Stanford 20/20

Roberts calls for expansion of 20/20 across Caribbean

Haydn Gill

July 27, 2006

Fans pack in to watch the Stanford 20/20 © Joseph Jones

The Stanford 20/20 tournament, which has fuelled a wave of excitement in Antigua over the past two weeks, should be spread across the Caribbean next year. That suggestion is coming from Andy Roberts, one of 14 West Indian legends acting as ambassadors for the lucrative tournament.

Roberts, chairman of the competition's technical committee, endorsed a bigger tournament to make it possible for teams to play more matches. "This is the first time. Nobody knew how successful it was going to be. We may look at a different format next year," he told The Nation. "One format I would like to see is that you don't play all the games in Antigua. You take the 20/20 to the Caribbean and then you can come back to Antigua for the semi-finals and final. If you're taking it to the wider Caribbean, then you might be able to play on a round-robin basis instead of a knockout. We would like to get more of the West Indies involved."

The tournament, created and financed by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford who is pumping US$28 million into the competition, started on July 11 with 19 teams vying for a top prize of US$1 million in a single elimination knockout format. Ever since Stanford launched the tournament last October, there were several observers questioning how the competition would benefit the development of the game in the region.

Another of the tournament's legends, Gordon Greenidge, was not surprised by the initial lack of endorsement. "We in the Caribbean don't warm to something new very easily. We tend to wait and see what has happened," Greenidge said. "Before we see what is happening, we tend to criticise it without giving it a chance to work. I am not really surprised. [But] a lot of people have taken this on board and see it as something that can benefit West Indies cricket even though it is the one-day version of the game."

Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd was also of the view that this form of the game was growing on fans around the region. "A lot of people never like change. The world has changed. Cricket is evolving," said Lloyd, another of the tournament legends. "We have to move along. It's a different type of cricket. It's just like when 40-overs came in. People didn't like it either. Like everything new, there are going to be one or two doubters, but I'm sure we're winning."

While the popularity of the 20/20 version of the game is growing globally, the common feeling is that it will not reach the stage where it will rival the traditional 50-over game.

"I don't see it replacing, but complementing the 50-over game," Greenidge said. "It is offering an opportunity. Most of the time it is played in the evening and under lights where you are trying to bring back the viewers to cricket and in so doing, you are offering a chance that the fans can bring the small kids and so on."

© The Nation

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Players/Umpires

Gordon Greenidge

Clive Lloyd

Andy Roberts

Series/Tournaments

Stanford 20/20

Teams

West Indies