Bermuda cricket is $100,000 richer this morning following yesterday?s fleeting visit by billionaire Texan financier Allen Stanford.

Flying in on his private jet and accompanied by four West Indian cricket greats in Lance Gibbs, Andy Roberts, Ian Bishop and Richie Richardson, Stanford was here to launch his new Stanford 20/20 tournament which begins in late July in Antigua and to outline his broad vision for the urgent regeneration of West Indian cricket.

The entrepreneur, a resident of Antigua for over two decades and a passionate supporter of West Indian sport, is investing over$28 million in the game this year alone, starting with $100,000 each for the 19 countries expected to compete at the 20/20 tournament, where the winner will receive $1 million.

Over the next year all 19 countries will also receive a $10,000 stipend per month to help with the preparation of the players, $5,000 per month to maintain and improve practice facilities and free access to nutritionists and physical trainers who will travel around the region to assist the teams involved.

In total Bermuda will receive $280,000 just for taking part.

This financial boost comes on top of the Government?s $11 million dollar pledge to Bermuda Cricket Board over the next four years, making the BCB by far the richest governing body in the Island?s sporting history.

The Stanford 20/20 will be a single elimination knockout competition, with the best players to be selected for a Stanford Caribbean Super-Star XI in November which will take on two other international teams for a grand prize in each match of $5 million.

Each nation has been assigned a West Indian cricket ?legend? ? in Bermuda?s case former Test offspinner Lance Gibbs ? who will be responsible for liasing with the teams and overseeing how the money is spent.

?I love what the game stands for and what it means to the West Indies,? said Stanford, who was in Bermuda for no more than an hour and a half on a whistlestop tour of the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to hand out his cash.

?Slowly we have watched our cricket go down the tubes and it has got to such a poor state that I decided something needed to be done. We in the Caribbean have the most naturally gifted athletes in the world bar none but over the years the money and the infrastructure has not been there.

?Cricket has not evolved in the way other sports have in the 21st century, particularly in terms of remuneration for the players. Now we can either let cricket become a dinosaur or we can try and turn it into a Ferrari. I am convinced that the Stanford 20/20 will be the shot in the arm that West Indies cricket needs, to add the excitement and entertainment that will get young people in the Caribbean talking about and playing cricket again.?

Besides the tournament itself, Stanford has also agreed to invest millions of dollars in the development of grass roots cricket across the region and said yesterday he would continue to lavish money on the game if this first year proved a success.

?I am looking at this from a long term perspective,? he said.

?But this year is going to be critical. I will put up the money and ensure the event is marketed properly and run professionally but it is up to the people of the region to get behind it and it is they who will ultimately determine whether the whole thing is a success and whether I continue to invest.?

On hand to accept the money was BCB President Reggie Pearman, who paid tribute to the Texan?s ?incredible generosity?.

?The tournament in July has generated a huge amount of interest in Bermuda,? he said.

?We are currently riding the crest of a wave of emotion and passion that qualification for the World Cup has brought and to be able to dovetail that accomplishment with participation in this tremendous event is an outstanding combination.

?I am particularly pleased to note that Mr. Stanford has backed up his intentions by investing in grassroots cricket across all the islands and I am confident that significant positive change can be made through this investment in Bermuda cricket.?

The 19 countries invited to participate in the Stanford 20/20 are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago and the US Virgin Islands.