Allen Stanford - The Man Who Bought Cricket

In 2008 a black helicopter landed on Lord’s cricket ground, an area of grass usually referred to as “hallowed turf”. Out of it stepped Allen Stanford, a big, brash American. To say this was unusual is an understatement. It wasn’t just the helicopter, but also that someone who wasn’t a member of Lord’s was permitted to put a toe upon the holy green stuff. “Trying to get into Lord’s is difficult enough,” remembers Nasser Hussain, former England captain. “As captain, I couldn’t walk through the Long Room to take a look at the pitch.”
No such restrictions for Stanford. After being warmly greeted by the bigwigs of the England and Wales Cricket Board, he made his way inside the building to a large Perspex box. There, the assembled media took his photograph, as he grinned alongside Ian Botham, Viv Richards and the ECB chaps. The box was front and centre, because inside the box, in neat piles of $50 bills, was $20m.
The money wasn’t (just) a gimmick. It was a prize. Stanford was funding a one-off cricket match in the Caribbean between England and his own handpicked West Indian team, the Stanford Superstars. The winning team would take the entire contents of the box. “And if you lose?” asked a reporter. “Nothing, absolutely nothing,” said Stanford. Unbelievably, the ECB was up for this. “We were just furious,” recalls Jonathan Agnew, the BBC’s cricketing correspondent. “It’s not cricket, it’s everything that cricket isn’t.”

[@evadneydavis1322]

The dedication toward 5days cricket went through the door when2020 cricket was introduced to the west indies

[@jayakrishnashenoy]

Was struggling to find a way to watch this from India.Thanks a ton for the upload!

[@roshanariyaratnam8225]

Happy to help! its hard to believe how elaborate the whole thing was.....Please subscribe to keep the channel going!

[@dangda-ww7de]

The only thing indian need to know is how to use a condom.

[@duckiedan5950]

He was the man they just fuck him up now 20 20 is the best cricket in the world 🌎

[@dioriginalrikog]

So true the man who came up with the whole idea

[@synergyhowacquisition3821]

that's crazy how that lady got 3 years behind bars"..... in using her exact words, was unconscionable".... to say the least!...

[@marcustrelle4898]

Do you mean she deserved no time because you believe she was not involved or more time because you believe she was in on it?

[@leonbundage]

Great outstanding Program.

[@Tom_murray89]

What a great documentary. Also how the mighty fall

[@TheBestofFlintCityCouncil]

Great Documentary! I can’t believe Laura fell for Jim…. Smh

[@harinagarajan2296]

The saddest part of this spectacle at least for me was seeing Sir Garfield Sobers being a part of this cabal. For me and quite few others he represented and continues to represent something close to spiritual rightness in all things related to sport. This was not about money. It was about England cricket finding ways to reduce the impact of Indian money. And all those greats. Roberts, Holding standing around as though this was something cricket should be heading towards and then to criticize IPL!!!.

[@winngriff]

So you are disappointed only in Sobers? Are the other criminals? Unless someone is known publicly as a criminal, few sportsmen get involved with due diligence.

[@harinagarajan2296]

@@winngriff nope. I meant what I wrote. For the longest time it was English cricket and it's "traditions". This included talking poorly about "foreign" money. Now this is okay?. We are not even talking about due diligence. It is about the two faced nature of cricket administration. In this case English cricket administration. And yes I am deeply hurt that Sir Garfield Sobers was brought there.

[@shreyashagrawal9650]

@winngriff due diligence u say it shows how poor they are with knowledge about cricket

[@1972dsrai]

Tbf to guys like Sobers and the others greats of the game who backed it all, they were just happy to see someone, anyone willing to pump so much money into Windies cricket and just like everyone didn’t do their due diligence, but can you really blame them for that, there should have been experts employed for that very reason.

[@c.m4065]

@@1972dsrai Yes, I think your right. I feel like they were watching something near and dear to their hearts dying in front of them (Windies crickt) and they were led to believe that this guy was going to help revive it. Who wouldn't gravitate to such a thing? Unfortunately, they joined the long line of people who were conned by Stanford. This whole event strikes me as very sad for all who were involved.

[@nigelmascall5773]

Mr Stamford we miss you in Antigua and Barbuda it's the best thing that ever happened to Antigua and Barbuda you help a lot of people in the Caribbean its because you help black people I think usa advantage Stanford let go the man he is a good guy 😢

[@Andy-ty6gv]

Yes because he took money from the rich and feed the poor

[@user-vi5vy3kr2w]

SEE HIM IN JAIL..LOL..

[@user-dq5qx5qp4t]

Human nature on some level ,,,it’s warped

[@waseemchaudhry2933]

Another Brilliant Upload Keep It Up

[@ashleyogarro2686]

I remembered when he came Montserrat in 92 for the golf openings and was beaten by some Golfers who said he was been cheeky with one of the Golfers wife, and they beat the crap out of him in the street in my village that had a street partye at the time..He was knocked unconscious in the middle of the streets, and I can remember sister and her boy friend taking him to hospital that night...and to know when he came to the Carribean for the first time,it was on my island of Montserrat he st up shop,b4 he and the Chief Minister at that time fell out,and so he went Antigua and st up shop,and the rest is history....

[@adangbe]

According to the local news, and word on the streets, why did they fall out?

[@ruiutomy1]

Your narrative is a bull$hit.

[@ellisreddingsparolehearing5863]

I was all bamboozled when I saw this match live as a 14 year old kid. God! There was such a story behind that series. Great documentary 👍

[@mrsapplez2007]

I've not long listened to his story on BBC sounds. Great that I've found a visual documentary. Subbed

[@roshanariyaratnam8225]

I also listened to the BBC Sounds thing - its hard to believe how elaborate the whole thing was.....Please subscribe to keep the channel going!

[@nasserkhan1504]

2 questions. Were the SS team paid in full and what would've happened if Eng had won and all this came out?

[@1972dsrai]

“He called us by our first names and held the door”. “Here, please take all my money”. Who needs due diligence when someone’s this nice, surely a conman would be rude and have a shady look about him.

[@user-dq5qx5qp4t]

Your clueless mate..:.

[@user-dq5qx5qp4t]

This guy is a true phycopath

[@anindyamajumdar4088]

The first question I would ask is "What does an American millionaire know about cricket???!"

[@Ese96Agoaye]

Doesn't matter. He bought into the product, not the sport.

[@kirtwilliamswilliams5280]

He saw the need to contribute to the people who accepted him and cricket could reach everybody in the Caribbean .He was also a pleasant smiling person and approachable

[@glader360]

jim davis does the garfield cartoons

[@nasserkhan1504]

Stanford will always be your legacy, Giles Clark. Totally embarsassing.

[@andyburge7358]

Well said - Clark is as big a crook as Stanford

[@stephenholmes1036]

Clark ruined English cricket, I loved cricket playing and watching as a child/youth but Clark stopped ordinary people watching. He didnt care state school children couldnt watch on tv anymore. At test level it was/is totally unaffordable now. I couldn't tell you what England players even look like now thanks Clark

[@sjattemptstodraw7937]

Cricket was really an extremely small part of it

[@roshanariyaratnam8225]

its hard to believe how elaborate the whole thing was.....Please subscribe to keep the channel going!

[@nevango0690]

Still an interesting story regardless

[@markforde89]

Just really sad what they did to that man.😢🙏

[@c.m4065]

Any compassion for those people who gave Stanford their money, thinking they were investing for their future?

[@juliondaniel8164]

Samething banks do use ur money and invest in other things and promise u big interest, and the bank CEOs made all the money ,built big house ,big expensive jets and cars and they are not in jail

[@c.m4065]

@@juliondaniel8164 Of course, the obvious difference being that with banks you are able to get your money back, where as with Stanford, investors lost their savings.

[@c.m4065]

@@juliondaniel8164 Yes friend, because the banks repay their customers. Stanford never had any means with which to repay his customers and he lied to his customers about how the money would be invested.

[@chrisedwards7371]

Exactly what the woman said pregnant hes good but he's buying up the country for his friends.

[@aniciabharrat5072]

Stanford evolved the game of cricket sorry for his demise

[@sarfrazkhan2318]

Mr.would you open medical dispensaries in rural and poor parts of India ?

[@brianpaul642]

Fit it!!

[@evadneydavis1322]

T 20 cricket was the ruin of test cricket it mash up 5 days of lovely cricket especially West indies crickets

[@duckiedan5950]

Investers never saw the big picture

[@user-jf6oc6iq7s]

Like the story moral

[@jogreeen]

I like how the two co-conspirators got 5 and 3 years for ripping off 6 billion, fuck me.

[@anindyamajumdar4088]

When I heard about Stanford 's scheme (or scam) of 20/ 20 cricket , I was always sceptical. "What does an American know about cricket?", I thought " . "It has to be a scam!" I was right!

[@hiphoplegend4718]

Giles Clark wanted to compete with the IPL. Yet he got shown up but nothing happened to him, now the IPL is worth Billions but it isn’t scandal free. It shows that owners or investors of these leagues don’t care for morality they only care about 💰

[@p47rr]

All of the money collected after the fire sale of his assets went to the IRS and the attorneys. Foreign governments seized a lot of the assets as well. Jim Davis should have received more time.

[@roshanariyaratnam8225]

I remember watching the series and at the time I just felt the whole thing smelt a bit off. Never in my mind did I think that these things could unfold in this way…,

[@banditonehundred]

The ECB did whatever they could to undermine the IPL, even though it had a viable financial model……. Then backed this guy.

[@alistarmanley607]

Cricketers were broken before allen stanford come on the scene 🤨

[@officialpowerofbanana]

$100/month gym membership in the 70s? wow

[@emmacohen3926]

A big thank you to Roseann 👏👏👏🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@glenroybrathwaite1531]

They’re acting as though investors didn’t make any money before the crash and he didn’t intend on paying.He was working on The Guinea Island Development which would have reap major benefits.If everyone goes to the bank at the same time and requested their monies back,would the bank have all the money to present to them?

[@user-pb3gk6tj4n]

He started big money in cricket

[@mikaelgilbert4234]

Can someone help me with the name of the man that is doing the narration @35:05 ... he is a popular voice and I've been trying to find out his name for a while

[@changinglivesbroadcast1355]

Wow

[@hamzariazuddin424]

What doc is this

[@user-my1on1xe3m]

Sweet sweet sweet baby girl ❤❤🎉🎉

[@rameezrather5385]

Similar thing happened in late 90s in my hometown when a guy started a bank and gathered all the best cricket players from my hometown to make a team and named the team after the Bank. It was called Endowment Investments. They played all over the state and won many tournaments. After a couple of years the bank turned out to be fraudulent. I was in primary school those days and remember watching a lot of games they were involved in. The guy who had opened the bank was a former teacher of our school. The players didn't win a million dollars each but they often had a feast during lunch breaks in d game.

[@amandadunn7678]

Maybe the guy was Stanford.

[@rameezrather5385]

@@amandadunn7678 haha may be u r true bcz i haven't seen d guy for many many years.

[@steve240]

our father Allen Sanford The groovy dude

[@MultiRobbyG]

Behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining … Alan Stanford’s dark cloud of spending other people’s money turned the game of cricket into the success it has now become with the 20/20 format. I guess one can say you have to take the bitter with the sweet.

[@Nugget28]

What I don't understand with these women who have aggressive partners is,why they stay with,marry and have children with them. Surely she had been with him long enough to know his behaviour and what he is capable of. Extremely sad 😢

[@cleanbowled1767]

Some of the commentators in this documentary are endemically racist. The real estate compounds that Stanford built on the Caribbean isles were very modern and not plantation like as stated. Aside from that, it is not unusual for criminals, fraudsters and mobsters to exhibit philanthrophic tendencies in efforts to mask nefarious activities.

[@willlaw1672]

Was this the documentary that was on sky documentary??

[@user-dq5qx5qp4t]

It never occurred to me that Leroy king was corrupt. What a pathetic thing to say

[@stephenholmes1036]

Giles Clark should have gone to gaol.

[@noepena8004]

Only five years on prison for dave and 110 for the big fish were both big fish

[@kingsoundsofisrael1983]

More like the man who created t20

[@bernadinebledsoe9663]

This is why you don’t get involved with coworkers.

[@vikasmayekar13]

Where is the ACTUAL FRAUD part!??

[@FisherAthleticFan]

Ponzi Scheme

[@quincysthillaire]

He could have made billionaires in t20 cricket

[@dlamiss]

Giles Clarke should also have gone to jail

[@theresalewis8412]

US jailed and destroyed him?

[@deirdre-annblake5705]

I always wondered why they didn't give him a chance to repaid the money, rather than putting him in jail,now they making money from his idear, while he is wasting away in jail.

[@jaxx443]

this shows how desperate ecb was to beat IPL thats why they said yes to someone with no history

[@user-tx3pp2ee8q]

Free the man

[@josephmcdonnell8987]

Legend Alan S - branded a crook - by real crooks

[@dioriginalrikog]

These people set out to fail this man. I dont see nothing je was doing that banks and investment companies not doing today. Only because the big shots not involve thats the only problem i saw in this case.

[@harpreetsahi8307]

I am surprised to see this laura lady acting all innocent. especially when she went to accept an extramarital relationship(knowing he is a married man) as a deal for personal gain. There are no ways that as one of top lieutenants, she did not know what was happening. If she really was this dumb person who couldn't figure it out, how the heck did she get this job in first place. Very typical "poor me."

[@thereserosier5222]

I lost my money because of him he deserves to bevin jail for 110 years

[@thomasroddis2270]

You deserve to loose your money. Idiot

[@markforde89]

U lost ur money because the US government jailed him before he got to give the people the money back they deserve. So blame the US government for jailing a good man.

[@rugsymalone7495]

20 20 acrickrt noe id worth Billions

[@user-pb3gk6tj4n]

But someway along the way alan got carried away

[@vincentoneal6618]

Free the man from prison

[@user-pz2kf2wl1q]

U hv whole world on yr feet ..money is nothing in front of u..

[@wkmalory]

Test/Red ball is the only true cricket

[@kirtwilliamswilliams5280]

Robin Hood of cricket... West Indies cricket Will forever be grateful to this man Europeans enslaved robbed and stole from us Stanford gave freely to us and reinvented cricket.. maybe it's a type of reparation

[@doltonsamuel2278]

Its strange other people are doing the same thing he did and not been sent to jail, he was just making caribbean rich and the establishment didn't like it

[@fitzbournejack9283]

Exactly that.

[@officialpowerofbanana]

it never occurred to the SEC that the bank regulator in Antigua was corrupt? they need some smarter people in the SEC.

[@user-dq5qx5qp4t]

We did nt know where to go BS

[@juanestadian8471]

Allen Sanford, Hansie Cronje…….cricket just seems to attract psychopaths

[@AliKazi]

Haha I loved the ending.😂❤😂 His own words come back to bite him in the backside…. 😅. Glad he has been caught and prosecuted for his crimes; but I wish all the affected investors got refunded their full investments 😢.

[@user-dq5qx5qp4t]

I’m overwhelmed by the fact that everyone fell for the BS

[@r.ssumedh7626]

1:36:40

[@chrisedwards7371]

He did it but he owns it all and the land.he got it cheap.who owns all the land now. Stafford thats y he DID IT😂😂😂😢

[@Andy-ty6gv]

A lesson learned for all the rich dummies !! Stay rich but don’t be greed

[@CordellArmstrong]

🇦🇬🇦🇬🇦🇬💯💯💯💯

[@1972dsrai]

When you’re operating an $8bn ponzi scheme one thing I’d try to do is avoid drawing too much unwanted attention to myself.

[@MCBhangramuffin]

He had too much ego to do that. That's why he got caught, the really smart ones never draw attention to themselves and get away with it

[@terencehennegan1439]

What a dangerous con artist he was. Despicable.

[@raheelakhtar7]

There are three stories here. 1. Stanford was clearly a fraud 2. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is (for investors that lost $) 3. England professionals whining about the whole thing after losing by 10 wickets. Complaining about money and all.

[@PerryDan]

Right? I’m from the Caribbean and i believe that this form of cricket was what was needed for the times we were in. I know all that fussing from the England team was because he got handsy with their wife.

[@janga75]

They (the english)are such sanctimonious hypocrites.

[@amandadunn7678]

I know. The cricket stuff should've been omitted entirely. It wasn't needed. It makes this documentary look messy & all over the place.

[@JoLi-ku7zw]

​@@amandadunn7678no you crazy I am glad the cricket part was in it, I'm a Jamaican living in America and I never knew anything about that cricket match also not a big cricket fan I found it too long and boring, but after this documentary I watch the game and learn about 20 cricket for the first time.

[@tarikbey4087]

There's a lot worse than standard"....

[@tarikbey4087]

Shit i just noticed i called Stanford... standard.

[@johnbriggs5379]

Yes, and his name is Donald.

[@markforde89]

As far as i see its victimisation of an individual who just wanted to play a part in the upliftment of the Caribbean. But the US government didn't want that at all. So they just jailed a good man.

[@markforde89]

The man didn't even get that chance to pay back people. Why? Because they just find something to put on him and jailed him.

[@gulqur123]

Someone who gets rich and is not part of their cult they want to destroy that person financial and reputation wise. How many other people have earned their money legitimately?

[@JoLi-ku7zw]

I agree the entire stock market is a ponzi.

[@mark5259]

Allen was to smart for the world 🌍 cricket.because an big business pull the carpet from under his feet..the American corporate office politics pull him down to the ground.pepis an Kentucky fried chicken an other business was big business for them in cricket.

[@user-tx3pp2ee8q]

Tru england loose eno free Alan

[@othneilchance]

I really think this is not the right story of Mr Stanford

[@dwaynethomas4655]

Antigua was not a very poor country, a wah she a talk about.

[@rolanrichards2745]

Pity you didn't take heed of your own Texas tale😅😅.Greed is a hell of a thing. So sad for all those victims..20 millions uncle Sam was looking..

[@blublu8287]

He did wrong however that sentence was unfair and if it wasn't for him cricket as we know now will be dead...Cricketers now start to make money so be grateful to him.

[@theworldreportbydr.rothschild]

No. Both teams worked and participated therefore the first place should gotten a certain amount and the second place should have gotten a certain amount.. What he did was immoral so we had to take him down

[@gsmarchand]

Wrong is an understatement. He robbed billions of dollars of retirement savings from people who worked their entire lives. That money paid for a dying sport. Yay cricket. If the west indies been a rugby region then he would've done that. It wasn't about the sport. He was using the sport.

[@amandadunn7678]

"...that sentence was unfair..." What?! He stole $7B!!! And, was he was convicted right after Madoff. Ppl are sick of these corporate scammers.

[@JoLi-ku7zw]

​@@theworldreportbydr.rothschildno the game is more intense when its win everything or loose and get nothing, England came because they taught it was a sure win, they didn't start complaining till they lost.

[@theworldreportbydr.rothschild]

@@JoLi-ku7zw there is a moral compass to live that acknowledges all the contributions of both parties. That is why we Jews outlast all those other nations. Also that’s why I celebrate when Stanford went to jail.

[@user-wh1kx3bt9r]

Alot of West lndian cricketers became millionaires through his money laundering. Especially those who didn't invest back with him when he got caught

[@noepena8004]

The turkey came down sr and the gift was 110 year , the bad guys never but never wins

[@1972dsrai]

Stanford wasn’t all bad and just out to make as much money for himself as he could. He clearly did a lot of good things for Antigua. He was like a modern day Robin Hood in many ways. It wasn’t his money to spend though.

[@petershortland478]

He didn't tho he made Antigua lose value

[@michaelkjellander9370]

Robin Hood? To take money from gullable old people isn't very noble. 52:30

[@misty28882]

Not fair!!!!!!!!!! They gave him too many years

[@amandadunn7678]

Are you out of your mind?! You must be from Antigua.

[@markforde89]

He shud of got non

[@markforde89]

​@@amandadunn7678and u must be from the KKK.

[@JoLi-ku7zw]

Dont blame Alan, blame the wives they were lit up to be hanging with a billionaire or so they taught.

[@eddyeroyal6024]

Now this sounds like trump.

[@misty28882]

President Biden please pardon this man!

[@petershortland478]

🤡

[@theworldreportbydr.rothschild]

The offer of only giving all the money to the winning team proof he was a Low life. Usually the winning team gets the largest amount and loser gets the lesser amount.

[@carlmartens5248]

thats what should've made it exciting and ultra competitive. Who knew England would be duds?

[@theworldreportbydr.rothschild]

@@carlmartens5248 No it was stolen money use to corrupt a game with American selfish ideals.

[@carlmartens5248]

@@theworldreportbydr.rothschild The idea of winner takes all is whats exciting. Noone knew at the time it was a Ponzi scheme. Take that element out of it and it makes it exciting. No reward for coming second

[@theworldreportbydr.rothschild]

@@carlmartens5248 nonsense. First place gets the most while the second place gets less. Cricket sold its morals to a conman and got burned.

[@carlmartens5248]

@@theworldreportbydr.rothschild ahhh a reward for 2nd. Cool. We just don't think the same

[@PerryDan]

They should’ve left him alone if it was a victimless crime

[@PerryDan]

@@MaggieStein-rq5gs lol yeah I’m actually from Antigua so I’m biased. I’ll admit that, I understand what he did was terrible.

[@FisherAthleticFan]

Issue is a Ponzi scheme needs new investors to keep the money flowing, once you have no one else everyone becomes the victim

[@janga75]

Lol no it wasn't

[@amandadunn7678]

Do you understand what a Ponzi scheme is? It's not "victimless crime". Anyway, a "victimless crime" doesn't exist.

[@MinisterManDan]

What the heck are you talking about? Victimless? He stole people’s entire life savings and everything they had. I would rather have been shot that have that happened to me. In a just society he would have been publicly disemboweled.