Stanford sees no clash between Tests, Twenty20

LONDON (AFP) - Allen Stanford says Test cricket can continue to survive alongside the newer Twenty20 format.
And he insisted England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke and chief executive David Collier were "not dancing to my tune" in a bid to keep pace with the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Texan billionaire is currently bankrolling the Stanford Super Series at his own ground in Antigua, which got underway last week and culminates with the extraordinary 20 million dollars winner-takes-all clash between England and his own Caribbean Superstars this weekend.
Many cricket lovers fear the rise of Twenty20, and particularly the creation of the lucrative IPL and Stanford tournaments, which offer players the chance to earn sums they might not bank during the course of a standard international career, poses a threat to the future of Test cricket.
The five-day game is regarded as the ultimate in cricket by most players but, outside of England and Australia, is struggling to bring in the crowds.
Back in June, Stanford launched the Super Series by landing at Lord's in his private helicopter and then unveiling a perspex box filled with 20 million dollars' worth of notes, before announcing he found Test cricket "boring".But Stanford denied Twenty20 was threatening the existence of Test cricket, telling BBC Radio Five Live on Monday: "I think just the opposite.
"I think you have to look at it from two perspectives: the foundation of the sport is Test cricket, the future of the game is Twenty20.
"Both can co-exist. Maybe one is more for the purist, maybe one is more for the younger, the 'want to see it now, be entertained now' crowd.
"Like Lord's is the foundation of cricket, it's the beginning, it's the holy grail of cricket.
"You can no more do away with that which is Test cricket and replace it with Twenty20 than you can say that Test cricket is the only thing out there.