Stanford donates to Taverners

Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford has made a £50,000 donation to the Lord's Taverners during a pre-season luncheon at the home of cricket.

Stanford, who finances the Stanford 20/20 tournament in the West Indies, donated to the charity which is dedicated to giving young people, particularly those with social, environmental, physical or learning disadvantages, a sporting chance.

He held "positive and constructive" talks with the ECB at Lord’s last week as part of the ECB's strategic approach to Twenty20 cricket.

Monday’s lunch followed the Lord’s Taverners’ AGM which saw the appointment of Matthew Patten as chief executive and the election of John Hooper as chairman.

The AGM also saw two Lady Taverners, Denise Horne and Maggie Smith, appointed to the board of trustees for the first time in the charity's near-70-year history.

Stanford said: “I was honoured to be invited here today and I'm delighted to be able to make a contribution. The Lord's Taverners is a fantastic charity which does a truly incredible job.

“I'm thrilled I've been made an honorary member and I look forward to wearing the tie with enormous pride.”

Hooper added: “This really has been the best possible start to my term as chairman that I could have asked for.

“We were delighted that Sir Allen was able to attend and completely overwhelmed when he made his donation. I must also offer my sincere thanks to the ECB who also amazed us with their incredible generosity.”