Expanding Twenty20 offers big payday

The Black Caps are set to line their pockets with hundreds of thousands of dollars in a bash-for-cash worth a reported $18 million.

Sunday News can reveal Dan Vettori’s team will join England, Sri Lanka and a West Indies All Stars side in a quadrangular tournament at Lord’s in May ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup.

The tournament is being backed by Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford – the same man who bankrolled last year’s $38 million winner-take-all match between England and a West Indies X1.

New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan was coy on developments last night but confirmed a deal was on the table.

''Certainly that’s something we’ve been in discussions with England Cricket about,'' he told Sunday News.

"What I can officially say to you is that the Stanford Quadrangular has been proposed to start just prior to the World Twenty20 championships, which is being held in England in June.

"It's taking place at the end of May after the Indian Premier League.

"I understand it was always going to be contested between England, the Stanford Superstars from the West Indies and two other teams.

"I think there have been some reports that those two teams are New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

"We haven't completed our discussions but I think this would be a good opportunity for New Zealand Cricket."

Members of the MCC the world's oldest and most prestigious cricket club based at Lord's have already been mailed information about purchasing tickets to the contest.

New Zealand will play England in a semifinal on May 30 a day after Sri Lanka take on the Stanford Superstars.

Sunday News understands that while the tournament has been greenlighted, the total prize money up for grabs is still being finalised.

Sources have suggested the teams will play for a purse of $US9.5 million ($NZ18 million).

Vaughan speculated that this amount would be much lower.

"I don't really want to go into the details but it's fair to say that $US9.5 million is not accurate."

Caps seamer Iain O'Brien yesterday confirmed the players had been informed about their potential involvement in the tournament.

"I think I saw some numbers about three weeks ago and I'm not sure whether they've changed since then.

"I dont really want to say anything else about it at the moment because I don't know too much."

The Stanford Series is the perfect warm-up before the Caps Twenty20 World championship opener against Scotland on June 6.

Between now and the proposed May 30 date with England, the Caps are only scheduled to play three international Twenty20s today's hit-out against the Aussies and the two against India.

The timing of the Stanford tournament will also be after the second season of the IPL has finished.

The potential cash on offer is just another sign that Twenty20 cricket is taking over as the sport's showpiece event.

This year, seven Caps Brendon McCullum ($1.34 million), Jacob Oram ($1.3 million), Kyle Mills ($288,000), Scott Styris ($336,000), Jesse Ryder ($307,000), Ross Taylor ($192,000) and Vettori ($1.2 million) will cash in on the Indian competition.

- © Fairfax NZ News