The four counties involved in the Twenty20 Cup Finals Day in Southampton tomorrow will still have a passage to riches, even if well-sourced reports from India that the Champions League has been scrapped prove correct. It is a case of one door closing but another remaining open as the ECB tries to press ahead with alternative plans.

Lalit Modi, the Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner, denies stories that the original version of the Champions League, seen as his brainchild, has stalled, even though The Times understands that at least one of the IPL finalists was told last week that the tournament will not go ahead.

Other officials within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have briefed media networks that the eight-team competition will be postponed, at best, because the four participating countries - Australia, South Africa, England and India - are struggling to agree terms.

But the ECB, which is to confirm opportunities this morning for counties to profit from matches involving the Allen Stanford Super Stars, is at an advanced stage of talks over a tournament in the Middle East - either Dubai or Abu Dhabi - along similar lines to the Champions League.

With backing from businesses in the region and interest from broadcasters, it could be at least as lucrative as the idea of Modi, who projected raising $50million (about £25.2million) a year from the event. Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings would be invited to compete from the IPL, but under different terms.

Modi delivered a presentation during talks between the four boards on the fringes of the ICC meetings in Dubai this month. He was surprised to hear of an alternative, and discussions since have reflected a mood of suspicion between the ECB and the BCCI, of which he is vice-chairman.

Tension existed even before Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, revealed in the week before the Twenty20 Cup started this season that the Champions League would go ahead with a significant prize. The BCCI thought that its thunder had been stolen, an accusation always more likely to bring a quiet smile rather than an apology from Clarke.

In recent weeks the ECB has been emboldened by its relationship with Stanford, a new best friend offering a rival source of wealth to the BCCI millions. Stanford believes that any link with the ECB bestows credibility and was annoyed when India turned down $10million to play his team last year.

On the Champions League, the ECB is reluctant to allow the BCCI a 50 per cent stake and is offering an equal share to participants in the alternative. Modi has also refused to soften his stance on the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), insisting that counties with ICL players should not appear in the competition.

That would disenfranchise Kent and Durham, although Essex and Middlesex - drawn in separate semi-finals for tomorrow - do not have that problem. The ECB thinks that Modi has failed to understand that employment law in Britain complicates the ICL issue.

Cricket Australia is also annoyed that IPL players are wanted so close to the first Test against India, which begins on October 9, only three days after the proposed Champions League final. Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey are among those who would be affected, but this would be a non-starter because national teams have priority under ICC rules.

Furthermore, the question of priority over players who have appeared for two teams has also proved a stumbling block, with dissent over the IPL's wish to have first call, before teams from the player's country. Morne Morkel, for example, plays for Titans in South Africa but is also registered by Rajasthan.

The IPL took another hit yesterday when Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager (cricket), endorsed a report by Lord Condon, of the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, to the Dubai meeting expressing concern about the potential for match-fixing at the tournament. “IPL will inevitably attract the interest of match-fixers and people like that,” Richardson said.

The comments provoked an angry response from the BCCI, which fired an e-mail to Haroon Lorgan, the ICC chief executive, objecting to Richardson discussing the matter in the media.