The multimillion-pound alliance between the ECB and Allen Stanford was hanging in the balance last night after it emerged that a clause buried in a new cricketing law has outlawed the use of the Texan billionaire’s trade-mark black bats in international competitions.

MCC, the guardian of the Laws of Cricket, revised the rules governing the make-up of bats last Wednesday, in a bid to stop batsmen gaining an unfair advantage by using man-made materials to augment the traditional willow. But the new Law 6 also included a clause forbidding the alteration of the colour of the blade of the bat, making the bats used in every Stanford Twenty20 competition illegal.

The Texan has told the ECB that he will not proceed with a planned five-match, $100 million (about £51 million) series in Antigua, or the four-way international tournament to be held at Lord’s, both of which would make millionaires out of England’s players, unless the bats can be used because they form a vital part of his branding.

Stanford is said to believe that the insertion of the colour clause had come at the behest of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in a bid to derail opposition to the Indian Premier League, the Twenty20 competition that has attracted the finest players in the world to the sub-continent. The new law comes into force on October 1, a month before the first annual match between England and a West Indies All-Star team is set to take place. The Texan wants to knock the Indians out of the driving seat of world cricket and believes that his tie-up with the ECB presents the only avenue to challenge the sub-continent’s dominance in the Twenty20 format.

The ECB and Stanford had planned to announce today that an agreement had been reached on the timetable and format of the new competitions but have been forced to go back to the drawing board. A source close to the negotiations said: “We have been told that the ICC put forward this recommendation about the colour of the blades at the request of the BCCI.

“Their reasoning behind this is that it is in order to preserve the integrity of the game. We find this incredibly interesting, given that the IPL already has cheerleaders and rock music blaring out at the matches.” The new section six of Law 6, regarding the treatment of bats, states: “Save for the purpose of giving a homogenous appearance by masking natural blemishes, such treatment must not materially alter the colour of the blade.” MCC said in guidance published with the law that it feared that manufacturers could try to cover the blade with a performance-enhancing material. Stanford’s aides insist that they just want to apply black paint.

A spokeswoman for Stanford said: “Black bats are a part of the Stanford brand and we would be disappointed if they were to be outlawed. The negotiations have been long but extremely positive throughout, and this could seriously impact upon their progress. This is the only sticking point at this stage and we are working closely with the MCC to find a solution.”

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