When Allen Stanford unveiled his US$20 million winner takes all Twenty20 match between his Caribbean Superstars and England, many in the cricket world were stunned and appalled.
But the allegations levelled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday that Stanford and his companies were involved in “a fraud of shocking magnitude” worth more than US$9 billion threaten to have consequences far beyond the confines of the sport.
The SEC charged Stanford and his companies with “orchestrating a fraudulent” investment scheme centering on a US$8 billion savings deposit plan as well as a US$1.2 billion mutual fund program.
PHOTO: AFP
Stanford, a Texan-born businessman and resident of Antigua, came to cricket prominence when he announced he was putting US$28 million into funding a Caribbean-wide Twenty20 tournament in 2005.
It was the kind of cash injection the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) could only dream about.
The story goes that when Stanford stepped off a plane in Antigua and saw workers playing cricket in a nearby pasture during a break, he vowed to build them a cricket field and made good on that word.
However, he didn’t stop there. He offered South Africa and India a winner-takes-all match, before England took him up on the idea last year.
Yet from the moment Stanford landed in London in June with a box full of millions of dollars and proclaiming his Twenty20 “Super Series” could crack the US television market, there was a sense of unease about the whole project.
It was hard to imagine a character better designed to upset cricket traditionalists than Stanford.
This was an American who launched his Super Series by landing at London’s Lord’s Cricket Ground, the self-styled home of cricket, in a helicopter and who then unveiled a box which he said contained US$20 million.
However, the series in Antigua was an embarrassment for England. Stanford was slammed for bouncing the wife of one of the England players on his knee during the matches and England were humiliated in the final by Stanford’s Caribbean All Stars.
But for the West Indian players who received US$1 million each for their efforts, the match had appeared life changing in more ways than one as the team demonstrated a professionalism rarely associated with West Indies sides during their decline from their 1970s and 1980s pre-eminence.
While the England and Wales Cricket Board will be able to absorb the impact of any financial loss in its Stanford dealings, it is a different story for the WICB. According to their Web site, Stanford promised to invest US$100 million from 2008 through 2011 plus an additional monthly backing of US$15,000 to each of the 20 Caribbean nations in the Twenty20 set-up.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS