ecb plan

he ECB have been in discussions with Stanford, the backer of the West Indies' Twenty20 competition, over ways to better exploit the growing popularity of the game's shortest format.

Stanford has proposed a series of one-off matches between England and his all-star side in Antigua for £10million prize pots. A new four-team international tournament, to be staged in London, has also been planned.

News of the new competitions will continue apace the reshaping of the game around Twenty20.

Last weekend a new Champions League competition featuring sides from England, Australia, India and South Africa was confirmed for later in the year.

That came after the successful first staging of the Indian Premier League, which set extraordinary new standards for the rewards on offer to players.

The ECB met with Stanford as they looked for ways to compete with the IPL, which posed a direct threat to the English domestic season.

The outcome of their meetings will become clear tomorrow after the ECB and Stanford called a joint press conference at Lord's.