2008 Stanford Super Series

The Stanford Superstars was a squad selected from the best players in the Stanford 20/20 competition. England competed in the first year of a five-year contract to be involved in the tournament. Trinidad and Tobago qualified as the winners of the Stanford 20/20 whilst Middlesex Crusaders qualified as winners of the Twenty20 Cup in England and Wales.

The tournament was seen to have been commenced successfully, though pitch conditions meant that its opening matches were low-scoring.[2] Criticism was also levelled at the floodlights in the Antigua pitch, which were low enough to obstruct the vision of fielding players, with Middlesex captain Shaun Udal stating "I have not known a ground where the visibility is as bad".[3] The behaviour of organiser Allen Stanford was also questioned, particularly after he offended a number of England players by acting flirtatiously with their wives during a match, actions for which he later apologised[4] The England team was later hit by a stomach bug, leading Kevin Pietersen to declare that he was looking forward to the tournament's completion.[5] Before the tournament ended, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that they would be reviewing the five-year contract that they had signed with Stanford, bringing into question their participation in future tournaments[6]

However, the Trinidad and Tobago v England game was described as 'thrilling'.[7] The tournament received a large amount of media coverage whilst it was extremely popular with fans in the West Indies.[8] Commentators were generally positive about the success of the tournament within its host venue, with Jonathan Agnew claiming that it was organised significantly better than the previous World Cup, also held in the West Indies.[9]

Digicel, who sponsors the West Indies Cricket Board, filed suit to halt the Stanford Super Series. They claimed that due to their deal with the West Indies Cricket Board, that they were due certain advertising and broadcasting rights that weren't being granted to them. The response from the West Indies Board, and from the representatives of the Super Series was that the Stanford Superstars were an unofficial team, and thus the Digicel agreement did not come into play. Digicel won the suit, in front of the High Court in London, England. However, they later reached a deal with Stanford Super Series officials, that allowed the tournament to continue for at least three years.[14]

• Stanford2020.com