Massive regional T20 tournament to be unveiled shortly

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Feb 11, CMC – A massive Twenty20 tournament to replace the now defunct Stanford initiative is set to be unveiled shortly by the West Indies Cricket Board, the Barbados Today online newspaper has reported.

A high-ranking WICB official told the newly formed publication that the logistics were yet to be sorted but July had been identified as a date for the tournament which is expected to become an annual affair.

No sponsor has been named but the WICB are said to be in talks with a potential financier.

“There are still some minor details to be finalised, but it’s on and it will big,” the top official was quoted as saying.

“Initially, there are three things that are to be finalised, and that is the sponsor who is asking for some ‘internal dressings’ as they would say; if we will play in one territory; and the broadcaster is to confirm our offer.”

Trinidad & Tobago is being favoured as the venue though Antigua and Barbados are also strong possibilities. There is an option of all three venues sharing the tournament.

Like the Stanford Twenty20, the tournament is also expected to offer players lucrative rewards.

The tournament will be a prelude to the Champions Trophy, which features the respective T20 champions from the world’s cricketing nations competing in India.

The region’s major territories will be involved along with the Combined Campuses and Colleges and a side from the United States.

There has been no regional T20 tournament since 2008, when the last Stanford championship was staged in Antigua.

Sir Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texan who bankrolled the tournament, was last year charged by US authorities over a US$7 billion fraud scheme and is currently awaiting trial in a Texan jail.