The International Cricket Council sent out a message of thanks to all those who contributed in some way or the other to the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal match in Melbourne which has already raised nearly Rs 50 crore and more expected from an on-line auction.

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ICC [Images] President Ehsan Mani said the cricket world had shown tremendous unity in staging a major fund raising match within two weeks of the disaster that hit the Asian coastline on December 26.

"Sports has the power to make a positive difference and I have been heartened by the way in which cricket has united across political divides to raise millions of dollars for the World Cricket Tsunami [Images] Appeal," Mani said in a statement in London [Images].

The charity match yesterday saw a capacity crowd of 71,101 gather at the Melbourne Cricket Ground besides a few millions who watched the action 'live' on television across 122 countries.

An on-line auction, which began yesterday, is expected to add to the fund already generated from the match. Signed match-worn T-Shirts and the coin used for toss are among the items up for auction which would conclude on Tuesday.