ST JOHN'S, ANTIGUA // The stand-in captain Sylvester Joseph hit an unbeaten 31-ball 45 as the Stanford Superstars laboured to 146-5 against Trinidad and Tobago in the Stanford Twenty20 Super Series opener yesterday. Joseph, deputising for Chris Gayle who withdrew from the game for undisclosed personal reasons, helped the Superstars recover from 34-2 in the eighth over after the left-arm spinner Samuel Badree captured two wickets in successive deliveries.
Joseph cracked a pair of sixes and two more boundaries in adding 55 with opener Travis Dowlin, who made 35. Keiron Pollard attempted to up the tempo with 21 off 21 balls which included one six which sailed into the swimming pool adjacent to Stanford Cricket Ground. Badree had opener Andre Fletcher caught on the long-off boundary for 25 at 34-1 in the eighth over then bowled the West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan with the next ball.
Badree finished with 2-20 and seamer Navin Stewart, who bowled Pollard and Lindon James for 4, collected 2-33 in limiting the Superstars, a West Indies all-star side. Shivnarine Chanderpaul also did not play for the Superstars in the rich inaugural event, in which the money matches do not start until Monday. England and English County champions Middlesex also feature. *AP
