Port-of-Spain -- July 22, 2008 -- Sir Vivian Richards, chairman of the Stanford 20/20 selection panel announced an exciting and diverse group of players in a 32 man Stanford Superstars training squad to prepare for the Stanford 20/20 for US$20M match against England on November 1 in Antigua.

Senior West Indies quartet of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo are the most notable names in the squad which also includes Stanford 20/20 2008 Player of the Tournament Dave Mohammed, the left arm spinner from Trinidad and Tobago.

Also included is Mohammed's Trinidad and Tobago team mate and leg spinner Samuel Badree while dynamic United States Virgin Islands wicketkeeper Aldermond Lesmond is the fourth wicketkeeper in the squad along with Trinidadian Denesh Ramdin, Lyndon James of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Andre Fletcher of Grenada. 
 

"This is a squad of the best performers in the two editions of the Stanford 20/20 Tournament we've had so far and the best players in the region, it was a difficult task to select the top 32 but our selection panel believes that these players will provide us with the firepower and all the other resources to prevail over England in what is the richest prize in team sport history," said Sir Viv, the legendary former West Indies batsman.

The seven member selection panel also includes legends Sir Everton Weekes, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Andy Roberts, Lance Gibbs and Richie Richardson.

Dashing 18 year old Nevisian left handed opening batsman Kieran Powell who hit a first ball six in the inaugural Stanford 20/20 Tournament in 2006 is one of six opening batsmen in the squad along with Gayle, Fletcher, Barbadian born Trinidad and Tobago opener William Perkins, Jamaican Xavier Marshall and Guyanese Travis Dowlin.

The only man to have scored a century in Stanford 20/20 cricket, 37 year old John Eugene of St Maarten is the oldest player in the squad which has an eclectic mix of young, exciting players, players who are now breaking into the international cricket scene and more experienced professionals.

"The difficult task of further reducing this training group to the playing squad lies ahead so we will have to pay keen attention to how the players cope in the training camps which will be held in Antigua in the coming months," Sir Viv explained.

Former Antigua and Barbuda and West Indies player Eldine Baptiste has been appointed head coach of the Stanford Superstars squad and he will have Roger Harper, the former West Indies and Kenya coach as his assistant along with Anguilla coach Cardigan Connor.

The number of players in the final playing squad and the dates of the preparatory camps will be announced once the details have been confirmed.

Stanford Superstars squad: Samuel Badree (Trinidad and Tobago), Lionel Baker (Montserrat), Sulieman Benn (Barbados), Dwayne Bravo (Trinidad and Tobago), Jonathan Carter (Barbados), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Guyana), Lennox Cush (Guyana), Travis Dowlin (Guyana), Rayad Emrit (Trinidad and Tobago), John Eugene (St Maarten), Andre Fletcher (Grenada), Daren Ganga (Trinidad and Tobago), Chris Gayle (Jamaica), Chad Hampson (Antigua and Barbuda), Monctin Hodge (Anguilla), Danza Hyatt (Jamaica), Lyndon James (St Vincent and the Grenadines), Sylvester Joseph (Antigua and Barbuda), Aldermond Lesmond (United States Virgin Islands), Xavier Marshall (Jamaica), Dave Mohammed (Trinidad and Tobago), Nelon Pascal (Grenada), William Perkins (Trinidad and Tobago), Kieron Pollard (Trinidad and Tobago), Daren Powell (Jamaica), Kieran Powell (Nevis), Denesh Ramdin (Trinidad and Tobago), Darren Sammy (St Lucia), Ramnaresh Sarwan (Guyana), Jerome Taylor (Jamaica), Kelbert Walters (Anguilla), Tonito Willett (Nevis) 
 
 
 

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About the Stanford 20/20 for 20

The Stanford 20/20 for 20 is the richest team prize for a single sporting match with a total prize pool of US$20 million on offer.  A series of five annual matches will be played between the Stanford Superstars and England from November 1, 2008, at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua.  US$11 million goes to the eleven winning active team players with US$1 million to be shared between the 12th man and other non-playing squad members of the winning team in Antigua and a further US$1 million to the management team. The remaining prize money will be shared between the England and Wales Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board. The Stanford Superstars will be a team selected from active players from the 2006 and 2008 regional Stanford 20/20 Tournaments.  The Stanford 20/20 for 20 will use the iconic black bats and silver stumps for which the Stanford 20/20 Tournament is now famous.    

About the Stanford 20/20 Tournament

The Stanford 20/20 Tournament is a single-elimination knockout cricket competition featuring teams from several Caribbean territories vying for the top spot. Nineteen (19) teams competed in the inaugural 2006 Tournament and twenty (20) teams in the 2008 Tournament. Created by financier Sir Allen Stanford, the first Tournament took place in July/August 2006 with Guyana emerging as the Stanford 20/20 Champions and Trinidad & Tobago triumphing in the 2008 Tournament that ran from January 26 to February 24, 2008.   The 20 countries participating in the competition are Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  

Visit the Stanford2020.com website for more information about the Stanford 20/20 programme.