Twenty20 / Andrew Hughes / 22 October 2008 / Leave a comment

Andrew Hughes has an all-important primer before the Stanford Twenty20 competition gets underway.

Unless you're an American or have been holidaying on Mars for the last six months, you can't fail to have noticed that the Stanford Super Series is almost upon us. It is also unlikely that you will have failed to have formed an opinion on it. The circus that gets underway on Saturday is, depending on your point of view, a brilliantly innovative concept that will draw a massive audience or an irrelevant and distasteful exercise in hype that threatens the integrity of the game.

Yet since most of the coverage has concentrated on the controversy rather than the cricket, it may be that many of you are still in some doubt over the format. When are the matches being played, for example? How much money is on offer? And what the hell are Middlesex doing there? We at Betfair are always keen to inform our readership, so here is the beginners guide to the Stanford Super Series.

Who's in it?

The eagle-eyed will have spotted that there are more than two teams involved. An England XI, led by Kevin Pietersen and the Stanford Superstars led by Chris Gayle are the headline grabbers. But they will be joined by English Twenty20 Cup winners Middlesex (featuring Test regular Andrew Strauss) and the winners of the domestic Stanford Twenty20 Competition, Trinidad and Tobago. Somewhat unfairly, Trinidad & Tobago have lost three of their best players to the Superstars, but then like in love and war, all's fair in million dollar cricket.

So how will it work?

The four teams will play one another once, but no points will be gained or carried forwards. There are two big money games: on October 27th between Middlesex and Trinidad & Tobago and the finale on 1st November between England and the Superstars. The other four matches are just schedule fillers. There is also the bonus of a Beach Cricket tournament on 31st October, featuring a number of pot-bellied former players stumbling around in the sand.

How much money is involved?

Lots. The game between Middlesex and Trinidad & Tobago is for $400,000, a fair prize for three hours work, yet dwarfed by the $20m on offer to the winners of the England v Superstars game. What has grabbed the attention and raised a few eyebrows is the winner-takes all element. And even Kevin Pietersen has noticed the unfortunate coincidence of a twenty million dollar game of cricket taking place at the beginning of the second Great Depression. He has pledged to donate a portion of his winnings (assuming there are any) to charity.

Why should I care about it?

You may think a made-up competition between well-paid sportsmen in pursuit of large piles of cash is not something you should bother with. But from the point of view of pure entertainment, there are some great cricketers involved with the large prize pretty much ensuring a keenly fought contest. And just like the Indian Premier League, this event has the potential to shape the future of the game. It is in that respect, must-see television.

Why should I bet on it?

Twenty20 is a relatively fresh format and there are plenty of people out there who haven't adjusted to the new realities of this form of cricket. And hype generates interest, which generates betting action. In short, there will be a lot of uninformed money being punted on this event. My Betfair colleague Ralph Ellis has already written an excellent article which touches on the current state of the market. Do your research and cash in.

So who should we be looking out for?

Well the likes of Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are pure box office and they will be joined by some of exciting lesser known players such as explosive batsmen Kieron Pollard and Andre Fletcher. Middlesex and Trinidad & Tobago are light on big names, but are successful Twenty20 teams with a good team spirit. If you want to know more about the teams, there is analysis of the England XI here and the Stanford Superstars here and there will be further previews on this site over the next few days.