| The people of the English-speaking Caribbean first | | | | 3) Professional approach |
| became aware of Texan billionaire Allen Stanford | | | | With unprecedented sums of money available as |
| when he opened a pub - Sticky Wicket - in Antigua. | | | | prize money, players adopted a more professional |
| 'Sticky Wicket' also included a Hall of Fame - an ode | | | | approach to the game. Stanford even sponsored |
| to West Indian legends. However, the minor stir | | | | some professional teams whose players were paid |
| created by that development was nothing compared | | | | well just to play cricket. Professional cricket did not |
| to the introduction of the Stanford 20/20 | | | | exist in any other form in the Caribbean. Stanford's |
| competition in 2006. | | | | 20/20 initiative certainly provided a more disciplined |
| Allen Stanford figured that he could revive the | | | | approach- particularly with the Stanford Superstars |
| flagging hopes of cricket players and fans alike with | | | | team. Many West Indian fielders even started to field |
| the newest form of the game. The 20/20 version of | | | | better. |
| cricket was shorter and more exciting than even the | | | | 4) Cricket as a business |
| one-day version. Stanford got approval from the | | | | Stanford- although he invested more than received in |
| West Indies Cricket Board and marketed the | | | | kind- demonstrated that cricket could be run by a |
| tournament many months in advance. He involved | | | | business model. He invested heavily in advertising and |
| West Indian legends and included teams from | | | | structuring the Stanford 20/20 organization. The |
| territories like Cayman Islands and the Virgin islands- | | | | organization of the tournaments was very |
| teams whose players rarely feature in West Indies | | | | business-like and efficient- unlike what normally |
| competitions. | | | | transpires under the auspices of the WICB. |
| The Stanford 20/20 competition was played twice. | | | | 5) Infrastructure |
| At the end of 2008, Stanford hosted an international | | | | Stanford helped develop an international-standard |
| 20/20 competition that featured 2008 Stanford 20 | | | | cricket ground near the main airport in Antigua- |
| 20 champs Trinidad and Tobago, English 20/20 | | | | adjacent to the Sticky Wicket pub. This ground had |
| champs Middlesex, Stanford Superstars and England. | | | | floodlights and a lush outfield as well. Although |
| Despite the heavy grey cloud that hung over Allen | | | | Antigua had two cricket venues, it didn't hurt to have |
| Stanford at the start of 2009, no one can deny that | | | | a third built either. The tournaments were held in |
| his involvement has benefitted many countries and | | | | Antigua at that ground. As a spin-off, the tournament |
| persons- even the English speaking Caribbean as a | | | | helped Antigua's tourism sector considerably. |
| whole- in several ways. | | | | 6) Funding |
| 1) Interest in cricket | | | | There was a lot of money spent in hosting the |
| As a result of the repeated failure of the West | | | | Stanford 20/20. Boards were funded in US dollars and |
| Indies cricket team, spectator interest in the sport | | | | teams received money for preparation as well. |
| began to wane significantly. Stanford's initiative- | | | | Funding is a problem for the West Indies because of |
| through advertising and marketing cricket as a | | | | the size of the territories involved. Stanford's initiative |
| product- increased spectator interest in cricket (at | | | | helped the boards of the respective territories fund |
| least in the 20/20 form). The interest was created | | | | cricket development in general. |
| by the prize for the winner (US $1,000,000.00) and | | | | Were it not for the Stanford 20/20 competition, the |
| the novelty and excitement of the newest form of | | | | West Indies would have been way behind in the 20 |
| cricket. | | | | 20 game. Many cricket pundits discovered that to |
| 2) Innovations | | | | play 20/20 required basic cricket skills and simply a |
| Stanford's competition brought new teams into focus. | | | | slap-dash approach to cricket in the shortest form. |
| However, it also brought an emphasis on night cricket | | | | As a result of financial and legal woes, the Stanford |
| in the Caribbean with a real party atmosphere. Even | | | | tournament will be no more. Still, the greatest impact |
| on the field of play- black bats were used. Those | | | | that he had on Caribbean cricket was to have an old |
| were innovations that could only be experimented | | | | pastime viewed in a new light. |
| with in regional competitions. | | | | |