The $20 million winner-takes-all Twenty20 Stanford match between England and a West Indies' side on November 1 will go ahead after an agreement was reached over sponsorship rights.
A compromise deal was struck after talks between Digicel, the telecoms company which pays $4m a year to sponsor West Indies, and the match organiser, Sir Allen Stanford.
In a statement to the press, Stanford, who is bankrolling the match, said: "I am pleased with both parties' solution oriented approach and most importantly that this matter has been finally resolved," he said. "We look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to the Stanford Cricket Ground to enjoy a fantastic week of cricket."
The match was thrown into doubt when the High Court in London upheld Digicel's objection that the agreement between Stanford and the England and Wales Cricket Board compromised their exclusive rights to promote West Indies' cricket.
It is understood that when the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) ratifies the new deal it will be based around three proposals put forward by Digicel on September 11. Stanford had agreed to two of them, namely that Cable and Wireless, Digicel’s competitor in the region, would not be brought on board as a tournament sponsor and that Digicel’s legal costs would be discharged.
The third issue, of Digicel branding on the Stanford players’ shirts, is also thought to have been settled. A compromise is likely to allow Stanford’s team to wear their distinctive all-black shirts, but emblazoned with the Digicel logo. Digicel will also be granted the same branding rights as it would get for a normal one-day international in the Caribbean.
Next month's match between England and a West Indies team, called the "Stanford Super Stars," follows five games also featuring England Twenty20 champions Middlesex and West Indies' regional side Trinidad and Tobago.
