US-born billionaire to host Twenty20 tourney in Caribbean

Sydney, Apr 9 (UNI) In a bid to popularise cricket in the US, an America-born businessman is all set to host a Twenty20 Cricket Tournament in the Caribbean next year which will feature some of the big teams of world cricket.

Allen Stanford, an Antigua-based billionaire, who is trying to make Twenty20 popular in the US, has approached the Cricket Australia for its approval to participate in the tournament, the Australian reported.

The newspaper further claimed that apart from Australia, who is presently considering his offer, other teams who might feature in the 20 million dollar tournamnet includes India, Pakistan and New Zealand.

However, the tournament would not go ahead without the approval of home boards, which have full control over their contracted players.

Interestingly last year, Stanford ploughed more than 30 million dollar into a Twenty20 competition between the Caribbean islands.

UNI