BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – In 2005, West Indies cricket took an exciting turn with the launch of the Stanford 20/20 tournament, and later the Stanford Super Series. These competitions injected new life into the standing of the game throughout the region, with its big entertainment factor and, of course, mind-boggling prize monies. Fears about the future popularity of cricket subsided, as the higher pay-days meant that the prospect of being a professional cricketer became more attractive to young players.
However, despite Stanford seeming to have the Midas touch, time would reveal that all that glittered was definitely not gold.
The Texan billionaire, who would have gone down in history as single-handedly changing the face of West Indies cricket, was instead forced to abandon the field of play in disgrace with his financial empire collapsing around him. Following his conviction and jail sentence for a number of financial crimes, from a public relations standpoint, the Stanford innings was a rather low moment in West Indies cricket history. We expect there would have been much soul-searching amongst those who welcomed him with open arms. No doubt many asked themselves: Were we bowled over by the (rhetorical) spin?
