Thursday, August 26, 2010

South Africa to play fundraiser for Pakistan flood relief

KARACHI: South Africa and Pakistan will play a Twenty20 exhibition match in October to raise funds for the people affected by floods in Pakistan, a Cricket South Africa statement said on Thursday.

“Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have agreed to play an additional Pro20 International match at the start of the Proteas’ tour to the United Arab Emirates to raise funds for the victims of the floods disaster in Pakistan,” the statement said.

Pakistan are set to host a Test and limited-over series against South Africa in the UAE starting with a Twenty20 match on October 27. However, with plans of playing an additional Twenty20 match to raise funds, the tour may start earlier.

The series originally comprised one Twenty20, five one-day-internationals and two Test matches, which were to be played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Pakistan has been hit by the worst floods in its history, affecting 20 million people and killing over 1,500.

“This has been a dreadful tragedy and our hearts go out to the people of Pakistan,” CSA CEO Gerald Majola said in the statement on CSA’s website.

“Social responsibility plays an important role in the brotherhood of sport that brings nations together from across the world. This is only a small contribution but we hope it will play some part in alleviating the suffering of the Pakistani people.”

The PCB has been under negotiation with several international cricket boards to arrange exhibition matches to raise funds for the flood victims. Pakistan and England are likely to play a Twenty20 match at the end of their on-going cricket series while Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev has backed the idea of a benefit match between the South Asian rivals.

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