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Antigua awaits Stanford Bonanza

Adam Mountford Adam Mountford | 13:02 UK time, Friday, 24 October 2008

When I arrived here in a couple of days ago, I could tell the island was getting in the mood for the multi-million dollar when the gentleman at passport control detained me for longer than normal at his kiosk.

There were no problems with my documents - instead he had seen I had written "radio producer" as my occupation and wanted to put himself forward as a potential commentator.

"I've got a great voice for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳," he told me.

"Then he paused and said: "Actually forget that, I don't want to talk about cricket - ."

Even while waiting in the immigration queue I lost count of the number of times someone asked me if I was going to the games - both locals returning home and tourists from Britain.

Several people asked me if I knew how to get tickets.

Fortunately the is located literally yards away from the airport and I noticed several people who had been on the plane with me went straight to join the queue at the ticket office.

It is difficult to tell just how gripped the people of Antigua are by the Super Series because although it is the main topic of conversation, the week of games are by no means a sell-out and even the main event, the "20/20 for 20", still has some tickets left as I write.

In fact I found out the main reason for a long queue at the ticket office on Thursday was because ticket prices had just been reduced (You can get into the big match on 1 November for about £10 and to the warm-up games for less).

Organisers have at least learnt from the debacle of the here in 2007 when tickets were so expensive most locals were priced out of the games, leaving half-empty stadiums.

In fact my first view of the highly impressive Stanford ground suggested another lesson from last year's World Cup had also been learnt.

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One of the major criticisms was that it was a Caribbean World Cup without a Caribbean flavour - too many rules and regulations and not enough fun.

So I was pleased to see a tent had been erected at the side of the Stanford ground for the much-loved while the wide open grassy banks at the stadium should also add to the atmosphere.

The reduction in ticket price, I am told by the organisers, is mainly down to the recent flooding on the island, which has caused many people huge financial problems.

Some cynics have suggested the funniest thing would be if the $20m match was rained off, so neither side won the money.

Had the Super Series been held here last week it may well have been washed out as heavy rain fell almost every day, including up to 18 inches on Wednesday evening as the effects of 200 miles away were felt here in the eastern Caribbean.

The Stanford ground looks amazingly unaffected by the flooding, although I'm told final building work is about two days behind schedule because of the problems caused by the rainfall.

However, organisers are convinced it will all be ready well before Saturday's opening match between the .

By the way, in case you have seen the Stanford squad and assumed the team will be no match for England next week, you may well be interested to hear that while England are only arriving here late on Friday, the Stanford side have been locked in a special training camp for six weeks.

They have had intensive practice under lights as well as motivational speeches from West Indies greats like , and .

The Stanford squad is a fascinating mix between familiar names like captain , Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul and less well known faces like , who is a 33-year-old all-rounder who actually lives in New York, where he works in real estate.

Cush has represented the USA and plays in a local Twenty20 league in his home town - and keep an eye out for an interview with the off-spinner on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Sport website.

The squad has been selected by Sir Viv and his panel and it will be great to hear him talk during our commentary about these players, who impressed during the two domestic Stanford competitions.

I am also delighted to tell you that alongside Sir Viv in our commentary box will be England Test opener and former England spinner .

Both are in Antigua playing for Middlesex and will be with us for the on Tuesday and for the big one on Saturday.

Former West Indies captain will also be part of our team this week, joining Jonathan Agnew, Arlo White and the voice of West Indies cricket, .

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ London will provide commentary on Middlesex v England on Sunday and Middlesex v the Stanford Superstars on Thursday.

Five Live Sports Extra has commentary on the big-money game between Middlesex and Trinidad and Tobago on Monday and England's final warm-up match on Tuesday before commentary reverts to Five Live for the main event on Saturday 1 November.

Look out also for plenty of coverage on Five Live Sport this week, including a full length preview on Thursday night from 2000 GMT.

Love it or hate it, this Stanford Super Series has certainly got us all talking.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Spot any pedalos yet, Adam?

    Sorry, sorry...

  • Comment number 2.

    To be fair, Stanford doesn't need to learn any lessons from the World Cup. The way he's running this week-long tournament is the way he ran the two domestic 20/20 competitions....

    The World Cup was run by a WICB-appointed committee, in association with the ICC, and they did a poor job!

  • Comment number 3.

    This series has got so much bad publicity (mainly, it seems, from jealous people who ignore the similar sums in the IPL, or perhaps object that the Stanford series is bigger) that it is nice to hear a positive spin. It's obvious that the islanders are taking this match to their hearts. World cricket needs the fun and flair of Carribean cricket and the Carribean fans. Stanford is at least getting people interested in the game and has a competition that people talk about when cricket was slowly dying out.

    After all the fuss about whether or not the Stanford Superstars are the West Indies, or not, it's interesting to see very few familiar names in the squad.

    I'm going to enjoy the irrepressible Kevin Hand describing the action and, even occasionally mentioning the cricket during the games.

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