Stanford offers US$ 100 million for five T20s

Allen Stanford, the Texas-based billionaire, has reportedly offered the England board a staggering US$100 million for five Twenty20 matches in five years against a West Indies all-star side.

Stanford held talks with David Collier, the chief executive of the ECB, earlier this week where he offered $20 million for a match between England and a West Indies all-star team to coincide with the Independence Day in Antigua on November 1. If the match takes place, it will be the most expensive cricket match ever played.

That offer, said a report in The Times, could be spread over five years. "I talked to David about the first game and then how we could collaborate in the future," Stanford said. "I said it could be an annual event, maybe we could come to Lord's in 2009 and then alternate. I would be happy to make a five-year commitment."

When asked whether it meant a $100 million commitment, Stanford said: "I would be willing to do it. The money is real and I think we will get a game."

The offer was revealed in the English media a day after the start of the much-hyped Indian Premier League, to which Stanford is being seen as a counter-weight in some quarters.