Stanford

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):

OVER THE next five years, the Stanford Twenty20 Cup will become a permanent fixture on the West Indies Cricket Board's (WICB) annual calendar of events.

This follows a meeting held last Friday between the WICB and the Stanford Twenty20 board of directors which will shortly sign an agreement for a five-year franchise that will ensure the continuation of the competition.

"What was achieved was a small step, but a very important one," said Julian Hunte, president of the WICB.

"We all recognise that to achieve our goals, which will all result in the betterment of West Indies cricket, we need to work together and continue to have constant and open dialogue," he said.

Primary interest

Directors of the Stanford Twenty20 Cup organisation praised Hunte for his conduct of the meeting.

"He has shown us that he truly has West Indies cricket as his primary interest and we are all very heartened by his immediate desire to work together with us as a team," Stanford board member Desmond Haynes, the former Barbados captain and West Indies opening batsman, said.

A joint news release from the two organisations noted that the agreement would ensure support from the Stanford group for cricket development in participating Caribbean countries.

The meeting, held in Antigua, was attended by Hunte, as well as WICB directors Gregory Shillingford and Enoch Lewis and acting chief executive officer Barry Thomas.

The Stanford Twenty20 board representation comprised 10 of the 14 cricket legends and Antiguan Queen's Counsel, Ken Allen. The news release concluded that Sir Allen Stanford, the creator and financier of the Stanford Twenty20 Cup, was unable to attend the meeting due to a family commitment, but he fully supported the meeting and was very pleased with the results.