Twenty20 Cricket Supplement

WORLD TWENTY20 CRICKET SPECIAL

May 3 - 9, 2009

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WORLD TWENTY20 CRICKET SPECIAL Sponsored by

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Gayle force: Profile of the West Indies captain

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Thanks for the memories: A look back at T20 2009

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West Indies ‘Fantasy XI’ revealed

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So why did China spend $110m on cricket grounds in the Caribbean?

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T20 fixtures

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May 3 - 9, 2009

WORLD TWENTY20 CRICKET SPECIAL

REDEMPTION? West Indies hope to banish memories of World Cup 2007 By Rodney Hinds

HREE YEARS on and Caribbean cricket has a chance to redeem itself.

In 2007 the one-day World Cup fell flat for many reasons. And none of them were acceptable.

What should have been the ultimate West Caribbean carnival fell flat on it’s face as the region failed to deliver the spectacle that it had waited so long to host.

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DISAPPOINTMENT The poor display by Chris Gayle’s Windies, low attendances and a lack of a genuine vibe throughout a tournament, which went on for far too long – all added up to a major disappointment for a region that has illuminated the sport over the years.

Add the untimely death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer in a hotel room in Jamaica and the 2007 World Cup cannot be recalled with any fond memories.

But the ICC World Twenty20 provides a fresh canvas for the sport in general and West Indies in particular.

Some sceptics still refuse to give Twenty20 its due.

They dub the shortest format of the game as no more than d e m e n t e d

rounders which goes against every discipline encouraged

by Test cricket.

There will always be a place for the five-day version of the game but what T20 has done is create a buzz that the sport so desperately needed.

Just as sprint phenom Usain Bolt has given track and field a much needed lift, so too has T20 for the gentleman’s game.

And make no mistake, after decades in the wilderness, save for an the unexpected but welcome ICC Champions Trophy win in England in 2004, the former calypso kings can benefit from home comforts over the next fortnight.

With Chris Gayle in their ranks all things are possible.

I witnessed first hand as Gayle hit the biggest sixes I’ve ever seen at The Oval during last summer’s T20. Gayle’s huge hitting was so big and spectacular I’m sure that it registered on the Richter Scale.

For

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the Windies to succeed they will need to rely on a collective effiort. The savvy and experience of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul will be key.

But the man who could be king is Dwayne Bravo, an allrounder of burgeoning potential who has still to truly deliver.

If Bravo, whose career has been hit by injury, comes to the party the Windies can be crowned T20 kings.

Sadly, the West Indies bowling attack will not strike fear into the hearts and minds of opposing batsmen, which makes the hosts’ bowlers the weakest link.

looked.

ALL-ROUND TALENT: Bravo

FAVOURITES But the tournament is not just about the Windies.

Reigning champions Pakistan will be obvious threats.

With an all-rounder such as the inspired Shaid Afridi in their ranks they have to be feared once more.

So too will last year’s losing finalists at Lord’s, Sri Lanka.

With star batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan and a variety of cunning bowlers in their team, they will again be among the favourites.

Australia, after a disappointing 2009 T20 will not perform as badly again, and England will be worth a tiny flutter.

However, on home soil in a version of the game that suits their present talents, the West Indies simply cannot be over-

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Gayle force to blow through T20

By Rodney Hinds F THE West Indies are to triumph on home soil during the World Twenty20 they will need to rely on Gayle force.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle, when on song, is the

I

such is his savage striking.

Tall and imposing at the crease, he loves to carve through the covers off either foot, and has the ability to decimate the figures of even the thriftiest of opening bowlers.

In a lean era for West Indian

‘The left-hander has the ability to dismantle bowling attacks’ most destructive batsman of his generation.

In the shortest version of the game, Gayle has the hardhitting ability to wreak havoc.

In fact in any version of the game, the Jamaica-born lefthander has the technique to dismantle bowling attacks

cricket - and fast bowling in particular - Gayle's pugnacious approach has become an attacking weapon in its own right.

His 79-ball century at Cape Town in January 2004, on the back of a South African first innings of 532, was typical of

his no-holds-barred approach.

Gayle, who has a penchant for serving up pain to bowling attacks, has yet another opportunity to capture the attention of a global audience during the World Twenty20.

Three years ago he was expected to be one of the stars of the World Cup in the Caribbean, however his batting was a major disappointment.

Gayle’s value as an entertaining batsman, who has a taste for dispatching the ball to all parts, is underlined with his involvement with the Indian Premier League.

His US$800,000 price-tag made him one of Kolkata's most expensive players, and though a groin injury ruled him out of the first edition in 2008, he played seven games in 2009 before flying to England just 48 hours before a

FIXTURES GROUP STAGE Group A: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia Group B: Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Zimbabwe Group C: South Africa, India, Afghanistan Group D: West Indies, England, Ireland May May May May May May

3 3 4 4 5 5

Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, Guyana: Match starts at 14:30 BST England v West Indies, Guyana: 18:30 BST New Zealand v Zimbabwe, Guyana: 14:30 BST England v Ireland, Guyana: 18:30 BST Bangladesh v Australia, Barbados: 14:30 BST South Africa v Afghanistan, Barbados: 18:30 BST

SUPER EIGHT STAGE May 6 A1 v D2, Barbados Match starts at 14:30 BST May 6 C1 v B2, Barbados: 18:30 BST May 7 A2 v C2, Barbados: 1430 BST May 7 B1 v D1, Barbados: 18:30 BST May 8 D2 v C1, Barbados: 14:30 BST May 8 A1 v B2, Barbados: 18:30 BST May 9 C2 v D1, Barbados: 14:30 BST May 9 B1 v A2, Barbados: 18:30 BST May 10 B2 v D2, St Lucia: 14:30 BST May 10 A1 v C1, St Lucia: 18:30 BST May 11 B1 v C2, St Lucia: 18:00 BST May 11 D1 v A2, St Lucia (d/n): 22:00 BST

SEMI-FINALS May 13 First semi-final, St Lucia: 16:30 BST May 14 Second semi-final, St Lucia: 16:30 BST

FINAL May16 Final, Barbados: 16:30 BST

Test match at Lord's against England.

ENTERTAINER: Gayle hits out at The Oval

DECLARE The match was lost in three days, leading a disillusioned Gayle to declare that he "would not be so sad" if Test cricket died out.

Test cricket has not died out. But T20 is very much alive and the likes of six-hitting Gayle have been responsible for breathing life into the sport.

GAYLE FORCE - THE FIGURES

STAR: Gayle

Tests: Average: 100s:

85 40.61 12

Runs: Strike Rate: 50s:

5848 58.28 31

ODIs: Average: 100s:

215 39.77 19

Runs: Strike Rate: 50s:

7757 83.66 42

T20Is: Average: 100s:

14 36.23 1

Runs: Strike Rate: 50s:

471 144.92 4

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WORLD TWENTY20 CRICKET SPECIAL

May 3 - 9, 2009

So why did Chin on cricket grounds...

Sky Sports News Investigates

How global politics and big business sparked a boom for building stadiums in the Caribbean.

Shame the most expensive one wasn’t fit to play on.

OCATED ON the righthand edge of Antigua, not far from the VC Bird International Airport, and no more than a handful of miles apart, lie two cricket grounds, each rarely used.

One, the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, named after the island’s most famous son, was financed and built by the People’s Republic of China, and cost $60m (£37.6m). The other, upgraded at a cost of $15m (£9.4m) and featuring a $50,000 (£31,000) clock on top of the state-of-the-art pavilion, belonged to Sir Allen Stanford, who is now in jail 2,000 miles away in Texas, awaiting trial for fraud next year.

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INFAMOUS Perhaps hinting at their troubled origins, the grounds hosted two of the most infamous matches in recent cricket history: the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was home to the second Test of England’s 2009

tour, which was abandoned after 10 deliveries because of the unfit state of the outfield; and the Stanford ground hosted the T20 for $20m match of 2008 between the Stanford Superstars and England.

A look back at the construction of both grounds leads us to tales of international power and fierce rivalry, of a remote and distant government and a flamboyant billionaire – and the small, struggling islands that offered them access to influence.

Antigua isn’t the only island with new stadia. China has also partly or fully funded the Greenfields Stadium in Jamaica, the Windsor Park Sports Stadium in Dominica and the National Stadium in Grenada – at a total cost of $112m (£70m). Taiwan gave $7m (£4.4m) to St Kitts for the Warner Park ground; India gave Guyana $30m (£18.8m) in grants and loans for the Providence Stadium. The catalyst of the 2007 World Cup,

HAPPY DAYS: Stanford (right) with Chris Gayle’s Stanford Superstars in 2008

played in West Indies, saw the governments of Barbados and Jamaica renovate the historic grounds at Kensington Oval and Sabina Park, while the government of St Lucia dedicated $40m (£25m) of lottery monies to the Beausejour Stadium. Since the turn of the century, more than $265m (£166m) has been spent in total on cricket grounds.

Cricket is the key that opens all doors in the Caribbean. “An inexplicable link exists between cricket and the economy,” Stanford said in the glossy media handout on his stadium. “West Indies cricket, when it is faring well, inspires considerable pride, productivity, enthusiasm and motivation in the region, which translates to a successful economy as people work harder, invest more and essentially care

CHINESE DELIVERY: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua

more. Conversely, when the sport is in a slump, the collective spirit is crushed.”

SURVIVES And yet the West Indies is the one Test-playing nation that does not actually exist. The 10 states that make up the British West Indies united briefly in Federation between 1958 and 1962, when it was hoped that the union would operate as a single nation, but soon floundered. The West Indies survives only as a cricket team, as a university and an idea in the collective psyche.

“It’s the only team in the world that is forced to represent 10 sovereign states, with all of the implications for trouble,” says Clem Seecharan, Professor of Caribbean Studies at Metropolitan University in London. “A region that is dogged by profound insularity and very strong national identity – there’s always that problem.

“The game itself still carries tremendous kudos and the idea that somehow, magically, the team will be transformed to its ancient grandeur and glory again, inhabits the West Indian mind, and therefore the governments have always wanted to be a part of the process.” And there lay opportunity for China and Taiwan, anxious for some geo-political

SAD DAYS: Jailed Stanford

heft in the Pacific West.

“We’re speaking of 10 votes immediately in the United Nations,” says Seecheran (at the UN, each of the 192 member countries, regardless of their size or population, gets one vote on major global issues like international law, human rights and climate change). “And that’s what drove the intervention of China and Taiwan into the West Indies. The World Cup gave both of these countries the opportunity, while pretending to be altruistic, to exert their influence in the region. China sees itself as the dominant power of the next century. They are seeking to exert what they call ‘soft power’. This was best manifested in the building of stadiums.”

FOOTHOLD Some of the Chinese politicking in the region has also been devoted to thwarting Taiwan, a former territory and diplomatic rival, which split from the mainland in 1949 and had already gained a foothold in the Caribbean. Taiwan built stadiums in St Kitts and St Vincent, and planned another in Grenada – China usurped it after a U-turn by the Grenada government.

Then came Antigua.

After the opening of the Sir

Vivian Richards Stadium, the Antiguan president Winston Spencer said, ”We moved from a situation where we were flirting with Taiwan, to declaring our full support for the ‘One China’ policy. They would like all Caribbean territories to be supportive of mainland China, and I believe eventually that is going to be the case.”

The stadiums were built with the intention of hosting matches at the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Local economies would feel the benefit of tourists coming to the West Indies to watch.

“In recent years, the majority of people in Kensington Oval, Barbados, certainly when England play, are English,” says Seecharan. “The same thing has happened in a place like St Lucia. This is part and parcel of their tourist promotion. It’s a package they offer to English tourists.

Because the formula has worked so well with Antigua and St Lucia, places like Grenada and St Vincent and St Kitts were hoping that they could use the World Cup in 2007 to generate momentum that would have an impact on their tourist business for some years to come.”

The problem was that tickets for the matches were simply too expensive. To see a match in the Super-Eight stages cost

WORLD TWENTY20 CRICKET SPECIAL

May 3 - 9, 2009

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na spend $110m in the West Indies? $75. Tickets for equivalent games in this year’s ICC World Twenty20, which starts on 30 April, are just $15.

VULNERABLE Small islands are not just vulnerable to bigger countries like China, they are vulnerable to bigger individuals too. Just beyond Allen Stanford’s cricket ground lay the Stanford International Bank and the Bank of Antigua, both Stanford-owned, the local newspaper of which he was proprietor, his mansion and his yacht. Even his knighthood

came from Antigua. ”An island is a world,“ says Seecharan. ”They can be easily seduced, and often we don’t know the background of people. If they come bearing gifts then we all tend to fall for that.”

Stanford, with his intuitive grasp on the importance of cricket to the region and his marketeer’s eye for the Twenty20 format, has done more than any country to shape the future of the game there. A new generation of players, young men when Stanford began offering big

money for T20 games, have found riches. ”These guys like Kieron Pollard and Kemar Roach, who’ve hardly played Test cricket are already millionaires,” says Seecharan. ”No wonder some of the others in the team are angry.”

The once universal ambition among young stars from the islands – to represent the West Indies – has been splintered.

That notion of a team that represents a country that doesn’t really exist is fading with them. Those teams represent a lost past that made cricket cen-

tral to the region.

ATTRACTIONS Cricket offered influence and brought money and power.

Money and power changed the game. Chris Gayle, the current captain, is an undoubted gem of the Twenty20 format and could be one of the star attractions at the ICC World Twenty20. Yet he is diffident by comparison to past heroes, a representative of the game’s new age. ”I don’t think someone like Chris Gayle has the same emotional attachment to the region

as those older leaders,” says Seecharan. ”It’s a different attitude now.”

For the players of the West Indies, for the islands that make up its constituent parts and for the countries that court their influence and location, it’s money that’s talking loudest. China, Taiwan, Stanford – all have had their say.

Reproduced courtesy of the April/May Sky Sports magazine.

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tomers at the end of May.

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May 3 - 9, 2009

WORLD TWENTY20 CRICKET SPECIAL

Oval and Out West Indies put England to the sword during a thrilling T20 match at The Oval last summer. Joel Campbell recalls how victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat….

T’S USUAL for there to be a somewhat partisan atmosphere in the press box at any major sporting event especially from the host nation’s media.

But on June 15, 2009 the English press seemed to be whipping themselves up into a particularly intense patriotic fervour as an impending semi-final place in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup final drew ever closer.

As I sat with my sports editor Rodney Hinds, who from time to time throughout England’s first innings of 161 runs, would look at me desperately searching my facial expressions for a sign of belief (which he was always met with), I kept looking at the big black cloud that was slowly inching its w a y towards the Oval, bringing with it a shower which looked like scuppering any chance the Windies had of making it through to the next round.

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SCINTILLATING: Chanderpaul

Cricket reports from the Caribbean on the

World Twenty20 featuring The Voice’s Rodney Hinds on Colourful Radio www.colourfulradio.com sponsored by Moneygram International.

Monday 3rd May 07.00 – 10.00 – UK time

Island Focus: Barbados

Wednesday 5th May 07.00 – 10.00

UK time

Island Focus: St Lucia

Friday 7th May 07.00 – 10.00

Island Focus: St Kitts

Monday 10th May 07.00 – 10.00 UK time

Island Focus: Trinidad

Wednesday 12th May 07.00 – 10.00 UK time

Island Focus: Jamaica

Friday 14th May 07.00 – 10.00 UK time

Island Focus: St Vincent & Dominica

the West Indies was simple; 80 runs from nine overs.

“They won’t do it, they’ve got no backbone, not up for the fight, only here to party,” I heard some say.

FANS Oh and party the Windies eventually did! But only after they made the hearts of the few Caribbean and adopted Windies fans that descended to the ground on that Monday afternoon palpitate irregularly, as the team thrilled and disappointed in equal measure.

NERVE-JANGLING Saturday 15th May Rodney Hinds on Grown and Sexy show with Dave 16:00 – 17.00 – UK time (live from Wembley sponsored by MoneyGram etc) Island Focus: Grenada & Montserrat

Monday 17th May Mark Perryman, Richard Levy and Rodney Hinds live roundup on Colourful Breakfast 09.00 UK time

Alas, the rain came and after a revised target of 80 runs from nine overs was set - courtesy of the unfathomable Duckworth/Lewis system - the scene was set for some of the most nervejangling cricket I have ever experienced.

The press room was buzzing with anticipation that an England victory was inevitable. The equation for

MAN OF THE MATCH: Sarwan

As captain Chris Gayle sauntered to the crease with that languid swagger, synonymous with his home country of Jamaica, there was a feeling that like Bob Marley said, ‘Every ting gonna be alright’.

Eight balls and fifteen runs later however, and everything was far from all right and another Windies embarrassment was shaping up.

HOPE While the media room was increasing in heat and (some had already ordered the Bollinger) it was Dwayne Bravo who restored a semblance of hope.

The brighter it got (the dark cloud was disappearing) the better the Windies performed.

The brighter it got the quieter it got in the media room.

The English dream was slipping away; the team with no backbone was about to do the impossible.

Scintillating innings’ by man-of-the match Ramnaresh Sarwan (19 not out) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (17 not out) made the seemimgly impossible possible.

Beating England has never felt so sweet as it did for the thousands of fans that came to the Oval on June 15.

As for this journalist, well, it was just nice to see a room full of impartial journalists using their chilled champagne to wash down their humble pie.

WORLD TWENTY20 CRICKET SPECIAL

May 3 - 9, 2009

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FANTASY CRICKET

Which players would you choose to line-up in a dream West Indies XI? he debate has raged on for years. Just which eleven players, over the long and glorious history of West Indies cricket, would make the ultimate XI? Who would oust Greenidge and Haynes from their opening berths? Would you play Richards and Lara in the same team? Would Holding get the nod over Ambrose? And who would be the man to captain the all-star line-up?

John Portch had the thankless task of selecting his dream XI….

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Name: Gordon Greenidge Born: 1 May, 1951, Barbados. International caps: Tests – 108 ODIs – 128 The pensive Greenidge’s belligerence with the bat was matched by his sound technique and defensive abilities when necessary. His masterful strokeplay took him to 214 in the second Test at Lord’s during the 1984 ‘blackwash’ Test series when the tourists trounced England 5-0. He followed it up with 223 in the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

Greenidge made 7,558 Test runs and hit 19 centuries. The Hampshire opener also appeared in two successful World Cup finals for the West Indies. The Bajan’s composure in opening for the great Windies side of the 1970s and 80s makes him the first name on this list.

Name: Desmond Haynes Born: 15 February, 1956, Barbados. International caps: Tests – 116 ODIs – 238 If Gordon Greenidge is first then Desmond Haynes must be considered suitable to walk out to the middle beside him.

The smiling Bajan was a superb batsman in his own right but often acted as the counterpoint to Greenidge’s destructiveness. Their partnership is the most formidable in Test history, totting up 6,482 runs and making 16 century stands, of which four became double centuries.

Haynes’ delaying tactics as Windies captain to deny England victory at Trinidad in 1989-90 highlighted a man who knew how to prevent defeat in trying circumstances. Although spoiling tactics would be unnecessary in this side.

Name: Viv Richards (captain) Born: 7 March, 1952, Antigua.

International caps: Tests – 121 ODIs – 187 The reward for fielding sides in knocking over Greenidge

or Haynes would be an encounter with the man often regarded as the most devastating batsmen cricket has ever known. It was all too easy for King Viv who intimidated opponents with his aggressive play and casual demeanour. He would saunter to the crease without a helmet and treat the ball with immeasurable disdain.

Richards scored the fastest century in Test history when he hit triple-figures in just 56 balls against England in Antigua in 1986. This fantasy XI needs a captain that has never tasted a series defeat and the charismatic Antiguan is that man.

Name: Brian Lara Born: 2 May, 1969, Trinidad.

International caps: Tests – 131 ODIs – 299 The West Indies were the dominant force in world cricket from the late 1970s until the mid-90s. But during that time no bowler ever faced the prospect of delivering to Brian Lara having just dismissed Richards. The ‘Prince of Trinidad’ took 11,953 Test runs and scored more heavily than his Antiguan antecedent. His flamboyant style saw him capture the highest Test score twice, the second his 400 against England in Antigua in 2004. One can only speculate at how much more devastating he could have been if released from the shackles of a declining West Indies side to line up in this fantasy XI. Name: Garry Sobers Born: 28 July, 1936, Barbados.

International caps: Tests – 93 ODIs – 1 As the finest all-rounder of the 20th century Sobers place in this Windies fantasy XI is unquestionable. His elegant batting style provides an aesthetic contrast to Richards and Lara higher up the order but its effect was no less devastating. The Bajan could be included for his batting alone but his bowling versatility is suited to taking wickets across the globe. He mixed a fast-medium attack with an ability to deliver both leftarm orthodox and wrist spin.

That he was a superb fielder was the icing on the cake of his cricketing genius.

Name: Jeff Dujon Born: 28 May, 1956, Jamaica. International caps: Tests – 81 ODIs – 169 When talking about great West Indies players it is all too easy to get caught up in batsmen and bowlers. But a

in the inaugural World Cup final at Lord’s in 1979. His 5 for 38 remains the best figures from a final. Garner and Marshall are the perfect foils for the next two in this fantasy XI.

DREAM TEAM: Ambrose (left)and Walsh

great side needs a great wicket-keeper and Dujon fits the bill. The acrobatic Jamaican stood behind the stumps when the Windies were in their 1980s pomp and he stands fifth on the list of leading Test wicket-keepers with 272 dismissals.

The Jamaican’s importance to the Caribbean cause is illustrated by the fact that he never lost a Test series. He was also an effective lower-order batsman, hitting five centuries including 139 against Australia in Perth in 1984-5.

Name: Malcolm Marshall Born: 18 April, 1958, Barbados. Died: 4 November, 1999.

International caps: Tests – 81 ODIs – 136 In the 1970s and 80s the West Indies could call upon an embarrassment of riches when it came to pace bowlers.

Perhaps the most effective, and certainly the most eco-

nomic, was the Bajan Marshall. Maco’s Test bowling average of 20.52 is the most parsimonious of any bowler with more than 200 wickets.

His heart and desire could drag any side over the winning line. He broke his thumb while fielding in a Test match at Headingley in 1984 but still went on to take 7 wickets for 53 runs. He also hit 10 fifties in Test cricket and could put the sting into this tail-end.

Name: Joel Garner Born: 16 December, 1952, Barbados. International caps: Tests – 58 ODIs – 98 The ‘Big Bird’ would ensure that the pressure on opposing batsmen was relentless. His 6ft 8inch frame armed him with one of the most alarming yorkers in history. He deserved a greater number of Test outings and his economy was almost as low as Marshall’s. He helped the Windies blow away England

Name: Curtly Ambrose Born: 21 September, 1963, Antigua.

International caps: Tests – 98 ODIs – 176 Ambrose’s intuitive knowledge of seam bowling made him one of the most lethal and highly economical fast bowlers in history. There was no finer demonstration of this than his spell against Australia in Perth in 1993 when he took seven wickets for a single run. He considered it a personal affront when opponents slogged him for four and they could count on a hostile, if measured, backlash. His height, pace, aggression and consistency make him a shoo-in for this fantasy XI. Ambrose is possibly the greatest pace bowler in West Indies history.

Name: Courtney Walsh Born: 30 October, 1962, Jamaica.

International caps: Tests – 132 ODIs – 205 If Ambrose is in here then so must Courtney Walsh.

Their 49 Test partnership yielded 421 wickets and Walsh stands as the leading

wicket taker in West Indies history. His game was based on pace and unrelenting pressure rather than finesse and grace but it did not suffer as a consequence. His athleticism allowed him a 17-year Test career and Walsh is one of only four men to have bowled more than 5,000 overs in Test cricket. The Jamaican could put any team on the back foot and the notion of him alongside Garner and Marshall at their collective peaks is delicious.

Name: Lance Gibbs Born: 29 September, 1934, British Guiana.

International caps: Tests – 79 ODIs – 3 The West Indies will always get credit for its rich tradition of pace bowling but it is variety that gives great teams their edge. The diminutive off-breaker is one of the finest spin bowlers in history and was only the second man to claim 300 Test wickets. He reduced India from 149/2 to 187 all out at Bridgetown in 1961-2 with eight wickets for just six runs. Gibbs, related to another Windies legend in the shape of Clive Lloyd, plied his trade too early to be part of the great Windies sides of the late-1970s and 80s but his place in this fantasy XI is so very richly deserved.

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