Stanford Will End ECB Deal Claims West Indies Chief

Sir Allen Stanford is on the verge of ending his lucrative five-year deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board after only one year according to the chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board.

Donald Peters said that the Super Series was ‘most likely to go’, ending the annual $20m winner-take-all match after only a single tournament.

Said the West Indies cricket chief: ‘He might restructure it but more likely throw it away altogether. We are not expecting him to dump the regional tournament because he likes the attention it brings in the Caribbean.’

Stanford is reportedly upset by the hostile reaction in England to last year’s series between English and West Indian sides that culminated in the lucrative match. He promised an announcement this month on his sponsorship of the Super Series and West Indies’ domestic Twenty20 tournament.

However, ECB sources believe that Stanford will soon confirm his backing for an international Twenty20 quadrangular at Lord’s in May. The board hopes he will still invest in the English Premier League next year.

Stanford agreed a five-year deal to back an annual $20m Challenge between England and West Indies but has the option to pull out before the next scheduled match in November. He is believed to be under pressure from his company, the Stanford Financial Group, to curb spending.

The loss of Stanford could prove a mortal blow to ECB chairman Giles Clarke’s hopes of re-election. Clarke was a chief architect of the Stanford deal but is now facing a head-to-head battle against Lord Marland for the chairmanship of the governing body.

If the Challenge is dropped, it might go down badly with the counties, who received £50,000 each from last year’s match. Clarke had appeared to be on course to win the 9th February election against Lord Marland by four votes.