I didn't know girls around me were English WAGs: Stanford

LONDON: Texan billionaire Allen Stanford, who is bankrolling the Twenty20 Super Series featuring English cricketers, has publicly apologised for having stumper Matt Prior's wife sit on his lap during a match but claimed he was not aware of her identity at the time of the incident.
Stanford said had he known the women with whom he was pictured laughing and joking were wives and girlfriends of English cricketers, he would have just left the enclosure after saying a customary hello.
"When I saw these young ladies sitting there, the cameraman said it would be a great shot if I got in the middle of them. I had no idea who they were," the businessman explained in an interview with a radio channel.
"If I knew they were related in any way, shape or form to the English cricket team I would have said a polite hello and left," he added.
Stanford said he never grabbed Prior's wife Emily and put her on his lap as has been reported. He said she herself sat on his knees after willingly vacating her seat for him.
"The cameraman said we had 30 seconds, so I said, 'Where am I going to sit?'. This young girl got up and said, 'Here take my seat'. So I sat in the middle.
"The girl who was stood up plopped down on my knee. I didn't put her on my knee or sit here on my knee, she just plopped down. It was strictly an innocent thing. I apologised to Matt and to Kevin (Pietersen, the England captain)," he said.
Stanford's actions were widely criticised and English players, particularly Prior, were "shocked" and "gobsmacked" when the pictures were flashed live on the big screen during the match.