The West Indies emerged as a Twenty20 superpower in 2008 when a group of players, clubbed under the Stanford Superstars defeated England to win USD 20 million.
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The year 2008 was new territory when it came to world cricket. The previous year had seen the explosion of the Twenty20 format with the 2007 ICC World T20 in South Africa. India won the tournament by beating Pakistan in an epic final. The nature of that win resulted in an explosion of Twenty20 leagues all over the world. The Indian Premier League (IPL) started off in 2008 and changed world cricket forever. But, in the West Indies, there was an event which made big money the talk of the town.
In 2006 and 2007, there was a series in the West Indies called the Stanford 20/20 cricket. The tournament was conceptualized by American business tycoon Allen Stanford, an American financier, and sponsor of professional sport. Hailing from Texas and having dual citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda, Stanford took a liking to cricket. The American businessman had his own cricket ground built in Coolidge. In 2006 and 2007, he organized Twenty20 tournaments that were a major success. The whole philosophy of those tournaments was based on the simple motto, “Winner takes it all.”
England had arrived in the West Indies for a five-Test series in 2008/09. It was during this series that a Twenty20 match between England and the Windies players would be played. The Windies team was clubbed under the Stanford Superstars umbrella. The prize money that was on offer was a staggering USD 20 million, which was the highest prize money at that time. The amount of money for the format already drew the lines between club and country. Stanford, on the other hand, was being hailed as a messiah for West Indies cricket as it came in the backdrop of bitter contract and sponsorship disputes.
The amount of money on offer was life-changing for many West Indies players. They approached the match in a do-or-die fashion. The match between England and the Stanford Superstars was all set to change the lives of not just the Windies players, but also of Stanford.
England chose to bat at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Coolidge and they started off well. Matt Prior looked in great touch with a couple of boundaries. But, the Stanford Superstars bowlers bowled with pace and hostility. Jerome Taylor was in fine form as he removed Ian Bell with a yorker. The bowler struck in the same over by removing Prior with a full and pacy delivery. Initially, the Stanford Superstars, overwhelmed by the money on offer, had made a nervous start. But, they continued to hit the stumps and raise the aggressive tempo.
Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard continued to take wickets, with Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, and Paul Collingwood all falling cheaply. Suleiman Benn took three wickets as England simply could not get going. Samit Patel tried his best to get England past 100 but when he was run-out for 22, they were bowled out for 99. It was a tremendous display of bowling from the Stanford Superstars and they closed in on their destiny.
Andre Fletcher hit three boundaries off Stuart Broad. But, Chris Gayle blasted two fours and two sixes off Steve Harmison as the Stanford Superstars ended the powerplay on 58/0. Gayle hit two more sixes off Samit and Graeme Swann to go past fifty. Fittingly, it was the Universe Boss who sealed the deal with a six off Flintoff.
The moment the six was hit, there was tremendous jubilation. Some of the West Indies players were in tears. An amount of USD 20 million was unheard of in that period. The likes of Fletcher, who had not achieved much success at the domestic level, freely admitted that his life had changed. Stanford was hailed for his contributions and he was knighted.
After the match, Stanford said, “Our cricket in the Caribbean is back. We can beat anyone in the world with this team.” But, that was the crescendo of Stanford’s brilliance.
Reports surfaced in early February 2009 that the SEC, the FBI, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a major U.S. private-sector oversight body, were investigating Stanford Financial Group. They were questioning the consistently higher-than-market returns which Stanford International Bank claimed to make for its depositors. A former executive told SEC officials that Stanford presented hypothetical investment results as actual historical data in sales pitches to clients.
Federal agents raided the offices of Stanford Financial on February 17, 2009. On February 19, acting at the request of the SEC, FBI agents located Stanford at his girlfriend’s house near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and served him with civil legal papers filed by the SEC. The SEC often files civil charges before criminal charges are filed. Stanford was arrested on June 18, 2009. He surrendered his passport to federal prosecutors and was sentenced to 110 years in prison.
It was a tragic end to Stanford’s dream. For the last 13 years, this tournament has not been highlighted much. But, it did change West Indies and the fortune of the players.
