COOLIDGE, Antigua (CMC):

The Stanford Superstars launched their preparation for the US$20 million match against England in November, with the first training camp which bowled off Wednesday.

Twenty-two members of the 32-man squad were present at the Stanford Cricket Ground here for the start of the camp which runs until August 13, under the charge of head coach Eldine Baptiste and assistant coach Roger Harper.

Chanderpaul out

Nine of the 10 remaining players are expected to join the camp over the next several days, after completing prior commitments.

Top West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be the only player to miss out on the entire camp because of his commitments to Durham in the English County championship.

"The camp is designed to upgrade the fitness levels of the players, fine-tune their all round cricket skills and there will also be emphasis on other critical aspects of the game such as team work, strategy formulation and video analysis review," a release from organisers said yesterday.

Selection

Following the conclusion of the training camp, the final squad to face England in the November 1 match will be selected.

The Twenty20 for US$20 million match will see the culmination of the Stanford Super Series with the richest team prize in sports. The series will also involve Stanford Twenty20 champions Trinidad and Tobago and Middlesex, the English Twenty20 County champions.

Team manager Lance Gibbs and assistant manager Cardigan Connor will also be present during the two-week camp with several West Indies cricket legends expected to give specialist advice.