Cash row threatens to stump Stanford match

The world's richest cricket match the 20-million dollar Stanford Super Series clash here on November 1, may be abandoned without a ball being bowled because of a commercial row.

The Stanford organisers and Digicel, the multi-million dollar sponsors of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), are locked in a row over commercial rights at the match being played at the Stanford Cricket Ground. Digicel believes its five-year deal with the WICB includes the match, which features the Stanford Superstars taking on Kevin Pietersen's England, as it is officially backed by the board; the Stanford organisers claim as the Superstars are not an official side it is outside any existing sponsorship deal.

"The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have confirmed that they do not consider the Stanford Superstars team to be a West Indies team," said a Stanford statement.

ST JOHN'S, Antigua, AFP