Elton Tucker, Assistant Editor - Sport
STANDFORD
ST. JOHNS, Antigua
REGIONAL CRICKET got a timely shot in the arm yesterday when Antiguan businessman and developer, Allen Stanford, announced a US$28m sponsorship of a Caribbean Twenty/20 competition to be played at the picturesque Sticky Wicket Ground in St. Johns, Antigua.
Seventeen regional countries, including Jamaica, have been invited for the tournament that will be played over five weeks, starting in August 2006.
The competing countries will include non-traditional teams such as the Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, St. Maarten and British Virgin Islands.
The other invited countries are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago.
The format of the competition will be a single elimination knock out with the winners taking home a whopping U.S.$1m and the runners up earning U.S.$500,000.
The Man of the Match in every preliminary game will pocket US$25,000 and the Man of the Match in the final, US$100,000.
In addition the cricket boards of the top two teams will receive US$200,000 and US$100,000 respectively to develop and improve cricket facilities.
Speaking at the Antigua Pavillion Restaurant, adjacent to the V.C. Bird International Airport, Stanford said he hoped his unique regional cricket tournament to be called the Stanford Twenty/20 would revive the waning spirit of West Indies cricket fans and most importantly, financially reward the performances of teams and individuals.
"I have been a part of the Caribbean community for over 20 years and I have witnessed first hand the power that the game of cricket wields over the people in this region. West Indies cricket is an almost tangible force which can unify an entire country, an entire group of people, no matter the differences that might exist off the field.
"In recent years, however, I have also observed the decay of these emotions, a slow erosion of faith in this sport which has given way to feelings of disillusionment and low expectations.
"My vision for the Stanford Twenty/20 tournament is that it will be the catalyst for a resurgence of love for the game, that it will signal the return to the glory days of cricket. I want to create a professional super league where West Indian cricketers can do what they do best, playing with their fellow countrymen and against their Caribbean counterparts and be rewarded for excellence," said the Texas-born Stanford.
Stanford unveiled his US$28m budget that will be invested in cricket in the region over the coming months up to November 2006, when a Stanford superstar team will be selected by a group of West Indians legends to play one match each against two world class teams to be named. This will be a winner-takes-all competition and the grand prize in each match will be US$5m.
In a bid to make each country competitive for the tournament and to ensure their long term development, Stanford said he will be putting up over US$5m to help the countries prepare.
Each country's governing cricket body will receive US$100,000 to be used for facilities improvement, training and other development of the teams and its members. An additional US$10,000 stipend per month will be given to support the players and coaches, and US$5,000 per month will be disbursed for maintenance and upkeep of each country's facilities. Stanford will also be hiring two full time nutritionists and four professional athletic trainers to travel around the region regularly in order to train the teams and assist them wherever needed.
