The parties are to create a five-match, $100 million series contested by England and a West Indies all-star team, and a four-team international tournament held at Lord’s.
The original plan to have the five-match, England-West Indies All Stars series rotate between Antigua and Lord’s has been altered – all the matches will now take place at Stanford’s ground in Antigua. In return, the American will finance five annual knockout tournaments at Lords, beginning September 2009.
The prize-money on offer in the competitions will make the cricketers involved millionaires. The England-West Indies All Stars matches will be played for a $20 million prize, while the four-team Lord’s tournament, in which England and the West Indies All Stars will also play, will offer $10 million to the winners.
The players in the winning team in the Antigua series will take home at least $1 million each. If Stanford’s team win they will get $15 million, and $5 million will go to the WICB. An England player featuring in a successful team in all Stanford’s fixtures over the five-year period could earn more than £3 million. All television revenue from the Lord’s competition will go to the ECB.
This week’s BritSport Weekly also reveals that plans for an English rival league to the IPL are ‘well advanced’ according to ECB chief exec David Collier.
