Stanford hits impasse with MCC

The US$100 million deal between the ECB and Allen Stanford is in doubt after the MCC warned that it would not sanction Twenty20 matches featuring Stanford's trademark black bats. Talks will continue today between the parties in an effort to rescue the plan for a series of Twenty20 games at Lord's between an England XI, a West Indian All Star XI and two other international teams.

Stanford wanted the matches to feature the black bats that have been used in the existing Stanford 20/20 tournament in the Caribbean. But MCC has revised the rules regarding the composition of bats, declaring that a bat must be wooden in colour, a regulation mainly aimed at ensuring modern materials to assist the batsman cannot be used in addition to willow.

As well as the Lord's games, Stanford's proposal was to include matches between England and a West Indian All Star XI at his own ground in Antigua. One possible solution to the impasse could be to make the competition unofficial, and relax the bat rules in the Antigua games in return for using the more traditional equipment in the Lord's outings.