Coolidge, Antigua – 18 October 2008 – In two practice matches at the Stanford Cricket Ground, Stanford Superstars vice captain Sylvester Joseph demonstrated that he was in fine form leading into the Stanford Super Series starting on October 25th. The right handed middle order batsman ended unbeaten in both of his innings against a Regional Select XI in overcast conditions on a slow pitch while Taylor, the silken pacer from Jamaica was devastating, bagging four wickets in his solitary four over spell.Joseph hit 58 and 29 in his two knocks, slamming a total of six sixes and two fours and facing only 61 deliveries all told.
In the first match on the evening of Tuesday October 14th Joseph made an unbeaten 29 (16 deliveries, 2×6) to partner with Shivnarine Chanderpaul in taking the Superstars to a comfortable seven wicket win.
Chanderpaul, the current ICC Cricketer of the Year and fresh from his English county stint with Durham made a composed 49 from 54 deliveries inclusive of two fours as he and Joseph pushed their team’s score to 124 for 3 from 18.5 overs as they pursued a modest 121 for 8 made by the Regional Select XI.
Superstars captain Chris Gayle, who looked ominously aggressive, contributed 24 with four fours while Jamaican left arm spinner Nikita Miller took 2 wickets for 31 runs for the regional side.
Vice captain of the Regional Select XI, Omari Banks made a top score of 31 and there was a supporting knock of 20 from John Eugene, the former Windward Islands batsman who now plays for St Maarten.
Taylor was deadly, blasting away four batsmen for 17 runs from four overs. Three of his victims (Banks, Runako Morton who made 13 and Kenroy Peters) had their stumps ruthlessly uprooted with vicious yorkers as he sounded a warning to the English batsmen who he will come up against in the unprecedented US$20 million dollar match on November 1st.
Daren Powell, Lennox Cush and Lionel Baker picked up one wicket apiece.
The second practice match on Friday evening was abandoned after persistent showers but the Stanford Superstars had to be rescued by Joseph’s half century after finding themselves in serious trouble.
Peters, the left arm fast medium pacer from St Vincent destroyed the Superstars top order leaving them 65 for 5 in the 10th over but Joseph engineered a recovery to take them to 151 for 8 from 20 overs before the abandonment at the interval. Joseph’s 58 was made from 45 deliveries with four sixes and three fours.
Gayle, again swashbuckling, contributed 35 (18 deliveries) at the top of the order, inclusive of three sixes and two fours. Peters bowled a sensational 4 over spell, going for only 10 runs and picking up four wickets while Regional Select XI captain Wilden Cornwall bagged 3 for 38 from his four overs of medium pace.
Three practice matches were originally scheduled for October 14th, 15th and 16th but matches on the 15th and 16th were cancelled as a result of inclement weather caused by Hurricane Omar.
The Stanford Superstars continue their preparations for the Stanford Super Series under head coach Eldine Baptiste and his assistant Roger Harper.
Stanford Superstars squad: Chris Gayle (captain), Sylvester Joseph (vice captain), Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Lennox Cush, Travis Dowlin, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Chad Hampson, Lindon James (wicketkeeper), Dave Mohammed, Kieron Pollard, Daren Powell, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.
Regional Select Squad: Wilden Cornwall (captain), Omari Banks (vice captain), Deighton Butler, Pedro Collins, John Eugene, Montcin Hodge, Nikita Miller, Runako Morton, Nelon Pascal, Kenroy Peters, Orlando Peters, Austin Richards Jr, Devon Thomas (wicketkeeper), Gavin Tonge..
