Stanford Super Series

A blog by mikesiva

The much-talked about Stanford Super Series finally gets under way on October 25, with Caribbean champions Trinidad and Tobago playing the Stanford Super Stars, which is in effect just another name for the West Indies.

The competition will continue the following day with the other two teams of the quadrangular tournament, England, who will play the county champions of that country, Middlesex. These four teams will all play each other, culminating in the highly anticipated match-up between England and the Super Stars on November 1.

LOVE IT OR HATE IT

This 20/20 competition has attracted a lot of media attention, primarily because it's being staged by a rich, brash Texan named Allen Stanford, who proudly professes to prefer this upstart version of cricket to the more revered, time-honoured traditional contest of Test cricket. Stanford, a resident of the US VIrgin Islands, who now has business interests in Antigua, has committed sacrilege by calling Test cricket 'boring'!

He has waded into world cricket, spouting his views for all who are listening - and even those who aren't! - and has set up a 20/20 contest that will feature prize money worth a staggering US$20 million. This 'flash' way of operating has upset the traditional cricket elite, and there has been quite a backlash against this 'nouveau riche' cricket magnate, especially within the corridors of English cricket.

But, love it or hate it, England have accepted Stanford's invitation to play for big bucks in Antigua for the next five years. Interestingly, the approach of cricket lovers in England differs significantly from how the contest is seen in the Caribbean.

FUN AND MONEY IN ENGLAND

England opener Alistair Cook has openly said that the primary motivating factor for taking part in this competition is money. This has generated a number of reactions, varying from plaudits for coming out and admitting the truth, to recriminations for selling the soul of cricket for thirty pieces of silver.

England manager Peter Moores has come out to contradict Cook, and say that national pride is at stake too, and that was more important. But many England fans are accusing Moores of deluding himself, and the 20/20 contest has been dismissed by large segments of the English media as nothing more than a money-spinner.

CARIBBEAN SAVIOUR?

In the Caribbean, instead of being seen as a wolf in sheep's clothing - his image in the English media - Stanford is being praised for injecting new life into a sport that was dying in the region. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has bungled from one disaster to another, and as the team slipped down the rankings, the pay packets did too.

The West Indies were clearly in the lower echelons of cricketing wealth, and could only look on as England cricketers raked it in. Potential sporting athletes in the Caribbean were looking away from cricket, to sports like football and track, because cricket no longer seemed to offer young men a chance to find a way out of the poverty that still blights the region.

Then along came Stanford, and he offered lucrative prize money for his domestic 20/20 competition, and revived interest in the sport in the region. Now, young boys were picking up their bats and balls, and dreaming of taking home the big bucks after winning the final of the domestic 20/20 competition.

CROWD SUPPORT

In England, Test cricket is still a big money-spinner. The venues are still sold out for Test matches. Sadly, that is no longer the case in the Caribbean. That version of the sport is only of interest to the older generation.

When Australia toured the Caribbean, the 20/20 match with the WIndies had a bigger crowd than any day of the Test series. The domestic 20/20 competition over the last two years has been played out in front of large audiences, and a much younger one than the old-timers who turn out for the Test matches.

So, the antipathy towards 20/20 cricket, that is so prevalent in England, is not reflected in the new, young cricket fans of the Caribbean. The WI players who are turning out for the series are taking it a lot more seriously than Alistair Cook. In fact, they've been training harder for this series, than for any WI tour in recent history!

WHO WILL WIN?

This version of the game is so unpredictable. When the WIndies toured England last year, they played two 20/20 matches, and shared them one-win apiece, in two close contests.

The WI will be without their injured, inspirational allrounder, Dwayne Bravo, but will still draw on the experience of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in their batting line-up. They will also have the firepower of Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards and Darren Powell in their arsenal.

But there will also be a few surprises. The Antiguan 20/20 specialist Sylvester Joseph has been named as vice-captain, while the enigmatic legspinner Dave Mohammed could be a match-winner.

England will be led by a match-winner of their own, the charismatic Kevin Pietersen, while Test discard Owais Shah has been making good runs at the shorter form of the game. Allrounders Andrew Flintoff and Stuart Broad are expected to play key roles in the Super Series.

ENJOY IT FOR WHAT IT IS

What's the point of engaging in snide comments about mercenaries and the decline of cricket? Enjoy 20/20 cricket for what it is - a lot of fun, and a new form of entertainment. It's fast-food cricket, for the new generation, who don't have the time in this hurry-hurry world, to sit around and watch the world go by, as Test cricketers play out a draw over five days....

There is a place where we can talk about this exciting week of 20/20 cricket. Join us on Cricket-Match-Special, to have fun, and enjoy this exciting Stanford Super Series.

We can be found at http://www.cricket-match-special.com/

See you there!