** Stanford Series Thread **

[Predator_05]

Not a patch on the IPL.

[Sachinism]

did u watch the match ? Murali Karthik bowled beautifully except a few no-balls.

I feel that he could have bowled a lot better, the pitch was brilliant for spinners, he gave away too many loose balls and too many no-balls, though he didn't concede much on the free hits These pitches are pretty hard to bat on by the looks of it Freddie was awesome at the end with the yorkers btw look out for this Mallan lad, I've said it before, this guy has some serious talent

[Feed]

Bowlers spare shaky England's blushes England held its nerve to clinch a narrow 12-run Stanford Super Series victory over Middlesex in a low-scoring affair at Coolidge on Sunday. More... England XI v Middlesex, Antigua Bowlers spare England's blushes The Bulletin by Martin Williamson October 26, 2008 England 121 for 4 (Shah 39*) beat Middlesex 109 for 4 (Malan 44*) by 16 runs Live scorecard Ian Bell is run-out by a direct hit from Neil Carter © Getty Images England beat Middlesex by 12 runs in their opening warm-up ahead of Saturday’s $20 million match, but it was a poor performance and they relied on some excellent bowling from Stuart Broad and Andrew Flintoff to get them out of jail after a turgid display with the bat. Their batsmen looked rusty, with none of them really timing the ball and there were only two sixes and five fours in an innings of 121 for 4. The conditions did not make for easy scoring, but even allowing for that, it was a pretty ordinary display and one which will certainly not please the players’ bank managers - or wives - if repeated next weekend. All the batsmen got started, other than Kevin Pietersen who perished for a laboured 5 giving Muarli Kartik a rather reckless charge, but none of them threatened to grab the bowling by the scruff of the neck. Owais Shah played a few genuine shots and was the only batsman to manage more than a run-a-ball, and it took some late pyrotechnics from him and Flintoff to give the score some kind of respectability. The hundred did not come up until the 17th over, which yielded the only two sixes of the innings, the first from Shah waking up the WAGS in their VIP enclosure, the second from Flintoff a crisp straight drive. It was, however, the storm between the lulls. The pitch, which was trumpeted in the considerable pre-tournament hype as being one to suit batsmen, was again slow and low, favouring the straight hitters, and the outfield sluggish. Unless it quickens up and hardens in the next few days, anything over 150 will take some chasing. Middlesex found the going just as hard when their turn to bat came, and they were behind the asking rate from the off. Andrew Strauss, who earlier had dropped what was quite possibly the easiest catch you are ever likely to see, was bowled playing an ugly heave, as England’s seamers strangled the top of the order. Broad maintained his back-of-a-length line, forcing the batsmen onto the back foot, while Flintoff at the end unleashed his unerring blockhole-jarring deliveries. Ed Joyce and Dawid Malan, the pick of the batsmen, kept the innings chugging along with a stand of 62 in nine overs, but the required rate teasingly eased away from them and despite what appeared a close margin of victory, England strolled through the last few overs. Middlesex’s spin duo of Shaun Udal and Murali Kartik, who chocked the life out of the middle of the England innings, showed the value of slow bowling in this format on this pitch. Pietersen relied more on pace in this game, but the England management were certainly given some foot for thought in that regard. Pietersen himself filled a slow-bowling role here, but he was one of the few bowlers who came in for some tap. One of the talking points to have emerged from the first two games is the catching, and it was again appalling. Had Middlesex held their chances then England might well have been embarrassed, but England too, even the ultra reliable Paul Collingwood, found the ball took on the qualities of a greased pig when in the air. On the field, in keeping with the general tone of the game, there was little anger as chance after chance went down, but the sight of England back out practising taking steeplers out of the lights as the crowd drifted home showed that it is a facet of their game which is a worry. One potential banana skin is out of the way for England, but from here on in things will get much tougher as they chase cricket's Holy Grail.

[Shane]

Not the spectacle that Stanford envisaged If, as many people suspect, Allen Stanford’s intention is to crack the US market in the course of this Antiguan expedition, then the quality and drama of the opening two fixtures of his Super Series does not augur well for his prospects for New World domination. It hardly seemed possible to put together a less enthralling contest than the one that the Superstars and Trinidad produced on Saturday evening, and yet England and Middlesex managed just that in a turgid affair that masqueraded as a close finish only because of the inability of either side to score at more than a run a ball. Stanford’s visions of soaring sixes and transfixed audiences were replaced instead by the sight of Neil Carter swinging with ugly optimism like a second-rate baseball slugger, as he pinch-hit his way to a self-defeating 11 from 27 balls. This match followed an identical pattern to the opening fixture. The favourites batted first, and produced a substandard effort on a track that favoured spin bowling. The underdogs kept pace for a while, threatening to cause an upset only for the gulf in class to yawn between them in the final analysis. “We did our best, against the best bowlers in the country,” said Middlesex’s captain, Shaun Udal. “I’m happy really.” There has been a grim fascination to these matches, but it’s not been Twenty20 cricket as the world knows and loves it. Low-scoring games are not uncommon in this format – some of the finest matches so far have been double-digit affairs – but at least when sixes refuse to fly, stumps tend to go cartwheeling instead. But, so far in the Super Series there have been 21 wickets out of a possible 40, and only two sixes in each of the last three innings. That adds up to an awful lot of inactivity for a supposedly hyperactive brand. Kevin Pietersen has never been fond of slow, low wickets, and his 10-ball 5 ended with a predictable stumping as he attempted to force the pace. “It’s a bit of a shame really,” he said. “Given the spectacle that’s going to be, you’d expect us to have scores of 160 to 200, but it’s the same for both teams, and the best team is going to win on the day. That’s what we’ve got, so that’s what we’ve got to try and practice with.” Pietersen was quick to add that he believed that, given the sums of money riding on the match, nothing would detract from next Saturday’s spectacle. But it’s clear that after just two days of competition, England are already accepting that their pre-conceived notions might have to be trashed if they are to fly back home with Stanford’s loot on Sunday evening. The knots into which they were tied by Murali Kartik and Shaun Udal, coupled with the success of the Superstar spinners on Saturday night, means that Graeme Swann is one step closer to his dream of a pink Ferrari, as he prepares to join Samit Patel in a twin-spin attack. It’s a bit of a shame really. Given the spectacle that’s going to be, you’d expect us to have scores of 160 to 200, but it’s the same for both teams, and the best team is going to win on the day - Kevin Pietersen on the slow nature of the Stanford wicket “It’s definitely an option,” said Pietersen, who underlined the likelihood by bringing himself into the attack for a full four-over stint. “I’m not good enough to bowl as a second spinner, but it’s something we’ll think long and hard about. It’s not something we were thinking about at the start of the tournament, but we didn’t think we’d have conditions like this.” All of a sudden it’s hard to envisage quite how England’s bowlers will line up for Saturday’s big match. Andrew Flintoff was the trump card this evening, bowling so full and fast at the death that Middlesex could do little more than dig out his yorkers, but Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom – on his return to England colours – were the two most economical men in the attack. With Steve Harmison unlikely to miss out if he is fit enough to take part, it could be that James Anderson will once again be England’s fall guy, if space has to be found for the second spinner. “It’s going to be difficult but we’ve come here as a squad,” said Pietersen. “If we win the squad benefits, if we lose no-one benefits. At the end of the day we’re here as a team to play for England, to play for the badge and show the pride and passion that I always talk of. If [players] miss out, they miss out. It’s for the good of the team, to pick the best team we can possibly pick.” England might also be mindful of picking the very best fielders they can muster, because there has, of course, been another comical factor to the contests so far – the standard of the catching, which has been woeful from all four teams on display. If the Superstars’ Kieron Pollard took the biscuit in yesterday’s match, with his facile drop at midwicket, then today he was superseded by two spectacularly poor attempts – Murali Kartik’s clanger at slip, and Andrew Strauss’s blunder for the ages at short midwicket. “It was one of Auntie’s Bloomers for history,” said Strauss’s captain, Shaun Udal, after a miss that has scarcely ever been rivalled in the history of televised cricket. Mike Gatting’s reprieve of Praveen Amre on England’s 1992-93 tour of India is one such howler that merits comparison, as does Eric Upashantha’s spill in the gully on Sri Lanka’s tour of England in 2002. But Udal did at least come up with a plausible explanation for the rash of chances that have gone begging in the last two days. “The lights here are pretty low, due to the airport being next door,” said Udal, “so as soon as it goes above the line of the lights, it fades into oblivion, and it’s like looking at little stars. If something comes down at you, you have to try and make a move, and Strauss’s went straight into the middle of the lights and he lost it, [or so] he said.” Both teams could be seen out in the middle for 20 minutes after the game, circling underneath skiers and practicing for the ball that might, in a matter of days, have US$20 million riding on it.

[Sachinism]

Stanford: Middlesex vs Trinidad & Tobago ($250,000) Is money really the only thing that makes the world go round? Tonight we have an opportunity to put that premise to the test, as the Stanford Super Series gets serious for its two junior competitors. After two warm-up matches that were the very definition of lacklustre, Middlesex and Trinidad go head-to-head for a prize of US$280,000, and the right to be considered the best domestic Twenty20 cricket team on either side of the North Atlantic. Middx batting 1st

[Dravid]

gwad this icl, ipl, now this :mad: wtf am i doing playing in usa :mad: oh yea, not good enuff :hehe:

[Sachinism]

Great stuff from the Trini lads

[Sachinism]

pretty good game in the end T&T take the money

[Feed]

Careless hands cost Middlesex the chance to lift the Champions Cup Middlesex will become the first English county to take part in the Champions League in India in December after throwing away their chance to win the Champions Cup.More... Careless hands cost Middlesex the chance to lift the Champions Cup by PAUL NEWMAN Last updated at 1:27 AM on 28th October 2008 Middlesex will become the first English county to take part in the Champions League in India in December after throwing away their chance to win the Champions Cup last night against Trinidad and Tobago. These really are cosmopolitan times to be a county cricketer. Another low scoring game on another low, slow Stanford Cricket Ground wicket saw Middlesex fail to achieve the victory they came here for in this first Twenty20 meeting of the English and West Indian champions of the short format that is taking over the game. Winning run: Trinidad and Tobago's Darren Bravo celebrates hitting the winning runs to beat Middlesex Big hit: Trinidad and Tobago's Daren Ganga hits out This was an important part of the week of matches here that will culminate with Saturday’s showdown between England and the Stanford Superstars. Even though the Middlesex players missed their chance to leave with around £20,000 each rather than the £650,000 a man on offer to England this will still go down as a notable night for Shaun Udal and his team. Alas there was little of the drama which made Middlesex’s domestic Twenty20 Cup triumph over Kent one of the highlights of last summer. There is little to advocate Twenty20 cricket if the pitch renders the teams virtually strokeless and Middlesex had to scrap and battle rather than bludgeon their way to a mere 117 for eight. Only Neil Dexter, Middlesex’s signing from Kent, made any sort of headway against a Trinidad team packed with assorted spinners replicating the tactics that won them the West Indian title here. Dexter hit three sixes and two of only six fours that Middlesex could muster in their entire innings as Ravi Rampaul, one of only two seam bowlers used by Trinidad, took a brace of wickets at the start of the innings and another two in successive balls in the final over. It left Trinidad with a great chance of taking home the prize money despite the pitch becoming harder to score off. That was until Middlesex dropped three more catches. Neil Carter’s inclusion in the Middlesex team here on loan from Warwickshire was described as ‘a disgrace’ by England captain Kevin Pietersen but Middlesex see him as a like-for-like replacement for Dirk Nannes, back home in Victoria. Carter, though, had a miserable night, falling for one, dropping a simple catch and being hit for two sixes. When the occasional leg-spin of Dawid Malan accounted for both of the Ganga brothers, Daren and Sherwin, in the same over Middlesex looked home and dry. But Denesh Ramdin came together with Darren Bravo, younger brother of Dwayne and on his debut, to guide Trinidad home with four balls to spare. Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan were also culpable with bad misses in an event already littered with dropped chances. At least it was an achievement for Middlesex to be here at the start of a new era of Udal as official captain and Angus Fraser as the soon to arrive managing director of cricket. That is an excellent appointment and it is to be hoped it will lead to more prosperous times for them. If they can learn to catch a ball.

[Shane]

Ramdin leads T&T to big-money glory

A superbly paced 41 off 28 balls by Denesh Ramdin powered Trinidad and Tobago to victory over Middlesex in the battle of the trans-Atlantic Twenty20 champions and with it the prize of US$280,000. Ramdin added a decisive 67 in eight overs with the 19-year-old Darren Bravo as Middlesex dropped crucial catches in the closing stages, and Bravo sealed the victory by launching a mighty six with four balls remaining. It has been the question on everyone's lips. How would a team react to the pressure of a huge pay-day? While it would be harsh to say that Middlesex choked, they certainly wilted under the strain after putting themselves in a position to walk away with the money. Despite reaching just 117 in their 20 overs, they held T&T's run chase under control for two-thirds of the innings. Then it all came apart, with the difficulty of catching under the low floodlights a deciding factor. The vital momentum shift began when Ed Joyce dropped Bravo at long-on on 6, despite having time to steady himself under the high catch. At that point T&T needed 54 off 38 balls and swing became decisive in Neil Carter's comeback over which cost 18 runs. Moments earlier Carter dropped a chance at short third-man with Bravo on 17, then the first ball of his third over - the 17th of the innings - was lofted high towards long-off by Ramdin. Eoin Morgan back-tracked only to palm the ball over the ropes. It would have been a far from simple catch in brilliant sunshine, while playing for drink money, never mind when the fielders have thoughts of thousands of dollars on their minds, but it showed Middlesex were fraying at the edges. To make matters worse for Middlesex - and Carter - two balls later a high no-ball was upper-cut over third man for six. Suddenly, from needing more than nine-an-over, T&T required a run-a-ball with Bravo and Ramdin riding on their adrenalin rush. Shaun Udal recalled one of his trump cards, hoping Tyron Henderson could repeat his match-winning heroics from the domestic Twenty20 final in July, but Bravo and Ramdin knew they had done the hard work. Ramdin couldn't quite see the chase across the line, falling to Ben Scott's second outstanding stumping of the innings, but Bravo finished the match in a fitting manner as he drove Tim Murtagh into the stands. Bravo, the younger brother of West Indies allrounder Dwayne, showed immense maturity after coming in at 46 for 3 in the 11th over. T&T's top order had been tied down by fine new-ball bowling from Murtagh and Carter before Dawid Malan showed the other side of his game. Malan's first ball was slog-swept out to deep midwicket by Sherwin Ganga - where a catch was, for once, comfortably held - and the fifth beat Daren Ganga with a sharp leg-break. Middlesex have built their Twenty20 success around spin, but not the part-time variety of Malan who had one wicket before this innings. For once, though, their key pairing of Udal and Murali Kartik didn't have a major bearing on the chase which proved crucial in the final outcome. T&T managed to play out Kartik's four overs, while Udal was hampered by a hamstring injury he picked up in the pre-match warm-ups. Nothing was going to stop him playing in this match, but while he was pulling up lame his team was pulling up agonisingly short of their jackpot. The match-winning partnership between Bravo and Ramdin was one of the most free-scoring periods of action over the first three matches. Middlesex's innings had been another struggle containing just six fours and three sixes, which all came from Neil Dexter during his late burst of 39 from 25 balls. He was one of only two Middlesex batsmen, along with Scott, to score at better than a run-a-ball against an impressive T&T attack. Ravi Rampaul began and ended the innings in style to claim four wickets, while the 12 overs of spin - ranging from Samuel Badree's brisk leg-spin with the new ball, to Sherwin Ganga's floaty offerings against the club-wielding Henderson - went for 62 runs. Middlesex's half-way scoring rate of four-an-over can often be seen in the Test arena, but it probably wasn't what Allen Stanford had in mind, shortly before this match, when he said Test cricket could co-exist with Twenty20. Mid-way through their chase T&T were only marginally in front and it was anyone's game. It was a battle of nerves and two young West Indians held theirs.

[jukkha]

Not sure if this has been posted but this is funny! Stanford angers England players by flirting with their wifes/girlfriends http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1081082/Im-order--Stanford-grovels-KP-Prior-antics-WAGs.html

[Sachinism]

Stanford was bouncing Matt Prior's pregnant wife on his knees LOL LMAO

[SachDan]

"There were a few gobsmacked faces. I did not see it because I was bowling at the time but I think Matt Prior had a look of shock on his face." Stuart Broad on reports that Allen Stanford flirted with some of the players' wives and girlfriends :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[Sachinism]

I remember seeing this on tv, but there was no mention of them being the players wives and girlfriends

[sharma]

i wonder what prior's gf was thinking bouncin on his lap while pregnant... maybe she thinks prior's career is really over? lol

[PaiN_KiLLeR]

[SachDan]

WTF

[Laaloo]

That is seriously not right!!

[SachDan]

That is seriously not right!!

we may argue..but look how those ladies are enjoying !!

[SachDan]

Sir Allen Stanford apologises to Kevin Pietersen and England for flirting with WAGs Stanford was seen to grab and put Emma Prior, the wife of wicketkeeper Matt, on his lap before putting his arm around Alastair Cook’s girlfriend during England’s match against Middlesex on Sunday evening. The incident was captured on television by the cameraman who tracks Sir Allen’s every move. It seemed a good natured incident at the time and the players’ wives smiled and went along with the fun. But it seems the incident caused embarrassment and made them feel uncomfortable. One unnamed England player said last night: “If that was my wife and he put her in his lap I would have wanted to punch him.” Stuart Broad, the England bowler, said: “There were a few gobsmacked faces. I did not see it because I was bowling at the time but I think Matt Prior had a look of shock on his face.” Stanford moved quickly on Monday to restore good relations with the players, apologising to Prior and Pietersen for his behaviour. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/twenty20/3270991/Sir-Allen-Stanford-apologises-to-Kevin-Pietersen-and-England-for-flirting-with-WAGs-Cricket.html