Stanford to end involvement in cricket

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LONDON, DEC 17 (AP) : American billionaire Allen Stanford is reportedly planning to pull out of cricket after apparently losing $20 million in sponsorship deals from his Twenty20 Super Series competition in the West Indies.
The Texan funded a winner-take-all $20 million Twenty20 match between England and a West Indies all-star team in Antigua in October, the first of five annual games worth a total $100 million.
The all-stars won. Britain's Daily Mail newspaper reported Wednesday that Stanford has decided to walk away from the sport.
The Mail said Stanford told his staff in Antigua Tuesday that he has dismantled his "Board of Legends" - which included West Indies cricket greats Viv Richards, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose - and ended his involvement in the game.
The England and Wales Cricket Board, whose officials are in Mohali for the test series against India, had no immediate confirmation.
"We're unaware of the alleged developments," the ECB said.
"One of the problems we have is that we are 5{ hours ahead of London, who in turn are five hours ahead of America, so we are going to have to juggle time zones."
If Stanford does pull out, it is almost certain to have a big impact on cricket in the Caribbean and England.
He was planning to provide financial backing to more Twenty20 competitions, including an annual tournament at Lord's starting in 2010 and the English Premier League starting the same year.