A special day to savour

By Martin Gough
BBC Sport, Lord's

Charity cricket took to the hallowed turf of Lord's as the tsunami fund-raising match pitted players boasting more than 5,000 international appearances between them.

Match scorecard

Team-mate faced team-mate, and rivals faced off without the pressure of maintaining national pride in front of a crowd of 24,000 loving every moment.

An International XI captained by Brian Lara indulged their MCC opponents as 10 players bowled and a score of 327-7 was racked up.

But rival captain Stephen Fleming was not so generous and the world-class attack at his disposal, bowling with intent, ended things 15 overs early.

Watching Lara himself bowl was a novelty for most spectators - he has only done so in five of his 256 one-day internationals.

And while the frontline attack got a chance to show off, no one else tried too hard to diminish a festival of batting.

Among the batting highlights, New Zealander Fleming took two sizzling hooked fours and a square-cut six off Makhaya Ntini.

There were some wonderful moments of pantomime, too.

Photo gallery: Lord's action in pictures

Kiwi Chris Cairns gave Fleming a full-blooded send-off, with tongue firmly in cheek, when his former skipper top-edged a cut to third man.

But from the time Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar steamed in to bowl at Virender Sehwag, the atmosphere changed from large-scale picnic to a full-intensity contest.

Short, sharp and bowling above 90mph, Shoaib obviously had a point to prove to the Pakistan selectors who have left him out on fitness grounds this year.

And an unending diet of spin from man-of-the-match Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Chris Gayle reaped the last nine wickets.

"We were torn a little bit because you want to provide entertainment but you don't want to demean the day," Fleming admitted.

Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar was at his most fearsome

"We just felt we played as hard as we can to give the spectators the feel it was genuine.

"To be honest I didn't have that much control over Shoaib but that's what people want to see - confrontations and competition between world-class players."

Lara kept a smile on his face after what is likely to be his final game at the home of cricket.

"They enjoyed themselves but we also enjoyed it. I enjoyed having two overs at Lord's - I'll remember that," he said.

"We've played cricket in Galle, India - places that were devastated by such a tragedy. It's important for us to give back."

After six months, the scenes of devastation caused by the Boxing Day tsunami are beginning to recede in the minds of the western world.

But for the three Sri Lankan stars playing, the trials of rebuilding are an ever-present concern.

Six months on it's an opportunity to keep the awareness up Stephen Fleming

Aussie Shane Warne experienced the wreckage first-hand on a four-day tour of the island in the company of his spin rival Muttiah Muralitharan.

And India's Anil Kumble related on the eve of the match that he and his family had been lucky to escape the killer wave, leaving their Chennai (Madras) holiday home just in time.

"We're like everyone, realising we're a small part in a bigger picture. We saw first-hand the effect it had on their team," said Fleming.

"Six months on I think the timing was important.

"There was a lot of focus on the first few weeks after the disaster, now six months on it's an opportunity to keep the awareness up and make sure the aid is getting through to the right spots."

That message, more than the winners or losers in 100 overs at the home of cricket, was the most important of the day.