West Indies board confident of resolution with Digicel

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is confident the Stanford Twenty20 for 20 match between England and a Stanford All Stars team will go ahead as scheduled despite Digicel, the sponsors of the West Indies team, filing an injunction in a London high court.

WICB chief executive Donald Peters said the board was confident there was no issue. "We are not part of this in that it is not our team, it is not the West Indies team that will be taking part, so Digicel's rights are not infringed," Peters told the Caribbean Media Corporation. "They are our sponsors but we disagree on this matter. They believe one thing and we believe another but we expect that common sense will prevail."

The injunction relates solely to the proposed match between England and the Stanford Superstars to be held in Antigua on November 1, part of the five-year, US$100 million series - which consists of one All-Star match per year against an England select team. Digicel is seeking to have the WICB withdraw all approvals for the Stanford Super Series. Their concern is the deal between the WICB and Stanford encroaches Caribbean telecommunication company Digicel's exclusive sponsorship rights. Reports suggest Stanford is close to signing on Cable and Wireless (Digicel's competitor and a former sponsor of the West Indies team) as a sponsor for the series.

The injunction will be heard on September 18 in London.