Chris Cairns: Competitive instinct will rule in Tsunami charity match

Being selected to play for the World XI tomorrow in Melbourne is a great honour, but it comes a distant second to being able to have the chance to directly help those who have been affected by the tsunami in Asia.

The cricket community have banded together to put on a showcase game to raise funds and the ability of everyone involved to organise an extremely complex logistical operation like this is a credit to all. Despite it being mid-season, with most nations involved in series around the globe, bringing together a variety of quality players has gone very well.

All asked have given their time without hesitation and while I believe that New Zealand was touted as a possible venue for the match, which would've been great for the public considering the loss of half our season, the most logical venue was always going to be Melbourne. Let's make no bones about it, this match is designed to make as much money as possible and Melbourne, where there is significant development being undertaken, can still house 80,000. I'm confident Melburnians will support this event and with the talent on display it has the recipe for excitement.

With the focus on raising money, a few of my friends questioned me about how serious the players would take it. My reply to them is that when you have that many good players in one arena and with a lot of reputations at stake, no one wants to make a fool of themselves.

The game will have an excellent spirit, I'm sure, but ultimately competitive instinct will take over.

With this World XI vs Asia match tomorrow and later in the year the top-ranked test and one-day team vs a Rest of the World XI, it got me thinking there's actually another match of composite sides that I would like to see.

With Aussie dominating in the test arena, how about a match where you pit the top six Aussie batters (including Adam Gilchrist) plus the top five Rest of the World bowlers vs the top six Rest of the World batters and the current five Aussie bowlers in a test at Adelaide?

Adelaide has good bounce, batters can play shots and spinners come into the match on the fourth and fifth day.

I'm sure there are a few cricketers who would like to see how Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden fare against Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie. How would Michael Kasprowicz and

Shane Warne handle the aggressiveness of Ricky Ponting and Gilchrist? While they play against each other for their State sides, there is never the opportunity for the Aussie batsmen to face the pressure of their bowling unit.

Conversely, how would the Aussie bowlers deal with the constant stream of quality on coming to the crease?

It's highly unlikely to eventuate but I reckon the Aussie bowlers would finish top.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY