The England cricket team 's involvement with multi-billion-pound fraudster Allen Stanford — an all-time low point — has been defended by West Indies cricket legend Sir Curtly Ambrose . Great fast bowler Ambrose never spoke to the media during his playing career but launched his aptly titled autobiography Time to Talk on the eve of the West Indies-England series . Ambrose was one of the West Indies stars , along with Sir Viv Richards and Richie Richardson , who accompanied Stanford when he flew by helicopter to the Lord 's nursery ground in 2008 to launch his five-year deal with England that ended with his arrest and subsequent 110-year jail sentence , just one $ 20million T20 game into the contract . The England cricket team 's involvement with Allen Stanford has been defended by Sir Curtly Ambrose . Stanford 's deal with England England ended with his arrest and subsequent 110-year jail sentence . Ambrose wrote : ' I was n't surprised the England Cricket Board officials were taken in by him . We all were . His vision to improve West Indies cricket by using England seemed a hard one to argue with . But we felt that having England as the same opponents over that period would turn things stale . ' Richardson said : 'He employed a lot of people in several businesses and built a stadium . He did a lot of good . We thought what he was doing was legitimate . ' Richards added : 'To a lot of fellers here , he did well . ' Ambrose accompanied Stanford when he flew to the Lord 's nursery ground in 2008 to launch the deal . The new ECB president Giles Clarke did not want to discuss the Stanford legacy saying it was a long time ago . However , the new ECB president Giles Clarke , who negotiated the doomed deal and greeted Stanford on his arrival at Lord 's with a bear hug , did not want to discuss the Stanford legacy . Before the Wisden launch last week at which he made a fool of himself by haranguing both the guest speaker and Wisden editor Lawrence Booth , Clarke would only say of Stanford : 'That was all a long time ago . ' Perhaps it 's no surprise , with Stanford 's decaying cricket stadium just outside Antigua 's airport there for all visitors to see , that Clarke is swerving today 's first Test on the island . Michael Vaughan might still be a long way from agreeing terms and working patterns to become England 's director of cricket . But he is staying at England 's luxury Sugar Ridge Hotel in Antigua , so he 's right in the middle of any politics going on over the appointment of a director and ideally placed to judge the mood music of players and management . Director of cricket hopeful Michael Vaughan is staying at England 's luxury Sugar Ridge Hotel in Antigua . England rugby head coach Stuart Lancaster seems unperturbed by criticism that after four successive second places in the Six Nations , he 's been talking the talk , rather than walking the walk . Lancaster has a speaking engagement a week today in aid of the Dallaglio Foundation along with Sir Clive Woodward , Lawrence Dallaglio and captain Chris Robshaw at a £225-a-head function . The RFU say all Lancaster 's talks in the run-up to the World Cup are for charity . Stuart Lancaster seems unperturbed by criticism that he 's been talking the talk , not walking the walk . The Grand National peak viewing figure of 8.8million proved that this is one event on the racing calendar that Channel 4 invariably get right , even without Clare Balding . And the occasion was a personal triumph for regular racing presenter Nick Luck , who proved that C4 did n't need a Jeremy Kyle or Jake Humphrey when Balding defected to commentate on the men 's and women 's Boat Races for the BBC . The Grand National peak viewing figure of 8.8million proved Channel 4 got their coverage right . Regular racing presenter Nick Luck proved that Channel 4 did n't need a Jeremy Kyle or Jake Humphrey . THAT 'S A BIT RICH , JIMMY . Jimmy Anderson being interviewed by cricket journalists on the eve of his 100th Test when he is just four wickets from becoming England 's record Test bowler , was asked what advice he would give young bowlers starting their international careers . Anderson replied 'Ignore the media ' , which even if meant 'tongue in cheek ' , as he later claimed , was a pretty crass thing to say as someone who has benefited hugely over the years from money for newspaper columns . Meanwhile , captain Alastair Cook said he had learned of Kevin Pietersen 's century yesterday from Test Match Special 's Jonathan Agnew while being interviewed . Surely the ECB should have briefed him about KP 's exploits — the elephant in the room — before his media duties . Jimmy Anderson was asked what advice he would give young bowlers and replied : 'Ignore the media ' Cricket feuds do n't always last as long as the 40-year enmity between Sir Ian Botham and Ian Chappell . Graeme Swann has seemed one of Kevin Pietersen 's fiercest opponents since his England banishment but after a handshake of welcome in Auckland during the first World Cup semi-final they worked happily together for Test Match Special . Graeme Swann ( left ) and Kevin Pietersen ( centre ) worked together for Test Match Special after their feud .
The ECB 's involvement with fraudster Allen Stanford has been defended . Sir Curtly Ambrose said he thought Stanford did ' a lot of good ' in deal . Michael Vaughan is staying at England 's Sugar Ridge Hotel in Antigua . Stuart Lancaster is unperturbed by claims that he has n't walked the walk . The Channel 4 peak viewing of 8.8million was good for Grand National . Jimmy Anderson said he would tell young bowlers to : 'Ignore the media ' Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen 's feud seems to have ended .