In The Papers Today (Oct 13, 2005)

The KFC Cup semi-finals in Guyana have finally generated genuine media interest in the tournament. Today, we're finding unique match reports on the Guyana/Leeward Islands match played on Wednesday at Bourda.

It's quite a change from the week of preliminary round matches that were covered in regional papers almost solely via the CMC newswire. Perhaps the lure of a free KFC lunch did the trick?

found original articles from Sean Devers in the Kaiteur News, Haydn Gill in the Nation News and Allan La Rose in the Guyana Chronicle, along with the publication of the CMC story in most of the other dailies.

The Stabroek News, with offices a cab ride from the GCC ground, inexplicably chose not to cover the match independently.

As expected, Ramnaresh Sarwan's unbeaten century and record-breaking feat dominates the headlines. We would have liked to see some indepth analysis of captaincy strategies and the other little things that make a big difference but, overall, the coverage was adequate.

Tony Cozier re-appears in the Trinidad Express with a report taking us into the glamorous world of the ICC Awards which took place in Sydney, Australia on Tuesday night.

Cozier reports that Brian Lara was conspicuously low-key at the event, taking the stage only to stand alongside the other present members of the Fantasy World Test XI and leaving West Indies flag bearing duties to Jamaican Chris Gayle.

Other West Indians in attendance were West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Ken Gordon and West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) President Dinanath Ramnarine. Gordon and Ramnarine are Down Under to attend ICC and FICA meetings respectively.

Further into the article, Cozier turns social reporter, taking up considerable column space discussing the bevy of beauties accompanying the world's biggest cricket stars to the prestigious event. Including the blonde bombshell who walked the red carpet on Lara's arm -? none other than Shane Warne.

Note to TC: When commenting on such things, be sure to get the names right. Kevin Pietersen's date is named Caprice, not Candice. Capiche?

Also appearing in the Express is a preview of the ICC SuperSeries Test match, which kicks off Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Brian Lara gets a special mention, as he goes into what will most certainly be his final Test appearance on the ground he graced during his maiden Test century, the unforgettable 277.

Colin Croft's weekly column in the Express Sports magazine bears the headline "Of Windies team and money." At first glance, it seems to be more about the Windies team than it is about money, with a total of 16 paragraphs on the squad for the Test series in Australia.

But as you progress through the column, you reach the part where money is mentioned. Of course, the focus is on the two hottest West Indies cricket topics of the last week: Stanford and KFC, and Crofty devotes 13 paragraphs to these.

Once again, we urge the former West Indies fast bowler and the copydesk at the Express to edit, edit and edit some more.

The magazine also contains a Sir Garfield Sobers tribute piece from wisden Cricinfo's Martin Williamson.

In the Barbados Nation, Haydn Gill reports that Guyana Cricket Board President Chetram Singh believes the West Indies Cricket Board needs to take a more assertive stance against its detractors and put forward its side of the story rather than sit back and take licks constantly.

Singh also weighs in on the contract dispute, talking about the WICB?s common practice of paying players standard tour/match fees and that even though the fees are not at the higher end of the international scale, they aren?t the lowest either and that the players are generally satisfied with their income. He believes that the Board is hard done by, taking the blame unnecessarily in every possible circumstance.

Expressing disappointment at the West Indies Players' Association, Singh said, ?My disappointment with WIPA is that there are several times you feel you are near to an agreement, and then at the last moment they change the game or put something else on the table.?

In a separate Nation article, Singh declares that the Stanford 20/20 tournament has the full support of the Guyana Cricket Board.

Bermuda Coach Gus Logie has warned his charges against complacency as they prepare to meet Kenya in the semi-final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, writes Dan Rutstein in the Royal Gazette.

Former West Indies player and coach Logie has told his Bermuda side that they will be the ?babies? when the two sides meet next week, and that they shouldn?t take the Kenyans lightly despite the turmoil that has been going on behind the scenes at the Kenya Cricket Association.

R Allen Stanford, Texan tycoon/billionaire, has announced that his Stanford Group has made another significant contribution to West Indies cricket, by pumping more than US$56,000 into a three day cricket festival.

The Jamaica Observer reports that the inaugural Antigua & Barbuda Independence Cricket Fest will take place at the Stanford Cricket Ground (of course!) from 28-30 October. It will involve teams from the host nation, Guyana, Jamaica, a West Indies Select XI as well as a side from the star-studded Lashings Club in England.