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Rediff.com  » Sports » Ganguly to play in tsunami match

Ganguly to play in tsunami match

June 13, 2005 20:16 IST
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Indian captain Sourav Ganguly will be aiming to restore his dented reputation after being drafted in as a late replacement for Ramnaresh Sarwan in Tuesday's tsunami appeal one-day match between MCC and an International XI.

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) hopes to raise more than £485,000 from gate receipts alone for the survivors of the December 26 tsunami, which killed more than 300,000 people.

West Indian Brian Lara, the only man to score 400 runs in a Test innings, will captain the International XI and New Zealand's Stephen Fleming will lead the MCC team.

"I'm happy to be involved with this. It is a very good cause and the entire cricket fraternity has come forward to support this effort," MCC's Indian spinner Anil Kumble said.

Ganguly, who will also line-up for the MCC, struggled to score during the recent Pakistan series and his future in the Indian team remains in the balance.

But a convincing performance in front of a global audience on Tuesday will show he still has plenty to offer.

For Sri Lankans Muttiah Muralitharan and compatriot Sanath Jayasuriya, the match will be especially poignant having both been closely affected by the disaster and worked with the relief programme.

The match will also allow Muralitharan to renew his rivalry with fellow-spinner and record Test wicket-taker Shane Warne.

The Australian visited devastated areas in southern Sri Lanka in February and agreed to participate in Tuesday's match despite quitting limited overs cricket two years ago.

Warne will also join forces with India's Sachin Tendulkar, who was ruled out from the match after undergoing elbow surgery, in offering one fan an unforgettable experience.

During the interval between the innings, the highest bidder in an on-line auction will receive 15 minutes of coaching from Tendulkar before facing an over from Warne on the Lord's pitch.

Having been sidelined from the contest, Tendulkar was determined to make some form of contribution to the proceedings.

"As I can't even shadow-bat, I won't actually be illustrating any stroke...the tips are going to be verbal," Tendulkar told Indian newspaper The Telegraph.

"I realise a role awaits me at Lord's but I would have gone even if I had nothing to do. It's about supporting a cause."

The match is the second time this year the cricketing community have come together in wake of the Indian Ocean disaster after a January fund-raising match in Melbourne raised more than $11 million.

A Twenty20 tsunami appeal match will be held next Monday at The Oval between an Asian team and an International XI.

Probable teams:

MCC: Stephen Fleming (New Zealand, captain), Chris Gayle (West Indies), Sourav Ganguly (India), Vangipurappu Laxman (India), Jaques Kallis (South Africa), Andy Flower (Zimbabwe), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Shaun Pollock (South Africa), Anil Kumble (India), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka), Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan).

International XI: Brian Lara (West Indies, captain), Virender Sehwag (India), Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Graeme Smith (South Africa), Rahul Dravid (India), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies), Chris Cairns (New Zealand), Shane Warne (Australia), Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka), Mohammad Sami (Pakistan), Makhaya Ntini (South Africa).

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Source: REUTERS
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