Surrey to host all-star charity game

Muttiah Muralitharan will be in action again for a noble cause © Getty Images

Surrey have confirmed that they will host an all-star Twenty20 game between an Asian XI and International XI at The Oval on June 20 to provide aid to the victims of disasters. Surrey hope to raise a million pounds (US$1.9million) to rebuild a tsunami-hit Sri Lankan village and help other areas hit by natural disasters.

Rahul Dravid, Muttiah Muralitharan, Anil Kumble and Chaminda Vaas will all be part of an Asian side which will take on an International XI. The opposition will include Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Shaun Pollock, Stephen Fleming and Graham Thorpe.

Paul Sheldon, Surrey's chief executive, said, "Having recently been to Sri Lanka I am acutely aware of not only the need to help those affected by the tsunami, but also to ensure that the money given is spent for the benefit of those who need it most. To this end we will donate the money to a Cricket Aid village named after Surrey in Sri Lanka. The game itself will be a festival of cricket, where the best players from all over the world will play in this unique game at the newly re-developed Oval."

Financial help will also be extended to Grenada, which was hit by hurricanes in 2004, and some cash will be put aside in order to help if there are natural disasters in cricket-playing nations in future.

A similar initiative was also taken by the ICC when it hosted a charity game to raise funds for tsunami victims at the MCG in January which raised US$11 million. This was followed by a series in New Zealand.