7 January 2005

The ICC have given official One-Day International status to the Tsunami Appeal matches.

ICC president Ehsan Mani announced the decision after a vote of the executive board.

"The ICC Board is of the view that due to the extraordinary circumstances that have brought about these two matches, an exception to the existing rules should be made,'' said Mani.
"This decision applies only to these two matches and does not change the status of other one-day matches from the past or in the future.''

The first World Cricket Tsunami Appeal match in Melbourne on Monday, January 10, includes players from Australia, England, New Zealand and the West Indies, while the ACC Asian XI has leading players from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, the first appeal match on Monday in Melbourne is a `sell-out', with all public reserve tickets now sold.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said: "We are overwhelmed by the support shown by all parties involved with this match, particularly the Australian cricketing public.
"To sell approximately 56,000 tickets in just three days is an amazing effort, and we thank the people of Melbourne for their outstanding support.
"We're certainly hoping to raise several million dollars for the Tsunami Appeal, and also encourage all MCC members to come to what promises to be a match to remember.
"With the game being a sell-out, it will also enable all Australian cricket fans to watch the game and, more importantly, give them the opportunity to contribute to the appeal through the telecast on the Nine Network.
"The match is being beamed to more than 100 countries throughout the world, and will be a fantastic opportunity for cricket fans to not only see some of the game's biggest names match up against each other, but also showcase how the Australian public and cricket community in general, has rallied behind this cause.''

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