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‘When Night falls … Cricket Rises’

By IANS

Coolidge (Antigua) : ‘When Night Falls… Cricket Rises” – that is one of the catchy slogans unveiled by the world’s richest domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament, Stanford 20/20 2008, which offers a million dollars as the winner’s purse.

This and other undisclosed slogans will be splashed all over the Caribbean islands when the television and print advertisement campaigns, shot here this week, are launched in the middle of next month, tournament director Rhonda Kelly announced Tuesday.

Twenty-one young men, each representing one of the 21 teams that will compete in the tournament, posed for the film and the still photography shoots that will be run in the regional media.

The tournament will be held Jan 25-Feb 24 at the Stanford Cricket Ground, with Cuba and Turks & Caicos Islands bringing the number of competing team to 21.

West Indies players Pedro Collins, Mervyn Dillon and Nixon McLean along with the Man of the Match of the Stanford 20/20 2006 Tournament finals, Travis Dowlin of Guyana, and exciting young Nevisian opening batsman Kieran Powell were among the players who did the shoot at the Stanford Cricket Ground, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and at the Jolly Beach Resort.

With all matches in the Stanford 20/20 2008 scheduled as night games, some of the shoots were done during the night as well.

“It was really exciting to see that players from all the countries were represented in the ad shoot. The three days were filled with all the excitement, fun and unique flavour that we are building up for the Stanford 20/20 Tournament next year,” said Kelly.

Legendary West Indies captain Vivian Richards, also a Stanford 20/20 board member, enthused about the excitement the tournament has generated.

“Being a part of promoting this tournament is simply an extension of our work on the board. Because this programme does so much for West Indies cricket it is easy to promote. We want everyone in the region to enjoy all the excitement that it brings,” he said.

Nineteen teams participated in the first Stanford 20/20 in 2006, run by financier Sir Allen Stanford.