Shirts and coin to go on auction

The coin used for the toss and the shirts worn by the players for the charity match between the ICC XI and the Asian XI on January 10 will be auctioned online, and the proceeds will go to World Vision's tsunami relief fund.

The auction, to be run on eBay, the online auction specialists, will be held at 15-minute intervals from 0600GMT on January 8, and will end at the same time on January 11. Bidders from all parts of the world will be allowed to participate.

John Howard, the prime minister of Australia, will toss the coin, which is a pure silver 40mm dollar given by Royal Australian Mint. The shirts will be signed by the players, and will be accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Cricket Australia.

James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, praised the initiative of the players and the organisers of the match. "Cricket Australia is delighted to provide an additional stream of funds for World Vision through these once-in-a-lifetime mementoes from the match.

"The generosity and goodwill surrounding this match has extended to the players literally giving us the shirts off their backs, and we thank them and the Royal Australian Mint for providing a way for cricket fans throughout the world to get involved in raising funds through this match.

"We hope that cricket fans from all points of the globe log on and help cricket's efforts to raise money for World Vision."