What to do with spare cash...

Sir Allen Stanford may be doing thing with his earnings in the Caribbean, but this piece has slightly perplexed me.

The Stanford Super Stars match which was scheduled for June next year has had to be cancelled after India could obviosuly find no place for it in the team's busy schedule.

According to the piece, US$5million match was up for grabs at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua, but now Stanford and his 14 legends of West Indies cricket "have decided that the money would best be spent in grassroots cricket in the West Indies." With such a staggering amount on offer in the first place, surely the priority would be to give the funds to grass roots in the first place or do I miss the point?

The Trent story

Good news for Irish cricket fans with the news that Trent Johnston will be continuing as skipper until at least 2009.

It has been a terrific year for the Aussie and in true spirit has launched a book of the Irish experience in the Caribbean. Raiders of the Caribbean is penned by Johnston and journalist Ger Siggins. The 58,000 words were also written in 58 days straight after the Irish team landed in Dublin.

World Cup podcast

Download another World Cup special podcast here. I'm in St Lucia where I spoke to Mike Gatting at possibly one of the world's greatest airport departure bars... on the beach. I also ventured to the premiere of Hit for Six - the first Caribbean film based on cricket and the biggest film release to date to come out of Barbados. It has its moments but the $700,000 budget often shows up. Anyway, I spoke to music legend Eddy Grant and Rudolph Walker, otherwise known as Patrick from Eastenders, at the red carpet affair.

Click here for your last chance to win a signed England shirt from SEVEN former England captains. Asnwer an easy question to enter and be in with a chance. Click here for more info.

Lara audio tribute

Catch my latest podcast (by clicking here from 12pm BST) with a tribute to Brian Lara's career.

Take out the negatives of dealing with the WICB's political wranglings, sponsorship fiascos and general Carribean malaise which dogged Lara in his captaincy, and you are left with memories of a player who, on his day, did things no other batsman could live with. He was also a menace to captains who tried to produce fields for the left-hander as his touch and skill mustered the Prince of Trinidad run after run.

Hey, and I even get to speak to Caribbean music legend Eddie Grant. It's official, the Electric Avenue singer is one cool customer.

Why not subscribe to the remaining World Cup podcasts? Click here for itunes links.

Do you have any memories of Lara the player except perhaps the world record knocks he produced? Comment below...

Back to Business?

So it is now a virtual quarter-final between England and South Africa after the Proteas loss against New Zealand.

After a few weeks of prolonged Super 8s games, the English media and fans will finally know on Tuesday the team's fate in this tournament. Luckily I'm not just following the daily rigmorole/monotony of the English cricket team and focusing on more global cricketing matters. So it must be frustrating for English fans out here and back home that Duncan Fletcher's team are even still here after all this time.

I don't now what will be worse: England losing from a winning position against the talented chokers of South Africa or somehow managing a semi-final birth and losing comprehensively to New Zealand in St Lucia.

Anyway, Mike Atherton has been keeping betting tabs on the World Cup and predicts this week's outcome. As he says, it's time for the big-hitters to come to the party. Thoughts?

Garner does the beach

A Media Moguls select team took on a random assortment of Barbadian 'Legends' today courtesy of those fine people at the Barbados Tourist Authority. Everything was on hand: Mount Gay Rum; some fine microphone commentary and Big Joel Garner bowling the first over. Nutley's correspondent managed a big one before his dismissal - no guessing which legend he managed it off? Click here for more photos.

Holding out for a hero

How do you dress to meet a national hero? This thought briefly crossed my mind at the weekend when I had a morning interview with Sir Garfield Sobers.

Any other country you would no doubt where shirt and tie, as I have done when I've met him in England. My conscience was heightened when speaking to a Barbadian policeman and how the force always salute Sobers as a sign of respect when they come across him (and thanks to his playing days with the Police Cricket Club).

In the end I went for t-shirt and flip-flops and Sir G turned up wearing the same: that's how you dress in the Caribbean!

What happens now?

Oh how I wanted the West Indies to chase down 303 against Sri Lanka.

I really did hope they would manage it; for the World Cup's sake and to lift the depressive tendencies my hotel reception girls apply when the Windies lose games.

So the days are ticking down to the Barbados Super 8 games. The Kensington Oval looks a picture and there should at least be a series of well-attended games here.

But there will be a couple of things missing. Notably, India v Pakistan. I've yet to post anything on the demise (a sad one in Pakistan's case) of these two teams.

So what are your views? Does it really take an Indian TV show, Cricket Star, to find the next talent in this vast country? Is Ian Chappell right when he says Sachin Tendulkar should retire? Personally, I thought India would go well in the Caribbean. They had played a year schedule whereby they were unlikely to be fatigued by the time of the World Cup and looked a settled side. But playing away from home obviously plays havoc with their talent in India's case.

Post your thoughts below and keep posted over the coming week as the Nutley paints a picture on how Barbados is preparing for the games.

Gravy, Gibbs and gratitude

Real Caribbean style this one.

Tomorrow's clash between West Indies and Australia will not only mark the opening of the Super 8s but also Antigua's new ground. The island has declared the day a public holiday so we should finally see a full house for the first time in this World Cup. Will we also see the return of Gravy, one of Caribbean cricket's legendary personalities and the West Indies' biggest fan. He officially 'retired' from his shenanigans in 2000 during England's tour. Didn't he also wear a wedding outfit on his lap of honour?

In keeping with World Cup generosity on other islands, St Kitts&Nevis has awarded honorary citizenship to Matthew Hayden and Herschelle Gibbs following their group stage antics. Gibbs, however, got a slightly better gift thanks to his six sixes. He was given $6,666 plus a holiday for two while Hayden just got the holiday. I suppose he could have been given $100 or even $10,000, but then he would have outshone the South African big-hitter.

Cricket's TV calypso collapso

Experienced a day-off and a taste of St Lucian Sunday life yesterday. The beach was awash with activity: cricket; football and bbq's.

Football was an interesting one and raised an interesting viewpoint. As mentioned in an earlier post, the island was in danger of a cricket blackout on TV before the tournament as TV authorities wanted its viewers to pay to watch the tournament.

Flicking through the cable channels here shows just how much other sports have climbed over cricket's popularity here. ESPN and Fox Sports are two of the major sports networks shown and basketball and the English Premiership are now two of the most watched sports in the Caribbean. Dwight Yorke is now on an equal with Brian Lara, hoop stars are now being revered over cricket's current crop of tall fast bowlers. It doesn't help when only one World Cup match has also been shown on TV over the last two weeks.

The below photo captures cricket in the foreground but there was more interest in the football further up the beach.

A St Lucian Sunday

Podcasts; supplements

So what are you making of the World Cup warm-ups?

New Zealand losing to Bangladesh then posting a decent total against Sri Lanka; England romping home against Bermuda before a thrashing against the Aussies; the West Indies performing calypso collapso... and the minnows performing, well, admirably.

With the tournament proper just days away, the Nutley is preparing for its imminent departure to the Caribbean. I will be doing some (actually a fair few) podcasts for the Daily Mail over the coming weeks do get in there and start subscribing to get a flavour of island life throughout the tournament.

And Patrick Kidd over at Line and Length has been busy this week putting together a World Cup guide for The Times, which is out on Tuesday.

Two shameless bits of advertising, but well worth it!

Caribbean colour scheme

At first glance this looks like a colour scheme associated more to an English seaside resort.

This is actually one of the new stadiums which will be used in the Caribbean World Cup (click here to see more photos of the stadium). Anyone know which ground/island this is meant to be?

On the World Cup, the West Indies cricket blog has highlighted another problem which the World Cup authorities are going to have to deal with: unauthorised merchandise will no doubt be available throughout the Islands during the tournament.

The World Cup song, however, which Nutley posted a few weeks ago, is one item that is official, although it remains to be seen if organisers chose an authorised producer for the track.

Where's the Marley music?

The 1999 World Cup fireworks were something of a damp squib, but I'm sure the Caribbean authorities are busy preparing what should be a markedly better opening ceremony next March.

Its hard-worked, authoritative media department hasn't been short on its press releases either this year. With the tournament just months away now, one such email popped into my inbox at the weekend, highlighting the island launch of the official Cricket World Cup song "The Game of Love and Unity".

I was half-expecting a decent track too: a touch of the Bob Marley and Pete Tosh vibe, happy steel drum tones and a general Caribbean beat. That was before I remembered it was a tournament song. Judge for yourself by listening to it here. And you can try and keep up with the lyrics here. Thoughts? This won't even make the Easter sale rack in my local Dub records store back home.

No sex please, just chill

World Cups may not always be memorable for fans on the field but off it, well, it depends how you use your time.

During the soccer World Cup in Germany, brothels in Berlin and Munich saw an active trade after thousands of foreign women infiltrated the country to use their skills.

Now, word reaches Nutley of the possible legalisation for sex workers during the two-month cricket jamboree in the Caribbean next March.

At least one Caribbean Community health minister has said that regions should consider registering prostitutes for the World Cup, although a quick search reveals that the islands will not welcome such activity.

Licensing for commercial work during the tournament surely means that accreditation is necessary; after all the media, sponsors and administators wear photo ID, so will the sex workers?