HIV/AIDS charity bats auction launched today

VISIT: www.icc.cricket.org/unaids

The International Cricket Council and UNAIDS today launched an auction of a full set of ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 signed bats on eBay.co.uk to raise funds for a HIV/AIDS project in India.

As part of their joint activities to coincide with World AIDS Day, the ICC and UNAIDS are providing a unique opportunity for cricket fanatics to bid for a set of 14 full-sized bats signed by all squad members of the competing teams at the ICC Cricket World Cup South Africa 2003.

The auction can be reached by visiting www.icc.cricket.org/unaids.

It will run from 1pm GMT on Monday 1 December to Wednesday 10 December. The bats - which have a starting price of £10,000 - have been signed by all players at the ICC CWC 2003 including:

Shoaib Akhtar

Brian Lara

Glen McGrath

Shaun Pollock

Sachin Tendulkar

Michael Vaughan

Earlier this year the ICC entered into a strategic alliance with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to take up the fight against HIV/AIDS in cricket-playing countries, some of which are hardest hit by the epidemic.

International cricket teams playing matches on or around 1 December also committed to wearing red ribbons as a sign of support for the millions of people around the world living with HIV and AIDS.

To find out more about the strategic alliance between the ICC and UNAIDS visit www.icc.cricket.org/unaids or www.unaids.org.

If you are having problems registering your bid, please contact batauction@icc-cricket.com.

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