The 2008

Stanford Super Series The Stanford Super Series were a series of Twenty20 cricket matches in 2008, sponsored by Allen Stanford. The main game of the Series matched the English national cricket team against an all-star team from the Caribbean, called the Stanford Sup ...

was a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

tournament sponsored by Texan billionaire

Allen Stanford Robert Allen Stanford (born March 24, 1950) is an American financial fraudster, former financier, and sponsor of professional sports. He is serving a 110-year federal prison sentence, having been convicted in 2012 of fraud, on charges that his i ...

. The tournament was played between 25 October – 1 November consisting of 5 warm-up matches and a US$20 million for the grand finale. This final match was played between the Stanford Superstars and England. Before it began, the tournament was threatened with cancellation due to a row between

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Ja ...

, the

West Indies Cricket Board Cricket West Indies (CWI) is the governing body for cricket in the West Indies (a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries and dependencies that once formed the British West Indies). It was originally ...

's (WICB) main sponsor, and Stanford. Digicel argued that it should get sponsorship rights because it is WICB's sponsorship rights holder and that the tournament was officially sanctioned by the WICB. All 2008 Super Series matches took place at the

Stanford Cricket Ground The Coolidge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in Osbourn, Saint George Parish, Antigua. It was previously known as the Airport Cricket Ground, before it was taken over by American businessman and cricket enthusiast Allen Stanford, rebuilt in ...

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, and started at 5:30 pm local time (9:30 pm in the United Kingdom). All games were aired on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

in the UK.

Qualification

The Stanford Superstars was a squad selected from the best players in the

Stanford 20/20 The Stanford 20/20 was a short-lived cricket tournament in the Caribbean island of Antigua. It was held first in July and August 2006 in the West Indies at the Stanford Cricket Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, and then again in the s ...

competition.

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

competed in the first year of a five-year contract to be involved in the tournament.

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

qualified as the winners of the Stanford 20/20 whilst

Middlesex Crusaders Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Middlesex which has effectively been subsumed within the ceremonial ...

qualified as winners of the

Twenty20 Cup The T20 Blast, currently named the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket competition for English and Welsh first-class counties. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (E ...

in England and Wales.

Summary

The tournament was seen to have been commenced successfully, though pitch conditions meant that its opening matches were low-scoring. Criticism was also levelled at the floodlights in the

pitch, which were low enough to obstruct the vision of fielding players, with Middlesex captain

Shaun Udal Shaun David Udal (born 18 March 1969) is an English cricketer. An off spin bowler and lower-middle order batsman, he was a member of England's Test team for their tours to Pakistan and India in 2005/06. International career He played in ten ...

stating "I have not known a ground where the visibility is as bad". The behaviour of organiser

was also questioned, particularly after he offended a number of England players by acting flirtatiously with their wives during a match, actions for which he later apologised The England team was later hit by a stomach bug, leading

Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...

to declare that he was looking forward to the tournament's completion. Before the tournament ended, the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and ...

(ECB) announced that they would be reviewing the five-year contract that they had signed with Stanford, bringing into question their participation in future tournaments However, the Trinidad and Tobago v England game was described as 'thrilling'. The tournament received a large amount of media coverage whilst it was extremely popular with fans in the West Indies. Commentators were generally positive about the success of the tournament within its host venue, with

Jonathan Agnew Jonathan Philip Agnew, (born 4 April 1960) is an English cricket broadcaster and a former professional cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers", and, less commonly, "Spiro" � ...

claiming that it was organised significantly better than the previous World Cup, also held in the West Indies.

Matches

Exhibition Matches

---- ---- ---- ----

Trans-Atlantic Twenty20 Champions Cup

$20 million match

Squads

2008 Stanford SuperStars

On 14 August 2008, the All-Stars selection panel, which was led by cricketing legend

Sir Viv Richards Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...

, and which included fellow West Indies cricketing luminaries as

Sir Everton Weekes Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE (26 February 19251 July 2020) was a cricketer from Barbados. A right-handed batsman, he was known as one of the hardest hitters in world cricket. Weekes holds the record for consecutive Test hundred ...

Curtly Ambrose Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose KCN (born 21 September 1963) is an Antiguan former cricketer who played 98 Test matches for the West Indies. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, he took 405 Test wickets at a ...

Lance Gibbs Lancelot Richard Gibbs (born 29 September 1934) is a former West Indies cricketer, one of the most successful spin bowlers in Test cricket history. He took 309 Test wickets, only the second player (after Fred Trueman) to pass 300, the first spi ...

Richie Richardson Sir Richard Benjamin Richardson, KCN (born 12 January 1962) is a former West Indies international cricketer and a former captain of the West Indian cricket team. He was a flamboyant batsman and superb player of fast bowling. He was famous for ...

, Andy Roberts and

Courtney Walsh Courtney Andrew Walsh OJ (born 30 October 1962) is a former Jamaican cricketer who represented the West Indies from 1984 to 2001, captaining the West Indies in 22 Test matches. He is a fast bowler and considered one of the all-time greats, best ...

, announced 17 players who would play under the Stanford SuperStars colours in the Super Series.

Chris Gayle Christopher Henry Gayle, OD (born 21 September 1979) is a Jamaican cricketer who has been playing international cricket for the West Indies since 1999. A destructive batter, Gayle is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen to have play ...

( c)

Daren Powell Daren Brent Lyle Powell (born 15 April 1978) is a former West Indian international cricketer who played first-class cricket for Jamaica. As a right-arm fast medium bowler, he has played Test matches and One Day Internationals (ODI) for the W ...

Jerome Taylor Jerome Everton Taylor (born 22 June 1984) is a Jamaican cricketer who has played as a fast bowler for the West Indies. Taylor eventually picked up 100 wickets for the Windies in both tests and odis. During 2017 he reversed an initial decision t ...

Sylvester Joseph Sylvester Cleofoster Joseph (born 5 September 1978) is a West Indian cricketer who has played in five Test matches and 13 One Day Internationals from 2000 to 2005. He captained the West Indies in one of those ODI games due to the more experienc ...

(

Vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip (curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the re ...

)
Chad Hampson

Dave Mohammed Dave Mohammad (born 8 October 1979) is a former West Indian cricketer. He is a slow left-arm wrist-spin bowler, and bats left-handed. Having played only three first-class matches for Trinidad and Tobago, Mohammad was called up to the West In ...

Kieron Pollard Kieron Adrian Pollard (born 12 May 1987) is a Trinidadian who is a former West Indies cricketer. He has captained the West Indies cricket team in limited overs cricket. He currently plays in various T20 leagues around the globe as an all-rounde ...

Rayad Emrit Rayad Ryan Emrit (born 8 March 1981) is a West Indian cricketer. Emrit has represented the West Indies Senior team, making his first ODI appearance just a year after his regional debut in 2007. Emrit maintained discipline and motivation and defied ...

Ramnaresh Sarwan Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan (born 23 June 1980) is a cricketer of Indo-Guyanese origin who played as a batsman. He is a former member and former captain of the West Indies cricket team, in all formats. Sarwan went on to average over 40 in both the ...

Shivnarine Chanderpaul Shivnarine "Shiv" Chanderpaul (born 16 August 1974) is a Guyanese cricket coach and former captain of the West Indies cricket team. Considered one of the greatest batsmen of his era, Chanderpaul is the first Indo-Caribbean to play 100 Tests for ...

Lennox Cush

Andre Fletcher Andre Fletcher (born 28 November 1987) is a Grenadian cricketer who plays internationally for the West Indies. He is a right-handed batsman and often keeps wicket. He played domestic cricket for Windward Islands and Grenada. He was one of the f ...

Sulieman Benn Sulieman Jamaal Benn (born 22 July 1981 in Saint James, Barbados) is a West Indian cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies and first-class cricket for Barbados. Benn debuted in 1999/00, as a left-arm orthodox spin bowler. ...

Lionel Baker Lionel Sionne Baker (born 6 September 1984) is a West Indian former cricketer who has played first-class cricket for the Leeward Islands. He is the first person from Montserrat to have represented the West Indies at Test cricket. Personal life ...

Lindon James Support Staff:
Coach, Head:

Eldine Baptiste Eldine Ashworth Elderfield Baptiste (born 12 March 1960) is an Antiguan former professional cricketer. He played in 10 Test matches – all of which resulted in West Indian victories – and 43 One Day Internationals (ODI) for the West Indies, b ...

Coach, Asst:

Roger Harper Roger Andrew Harper (born 17 March 1963) is a Guyanese former cricketer turned coach, who played both Test and One Day International cricket for the West Indies cricket team. His international career lasted 13 years, from 1983 to 1996, and he w ...

Coach, Fielding: Julien Fountain
Coach, Manager:

Cardigan Connor Cardigan Adolphus Connor (born 24 March 1961) is an Anguillan born former English cricketer. Connor was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. Career Connor left his home island of Anguilla in 1979 to pursue a cricketing ca ...

Analyst: Robin Singh
Trainer: Hector Martinez
Physiotherapist: Kim Jackson
Physiotherapist Julio Gonsalves
Physical Therapist: Virgil Browne (

Dwayne Bravo Dwayne John Bravo (born 7 October 1983) is a Trinidadian cricketer and a former captain of the West Indies cricket team. A genuine right arm seam bowling all-rounder, Bravo is well known for his aggressive lower-order batting and for his bowli ...

(injury), and

Xavier Marshall Xavier Melbourne Marshall (born 27 March 1986) is a Jamaican-American cricketer. He played for the West Indies as a batsman. Since January 2019, he has represented the United States cricket team. International career Marshall represented the We ...

(failed drug test) were named to the initial team under the initial selection procedures, but withdrew before the Series was played.

Darren Sammy Daren Julius Garvey Sammy (born 20 December 1983) is a Saint Lucian cricketer who played international cricket for the West Indies. He is a two time T20 World Cup winning captain. On making his One-Day International (ODI) debut against Banglad ...

and Travis Dowlin were named to replace them in the squad.)

2008 English squad

On 9 September 2008, three weeks after the Superstars squad was named, the England Cricket Board announced their 15-man squad for the 2008 Super Series.

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, (captain)

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Ian Bell Ian Ronald Bell (born 11 April 1982) is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsm ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

Ravi Bopara Ravinder Singh Bopara (born 4 May 1985) is an English cricketer who plays for Sussex County Cricket Club in one day cricket. Originally a top-order batsman, his developing medium pace bowling has made him a batting all rounder in the one day ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Stuart Broad Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Norther ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

Paul Collingwood Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club and was the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 win ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...

Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...

Stephen Harmison Stephen James Harmison, (born 23 October 1978) is an English former first-class cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 2 T20s. He also played county cricket f ...

Samit Patel Samit Rohit Patel (born 30 November 1984) is an English cricketer. A right-handed batsman and a slow left-arm bowler, he plays first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Patel made his One Day International debut for England ...

Matt Prior Matthew James Prior (born 26 February 1982) is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Owais Shah Owais Alam Shah (born 22 October 1978) is a former England cricketer. A middle-order Batting (cricket), batsman, he played for Middlesex County Cricket Club, Middlesex from 1995 to 2010 and Essex County Cricket Club, Essex from 2011 to 2013 b ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Graeme Swann Graeme Peter Swann (born 24 March 1979) is an English former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. Born in Northampton, he attended Sponne School in Towcester, Northamptonshire. He was primarily a right-arm off-spinner, and also ...

Ryan Sidebottom Ryan Jay Sidebottom (born 15 January 1978) is a former England international cricketer who played domestic cricket for Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire and retired in 2017 after taking more than 1,000 career wickets. He is the only player in the ...

Luke Wright Luke James Wright (born 7 March 1985) is an English former cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium bowler. Wright joined Sussex in 2004, having started his career at Leicestershire. He was named in England's squad for ...

2008 Trinidad and Tobago squad

Rishi Bachan

Samuel Badree Samuel Badree (born 8 March 1981) is a former Trinidadian cricketer and cricket coach who played international cricket for the West Indies. He is a right-arm leg-spin bowler. Badree made his first-class debut for Trinidad and Tobago in 2002, b ...

Darren Bravo Darren Michael Bravo (born 6 February 1989) is a Trinidadian Cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies. A left-handed batsman, his batting style has drawn comparisons with Brian Lara. Bravo is the younger half brother of fel ...

Kevon Cooper Kevon Keston Cooper (born 2 February 1989) is a former cricketer from Trinidad and Tobago. He played for Trinidad and Tobago and Leeward Islands as well as for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and in various other Twenty20 leagues around the world. E ...

Daron Cruickshank Daron Jae Cruickshank (born June 11, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing as a lightweight for the Xtreme Fighting Championships. A professional competitor since 2008, Cruickshank has also formerly competed for the UFC, ...

Daren Ganga Daren Ganga (born 14 January 1979) is a former Trinidadian cricketer. He was a right-handed top order batsman and part-time right-arm offbreak bowler. After debuting as a 19-year-old he has found himself in and out of the West Indian cricket t ...

(captain)

Sherwin Ganga Sherwin Ganga (born February 13, 1982 in Barrackpore, Trinidad and Tobago) is a cricketer who plays for Trinidad and Tobago. An offspin bowling allrounder, Ganga debuted in 2003/04 and is the brother of Daren Ganga Daren Ganga (born 14 January ...

Justin Guillen Justin Christopher Guillen (born January 2, 1986) is a West Indian cricketer who plays for the Trinidad and Tobago national cricket team. He made his debut for the side in the 2008 Stanford Super Series, and has since played over fifteen first-cla ...

Amit Jaggernauth Amit Sheldon Jaggernauth (born 16 November 1983) is a former West Indian cricketer who featured as an off spinner. Jaggernauth mainly played as a first-class cricketer for Trinidad and Tobago. Career In recent years, Jaggernauth has been one o ...

Richard Kelly
William Perkins

Denesh Ramdin Denesh Ramdin (born 13 March 1985) is a Trinidadian cricketer who played internationally for the West Indies. He is a right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman. He retired from all forms of international cricket in July 2022. In July 2005, Ramdin made b ...

Ravi Rampaul Ravindranath Rampaul (born 15 October 1984) is a Trinidadian cricketer. Rampaul has played for Trinidad and Tobago in domestic cricket, in the Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and in English County cricket for Surrey and ...

Lendl Simmons Lendl Mark Platter Simmons (born 25 January 1985) is a Trinidadian cricketer who played internationally for the West Indies. He is a right-handed batsman, an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, and a part-time wicket-keeper. His uncle is for ...

Navin Stewart

2008 Middlesex squad

Neil Carter

Neil Dexter Neil John Dexter (born 21 August 1984) is a South African-born English cricketer. Early life Dexter was born in Johannesburg and attended Northwood School in Durban North and Downside School in Somerset in England. He went on to study at the ...

Steven Finn Steven Thomas Finn (born 4 April 1989) is an English cricketer. He is a right-arm fast bowler, who also bats right-handed. At the age of 16, he became Middlesex County Cricket Club's youngest-ever debutant in first-class cricket. He made his E ...

Billy Godleman Billy Ashley Godleman (born 11 February 1989) is an English first-class cricketer who plays for Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Derbyshire. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm leg-spin bowler who played for Middlesex County Cricket Clu ...

Tyron Henderson Tyron Henderson (born 1 August 1974) is a former South African professional cricketer who played in one international match for the South African national team. He was born in Durban in Natal Province.Ed Joyce Edmund "Ed" Christopher Joyce (born 22 September 1978) is a former Irish cricketer who played for both the Ireland and England national cricket teams. After beginning his career with Middlesex, he moved to Sussex in 2009, before returning to Ir ...

Murali Kartik Murali Kartik (, born 11 September 1976) is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who sporadically represented the national team from 2000 to 2007. He was a specialist slow left arm orthodox bowler known for his loopy trajectory an ...

Dawid Malan Dawid Johannes Malan ( ; born 3 September 1987) is an English cricketer who plays internationally for England in all formats. In domestic cricket, he represents Yorkshire, having previously played for Middlesex, and has played in multiple Twent ...

Eoin Morgan Eoin (, or ) is an Irish name. The Scottish Gaelic equivalent is () and both are closely related to the Welsh . It is also cognate with the Irish . In the Irish language, it is the name used for all Biblical figures known as ''John'' in Engli ...

Tim Murtagh Timothy James Murtagh (born 2 August 1981) is an English-born Irish cricketer who is the current club captain of Middlesex County Cricket Club. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler who represented England in the 2000 ...

David Nash
Alan Richardson
Ben Scott

Andrew Strauss Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...

(captain)

Commercial dispute

, who sponsors the West Indies Cricket Board, filed suit to halt the Stanford Super Series. They claimed that due to their deal with the West Indies Cricket Board, that they were due certain advertising and broadcasting rights that weren't being granted to them. The response from the West Indies Board, and from the representatives of the Super Series was that the Stanford Superstars were an unofficial team, and thus the Digicel agreement did not come into play. Digicel won the suit, in front of the High Court in London, England. However, they later reached a deal with Stanford Super Series officials, that allowed the tournament to continue for at least three years.

External links

Stanford2020.com

References

{{reflist Stanford Super Series, 2008 Cricket in Antigua and Barbuda 2008 in English cricket Stanford Financial Group 2008 in Caribbean sport 2008–09 West Indian cricket season