ECB and Stanford move closer to tie-in

The England & Wales Cricket Board could be asked to help revive cricket in the Caribbean after moving ever closer to a lucrative tie-in with the Texan billionaire, Allen Stanford, following a further round of talks at Lord's on Monday.

Stanford, whose multimillion-dollar Twenty20 tournament has reinvigorated interest in cricket in the West Indies, has reportedly offered up to $100 million for a series of five 20-over matches between England and a West Indies All-star XI, the first of which could be played as early as November this year.

In a press release, the ECB said that the latest meeting between Stanford and David Collier, the CEO, "further developed the constructive and positive discussions" of the previous week. "I would be happy to make a five-year commitment," Stanford told The Times on Saturday. "I said it could be an annual event, maybe we could come to Lord's in 2009 and then alternate. The money is real and I think we will get a game."

Also present at Lord's were the president and chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, Dr Julian Hunte and Donald Peters, as proposals were discussed to help provide a legacy to the development and infrastructure of cricket in the Caribbean, in addition to a series of international matches.

It was the second meeting in the space of three days between representatives of the English and West Indian boards. On Friday, Hunte, Peters and Collier all met with the chairman of the ECB, Giles Clarke, in Bangalore during the opening match of the IPL.

During his trip to Lord's, Stanford also attended the pre-season lunch of the Lord's Taverners, which provides support for community cricket - in particular for children with disabilities. During the luncheon Stanford made a donation of £50,000 to the work of the charity which was received by the President of the Lord's Taverners, Mr Bill Tidy.