The government steps forward

When he arranged the World XI matches Martin Snedden must have been worried about the cost. The tour would be expensive to host, with New Zealand Cricket having to cover the expenses and wages of the tourists as well as of their own side. To make matters worse, New Zealand Cricket naturally felt obliged to pledge some of the revenue earned towards tsunami relief. Snedden said he hoped sponsorship would cover some of the cost and he must have been very relieved whenthe New Zealand government announced that it will be the series first major donor. Our taxes will be contributing $20 for each run, $1000 for each four and $5000 for each six scored in the series to the relief fund, on top of the money the country has already pledged.