Tony Becca, Contributor

THE STANFORD Twenty20 for 20, the cricket tournament which offers US$20 million and a cool million to each member of the winning team after a one-match shoot-out between England and the Stanford Superstars, gets under way in Antigua on Saturday.

The world, certainly most of it, is eagerly awaiting the showdown on November 1.

The question, however, is this: why are they awaiting this one-match contest scheduled for a maximum of 40 overs with so much expectation, so much anxiety?

Is it because of the action, the brilliant play that is expected, or is it because of the huge prizemoney for a match lasting for three hours or so?

Based on the crowds which have been turning up at grounds all over England for the past five years or so, based on the crowds that turned up for the two Stanford tournaments in Antigua, and based on the crowds which turned up for the two Twenty20 tournaments in India, it easily could be because of the excitement of balls sailing through the air, flying over the fences and landing way beyond the boundary.

Big money

Having heard about the enormous sums of money being earned by the professionals in sports like soccer, American football, basketball and in baseball where one like Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees draws in about US$25 million a year, where one like Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers is asking for US$27.5 million a year for four years, having heard about how cricketers have been suffering, in comparison, it could also be because of the prizemoney involved.

Cricket fans, and especially so those in the West Indies, love to see their representatives earning money, to them, a million dollars is a lot of money and even if they are not offered a drink out of it, they would love to see their cricketers with money, a lot of it, in their pockets.

Destroy Test cricket

Money is not everything, however, and although it is good that Stanford, for whatever the reason, is spending some of his money in the game, even though the players, particularly the winners, and the game itself will be better off for it and must be or should be happy for it, there are those who are concerned and for good reasons.

Apart from those who still do not believe Stanford's claim that his money is aimed at helping West Indies cricket rise once again to its former glory - those who believe that if he is really doing all of this, spending his money, in the interest of West Indies cricket, he would be doing things differently and working with the West Indies board, there are also those who believe that the money around Twenty20 cricket can hurt the game in that, because of the money at stake, Twenty20 cricket can destroy Test cricket.

No one, however, can blame the ECB, the BCCI and the Stanford organisation for wanting to make money - for doing what some of them probably really believe can save Test cricket.

According to them, and they are right, Test cricket needs money to keep it going.

The players, however, also need money. Like bees to honey, they will always follow the money, no one can blame them, and the solution seems to be that the ICC must do something to protect Test cricket from those who can only see money.

Test cricket is the top of the game, it is where technique and skill are tested and it is where and should be where the best parade their skills.

I have never heard a player, not even one, says he prefers Twenty20 and/or one-day cricket to Test cricket.

To those who play, or who have played the game, to those in whose hands rests the future of Test cricket, the shorter version of the game is fun, and plenty fun at that.

Fun and exciting

Test cricket, however, is the test, and although the Stanford Twenty20 should be fun and should be exciting, even though money is money and US$1 million is a lot of money, those with the ability, with bat and ball, those who can determine the future of the game, should listen to the words of Kevin Pietersen, England's captain and one of those in the hunt for some of Stanford's millions.

"Twenty20 is here to stay and is the future of coloured-clothes cricket, but white clothes separate the men from the boys. Tests are the pinnacle and I want to be remembered for having pretty good stats in Test cricket."