Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire behind the ongoing Twenty20 Super Series at his own ground in Antigua, apologised personally for having the wife of an England player sit on his lap.
During England's win over Middlesex last weekend Stanford was pictured sitting among the wives and girlfriends of the England team with wicket-keeper Matt Prior's wife, Emily, sitting on his lap.
Pictures of the incident were shown live on big screens at the ground and televised around the world.
For critics, the image was symbolic of everything wrong with a series, whose main focus centres around Saturday's climactic match between England and Stanford's Caribbean Superstars, where members of the winning XI will receive a million dollars each, while the losers get nothing.
This means a player could, for example, drop a catch which costs him and his colleagues a life-changing sum of money - a point repeatedly stressed in adverts for television coverage of the game.
Stanford told BBC on Thursday: "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. "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.
"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," he added.
"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)," said Stanford, who also funds the domestic Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.
Former England captain Michael Atherton, writing in The Times on Wednesday, criticised Stanford's habit of walking into changing-rooms, saying no-one should be admitted to the England dressing room because of the "size of their bank account".
Stanford said he would not go into the England dressing room again but stressed he would continue to walk among the crowds.
"There may be some things I am used to doing here in my tournament like walking in the locker room after the game and congratulating both teams, which I have done since day one, to being visible on the field.
"This is my ground, this is the Caribbean and our cricket here is different than it is in England."
Although the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have said these matches will be reviewed just like any series involving England, it is understood some officials are concerned by Stanford's conduct.
Stanford flew into Lord's in his own private helicopter to launch the series earlier this year before proudly unveiling a box full of dollar bills.
But while there was no doubting the financier's commercial motives, Atherton said the ECB should have taken a broader view, accusing the board of having "pawned the national team off for little more than a rich man's ego trip".
Although the ECB made supportive noises about assisting West Indies cricket, there is little doubt a wish to prevent England players defecting to the lucrative Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL) when required for full internationals was a key consideration in their joining forces with Stanford.
The quality of the lights, which has led to a succession of dropped catches, and the pace of the pitch at Stanford's ground have also come under fire, although there were signs of improvement all-round as the Super Stars piled up 173 for four in their final warm-up match, against Middlesex, on Thursday.
Andre Fletcher made a dashing 90 not out off 66 balls with seven sixes while Kieron Pollard's unbeaten 27 featured four sixes.
Stanford, speaking before that inning ended, was adamant the series as a whole would be regarded as a success. "I think after Saturday people will have a different opinion of what we are doing here."
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