The $20m (£11.5m) match between England and Sir Allen Stanford's Caribbean team is in doubt after a High Court ruling.

The West Indies Cricket Board has lost its case against team sponsor Digicel and been told it cannot sanction the match, set for 1 November in Antigua.

Digicel, overlooked as a sponsor, took action as it felt it had full branding rights on the match, claiming it was effectively a West Indies match.

The ruling added that no West Indians on central contracts could play.

That would mean star players like captain Chris Gayle and batsmen Shiv Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan would be barred from playing for England's opponents, the Stanford Super Stars XI.

Digicel had been unhappy that Texan billionaire Stanford was only prepared to grant them minimal branding on the bowlers' run-ups and boundary boards. It felt it had a right to a larger slice of the publicity and marketing surrounding the match.

BBC Sport understands he, Digicel and the WICB will now be locked in furious negotiations over the next few days in a bid to save the match which is due to feature a whole week of warm-up matches.

Domestic Twenty20 champions Middlesex are also involved in the action - and are due to be paid handsomely should they win their match against Trinidad & Tobago.

The news is a blow to Kevin Pietersen's England squad, each of whom is set to become overnight dollar millionaires should the match go ahead - and they win it.

BBC Radio 5 Live reporter Pat Murphy said: "It is a humiliation for the West Indies board.

"Digicel maintain [England's opponents] are a full-strength West Indies XI and as the game is recognised by the ICC they are entitled to more than just recognition of their company on the bowlers' run-ups and boundary boards. After all they are the official sponsors of the West Indies Cricket Board.

"The game is now in doubt, the next couple of days will be absolutely crucial."

BBC sports editor Mihir Bose said all parties remained confident of an eventual settlement, with the cash-strapped WICB - which has the most to lose should the match not proceed - likely to have to forgo some of the money that was due to come to them.

WICB chief executive Dr Donald Peters said: "We understand the arbitrator has ruled against us and at this point we are trying to evaluate what the terms of the ruling are before we make any statement."

The England and Wales Cricket Board is keen that the match goes ahead as planned, as it feels it is the best way to lure the top players away from the temptations of the Indian Premier League.

On Monday, ECB chairman Giles Clarke was bullish there would be nothing in the High Court ruling to jeopardise the match, saying: "I'm sure the wise heads involved will sort out the issues.

"It's a matter between the West Indies Cricket Board and Digicel and I'm sure that everybody is seeking to find a sensible solution to enable this very dramatic and extremely exciting game of cricket to go ahead."

Stanford Super Series schedule:
25 Oct: Stanford Super Stars v Trinidad & Tobago
26 Oct: England v Middlesex
27 Oct: Trinidad & Tobago v Middlesex
28 Oct: England v Trinidad & Tobago
29 Oct: Stanford Super Stars v Middlesex
30 Oct: Rest day
31 Oct: Legends Beach Cricket match
1 Nov: Stanford Super Stars v England

11:36 AM
Categories: Cricket. Author: SacHu