The match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 10 January 2005.
The tsunami affected several leading cricketing nations. India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh were the affected Test match playing nations, as were Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives and Indonesia among the other associate & affiliate members of the ICC.
One-Day Internationals
The centrepiece of world cricket's efforts to support the victims of the tsunami was to have been a two-match one-day series between a World XI and an Asian XI. The first of these games was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia on 10 January 2005. The match was telecast in at least 122 countries. The second was to be held in Kolkata, India, originally scheduled for 13 February, but on 28 January 2005 the ICC announced it would instead be played in the second half of April. The second match was cancelled on 28 February.
Travelex sponsored the first match, which was a 78,000 sell-out, for A$1 million. Two C-130H Hercules aircraft, similar to those used by the Royal Australian Air Force to carry supplies to regions devastated by the massive earthquake and resulting tsunamis, flew over the MCG during the break between innings. The first ODI, which the World XI won by 112 runs, raised approximately A$17 million, while original estimations suggested only A$5 million would be raised from the Australians.
The games were designated as One Day Internationals by the ICC, the first time a game between teams not representing separate cricketing nations was so designated. This designation attracted criticism from cricket statisticians.
Teams for the first ODI
World XI squad:
Match officials
The onfield umpires were Rudi Koertzen (SA) and Billy Bowden (NZ). Chris Broad (Eng) was the match referee. Bob Parry (Aus) was the TV umpire. All the match officials gave their services unpaid.
On 7 January 2005 five of the World XI players, Darren Gough, Chris Cairns, Daniel Vettori, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo sent messages of hope and called on cricket fans to support the Appeal.
First ODI
World XI innings
World XI captain Ponting won the toss and chose to bat, a decision which looked to have backfired early when opener Chris Gayle was caught behind off Zaheer Khan for only 1. Big hitting Adam Gilchrist (24) hit the first six of the match, which by itself earned A$50,000 for the appeal courtesy of Toyota.
Gilchrist was himself caught behind off Zaheer shortly thereafter. The ensuing Ponting/Brian Lara partnership saw both players reach half-centuries, with Lara's 50 coming in 76 balls, a relatively slow speed compared with the power-hitting to be seen later. Lara was dismissed for 52, due to a well-taken Chaminda Vaas catch in the deep off Anil Kumble. Ponting, who was closing in on his century, was then forced to play second-fiddle to a whirlwind innings by New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns, who at one point had contributed more than 40 runs off a 60 run partnership. Kumble bore the brunt of this attack, with several balls disappearing into the crowd for 6. Cairns also contributed the shot of the match, a straight-driven 6 off Muttiah Muralitharan from halfway down the pitch.
Ponting's century was the cue for him to cut loose, hitting two consecutive 6s before being stumped off Kumble. This resulted in the surprising appearance of professional tailender Glenn McGrath at number 6 on the back of his "brilliant" 61 against New Zealand earlier that summer–ahead of both Stephen Fleming and Australian opener Matthew Hayden. Commentators were barely able to keep straight faces as "the newest all-rounder in world cricket" attempted to slog Muralitharan for 6 on the first ball, unfortunately misjudging the spin of the delivery and being easily caught by Yousuf Youhana.