Sir Allen Stanford told Sky Sports News why his Twenty20 for 20 plan is the way forward for cricket.
Stanford hopes to rescue cricket in the West Indies
Sir Allen Stanford explained to
Sky Sports News why his ground-breaking Twenty20 for 20 proposals could create a bold new future for cricket.
The American billionaire was at Lord's on Wednesday afternoon to launch a programme whereby England will take on a West Indies XI in series of special Twenty20 matches with $20million up for grabs to the winners.
Each player picked in the starting XI of the victorious side would receive $1m apiece as part of Stanford's sensational proposals, while the losing team would earn nothing in the winner-takes-all format.
And Stanford admitted on
Sky Sports News that his investment is part of a bid to rescue West Indian cricket from the doldrums by rejuvenating interest in the sport.
He said: "I'm doing this because I want to see West Indies cricket come back to its former glory days.
"We're right down at the bottom right now and we have to have something to give us a shot of adrenaline in the arm and get young kids, who I think are the best God-gifted athletes in the world, to play the short version of the game - and also to get them interested in the game.
"I don't want to say cricket would die in the West Indies without this investment, but we are in such a bad way right now I hate to think where it would go.
"We're on the right path and I think we're going to see a great improvement over the next few years."
Bond
Stanford also explained that he wanted England to be involved because of their historical connections with the West Indies and because of the ECB's forward-thinking attitude.
"There's two reasons," said Stanford as he explained why he invited England to take part.
"One is the historic tie, which everyone knows about. England had their colonial empire throughout the Caribbean and that's how cricket spread there. That common bond still exists.
"Number two is that, in my estimation, the England and Wales Cricket Board is the best management structure in cricket and I wanted to align ourselves with what I hope to be the driver of cricket into the future."
One of the most fascinating aspects of the proposal is the winner-takes-all concept, which promises rich rewards for the victors and nothing for the losers.
Dropped catches and bad shots could cost teams and players millions of pounds, and Stanford hopes that will create an extra buzz around the matches.
He continued: "Huge interest, huge pressure and huge attention will be drawn to this game and if you don't do that then you don't get the television audience.
"The whole purpose of this is to get people interested in sport - and you've got to have something unique with a lot on the line.
"If you're walking into a game with the opportunity to walk out with $20million - or £10million - or you walk away with nothing, then there's a lot of incentive to play at your absolute best.
"There's also a lot of incentive for people to watch this game."
Test threat
One criticism of the idea is that it could take the emphasis away from Test cricket and lead to a deterioration of the traditional form of the game.
Stanford admits he doesn't feel the longer form of the game is suited to the fast-paced, modern world, and while he regards Twenty20 as the future, he hopes the two forms of the game can co-exist.
He added: "Everyone knows I'm not a fan of Test cricket and very few people around the world have the time to spend three, four or five days watching Test cricket - and then sometimes not even getting a result. But it's a pure form of the game.
"If you take Lord's for example, some of the old buildings there go back to the 1700s and that represents the Test cricket, the foundation of cricket.
"But if you look at the Eye in the Sky then that represents Twenty20 cricket - the future.
"The future of cricket is where you're going to make money and that's going to drive the sport to another level.
"I hope Test cricket will always be here and I'm sure it will be.
"I don't have the time to spend watching the long form of the game, as most people don't in the fast-paced world we live in.
"We've got to have something that equates to about three hours like all other sports and you've got to have a result.
"It's fast, it's exciting and even markets that don't even know the sport can understand it within 20 minutes. In Test cricket it takes quite a while because of all the different nuances.
"But I hope Test cricket and Twenty20 can stay together and work well together."
