Stanford Cricket Ground

Stanford Cricket Ground

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Ground information
Location	Osbourn, Saint George, Antigua
Establishment	2004
Capacity	5,000
Operator	Government of Antigua and Barbuda
End names
Pavilion End Airport Road End
Team information
Leeward Islands (2001/02–2008/09) Antigua Barracuda FC (2011–2012)
As of 18 March 2014 Source: [1]

The Stanford Cricket Ground, colloquially known as "Sticky Wicket Stadium", is a cricket ground in Osbourn, Saint George Parish, Antigua. It was previously known as the Airport Cricket Ground, before it was taken over by American businessman and cricket enthusiast Allen Stanford and rebuilt in 2004. It was used as one of the many home grounds of the Leeward Islands and also hosted many Twenty20 matches, including both the 2006 & 2008 Stanford 20/20 tournaments and the 2008 Stanford Super Series.

In early 2009 Allen Stanford became the subject of several fraud investigations. On 17 February 2009 he was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with fraud and multiple violations of U.S. securities laws for alleged "massive ongoing fraud" involving $7 billion in certificates of deposit. Ten days later the SEC amended its complaint to describe the alleged fraud as a "massive Ponzi scheme". On 6 March 2012 Stanford was convicted on all charges except a single count of wire fraud, and was sentenced to 110 years in prison. Since Stanford's disgrace the ground has not been used for cricket, the final game held at the ground being the $20 million "Twenty20 for 20", Stanford Superstars v England, on 1 November 2008.

The stadium also hosted football matches for Antigua Barracuda FC of USL Pro from 2011 to 2012.

External links

• Cricinfo – ground profile page
• Cricket Archive – records for Stanford Cricket Ground