Warne fundraiser cancelled due to hoaxers

Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkars fund-raising extravaganza during the Lords tsunami appeal match today has been cancelled because of internet hoaxers.

The pair had planned to offer a fan an unforgettable experience in the mid-innings interval during the match between the MCC and an International XI.

The highest bidder in an ebay auction was to receive 15 minutes coaching from Tendulkar, who was unable to play in the game after undergoing elbow surgery, before facing an over from Warne on the Lord's pitch.

Organisers had hoped the auction would raise a five-figure sum to help a range of projects in the tsunami-hit areas of Asia but it was discovered that the highest bids were made by hoaxers.

"As the auction ended on Saturday afternoon, there has been insufficient time to arrange for the highest legitimate bidder to come to Lord's to receive the coaching from Sachin Tendulkar and to face the over from Shane Warne," the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) said in a statement.

The match is being played to aid survivors of the December 26 tsunami, which left more than 220,000 people dead or missing and thousands homeless around the Indian Ocean area.

Assaf Admoni, director of fund-raising for the Leonard Cheshire Foundation which arranged the auction, said: I'm appalled that people could do this. They've wrecked an event that would have raised much-needed funds for a range of very important tsunami recovery and relief projects."