Tomorrow will see the start of the first Twenty20 competition in the Caribbean, the Stanford 20/20. The billionaire businessman Alan Stanford has already invested $28 million into the event, which as well as featuring all the countries/territories that make up the West Indies, will also see participation from Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands.
There is a million dollars for the winner of the knockout competition, and an all-star team will take on South Africa in a one off match where the winners will take home a cool five million dollars later this year.
This leaves just three countries not to join the Twenty20 bandwagon; Zimbabwe, who’s domestic structure is in such a mess, a Twenty20 tournament wouldn’t even be worth bothering with, India, who have a severe phobia of Twenty20 in much the same way they avoided one day cricket for so long after it’s introduction (11 years), as well as Bangladesh.
It would be nice if Stanford could also get involved with the Twenty20 World Championship next year, especially if he could bring along his juicy prize money. Time will tell though wether Stanford is in for the long haul in West Indian cricket.
