Tym Glaser - Associate Editor, Sport

THERE ARE a couple of things you just don't tell rich dudes. First, don't, in a moment of brethrenship, reveal to him that his bride's not the prettiest thing going around.

Second, never beg him a quid or two, that's just bad form.

And third, and most important, never, ever, ever advise him about how to spend his millions, billions or trillions.

Now, Sir Allen Stanford (how did a Yank get a knighthood?) and I are not close; in fact he wouldn't know me from Adam.

A lot of face time

Of course, I know him surreptitiously through the box with likkle people inside.

During his 20/20 cricket tournament, he gets more face time than all the players combined and, lo and behold, there he was again on Sunday, walking down the 18th fairway at the Stanford St Jude Classic golf tournament on his way to doling out a cool US$1.08 million cheque to winner Justin Leonard.

Camera shy the big 'Textiguan' ain't.

Well, anyway, on Wednesday 'Big Al' revealed that he is going to have a little shindig at his ground in Antigua on November 1, that isle's independence day.

The England 20/20 team has been invited to the party and it will play Big Al's All-star West Indian XI for a winner-take-all kitty of US$20 million.

This soiree will be the opener of a five-year 'series' which will see Sir Al put up US$100 million, most of which will go to the victorious players.

Now's that's great for the players, well, at least the winners. Good luck to 'em all and hope they make the squads for a shot at the booty.

Influential in cricket

Good for Sir Al, too. It's sure to increase his sporting profile and make him an even more influential player in cricket circles.

Who knows, somewhere down the track it might even turn into a profitable venture for the big fella.

But, bwoy, I've got to ask, is this overdose of cash into the newest and shortest version of the game good for the sport as a whole?

I sincerely hope so. Twenty20 is attracting a new generation of fans thanks to its wham-bam, thank-you ma'am style and the fact it doesn't take a day or five.

Already the Indian Premier League, the 'rebel' Indian Cricket League and Stanford have opened up a torrent of revenue rivers for the players.

That's all good, but what sort of long-term effect is this fiscal imbalance going to cause the longer versions of the game.

At first, I see it biting into the one-day game where the 'average' tour could comprise three Tests, three one-dayers and three 20/20s. Instead of the three-five-one of the Australian tour of the Caribbean.

Let's face it, 20/20 is more user-friendly than 50/50. You can play it any evening and get a good crowd, while ODIs reap their best support at weekends alone.

Still, the tradition and enormity of the World Cup, the sport's overriding competition, will guarantee its survival.

Tests could be another matter entirely a few years down the track.

Why in the world would a young up-and-coming cricketer want to spend five days playing a game for a comparative pittance when compared to the earnings of a three-hour work day?

Boards must legislate

Basically, cricket boards will have to legislate that players must represent the country in whatever form of the game they are selected for. But would that stand up to a court challenge if a player was denied permission to compete in a 20/20 match due to a conflict with a national fixture?

That could be classified along the lines of restriction of trade or an infringement upon the rights of an individual to earn a living however he chooses.

Although some of Big Al's dollars go to the cricket boards, it's piecemeal when compared with the players' earnings and nowhere near enough to prop up Test cricket, a game Stanford finds 'boring'.

Maybe this avalanche of cash into 20/20s is an anomaly and things might settle down sooner than later.

Then again, maybe they won't and the powers that be of world cricket will have to find a way to reconcile all three versions of the game and find some sort of pay parity. Otherwise, Tests could go the way of the dodo.

By the way, I'm sure Big Al's significant other is simply luverly.

Later …