Sponsors row hits Stanford T20

Organisers of the Stanford Super Series have accused telecom company Digicel of attempting to sabotage the multi-million dollar event.

Digicel, who are the official sponsors of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), claim they have branding rights for the match between a Stanford Super Stars XI and England on November 1.

The organisers disagree, and weeks of talks between the parties reached a stalemate at the weekend when Digicel rejected a compromise plan put forward by Stanford 20/20 and released a statement claiming the organisers refused to enter into further negotiations.

Stanford 20/20 subsequently sought Digicel's consent to become a party to the arbitration proceedings in London "to safeguard the interests of all participants in the Stanford Super Series" but the request was refused.

"Digicel claims that to permit Stanford 20/20 such access would 'disrupt' the arbitration despite the fact that the WICB has consented to Stanford 20/20 becoming a party," Stanford 20/20 said in a statement released on Saturday.

"This latest action appears to make clear that Digicel is adamant on pursuing its legal proceedings at the risk of destroying the event and causing substantial damage to cricket in the Caribbean."

The decision throws the series, which features six matches and concludes with the Stanford 20/20 for 20 between Stanford Superstars and England, into further doubt.

The winners of the contest will receive what is being billed as "the richest team prize for a single sporting match with a total prize pool of US dollars 20million".


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