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Middlesex lose out in Stanford Super Series

28/10/2008

Trinidad and Tobago have beaten Middlesex by five wickets to claim the Champions Cup trophy in the Stanford Super Series in Antigua.

After opting to bat first, the English county started sluggishly as a number of wickets fell early on.

Opener Andrew Strauss' 20 off 30 balls held the innings together in the opening few overs but his relatively slow rate of scoring was compounded by the dismissals of Neil Carter (one) and Ed Joyce (one).

The arrival of Eoin Morgan (30 off 31 balls) prompted a change of pace for the struggling side.

But when Strauss was sent back to the pavilion after being stumped by Denesh Ramdin and Tyron Henderson (four) followed him soon after, it meant Middlesex had stumbled to just 40-4 off their opening ten overs.

Morgan's ability to pick up singles and twos kept the score ticking along, though, and Neil Dexter's 39 off 25 balls ensured a more respectable score of 117-8.

The Caribbean islanders' innings started poorly when William Perkins was out for a duck after facing only three balls from Tim Murtagh, and Philip Simmons (one) was trapped lbw by Carter just one over later.

But, in truth, it was all downhill from that moment onwards as Trinidadian captain Daren Ganga (28) and Darren Bravo (27) set about establishing a good score - helped along by some poor Middlesex fielding.

Ganga's dismissal with the score on 49-4 gave Middlesex hope, but it was a false dawn as Ramdin's 41 off 28 balls eased his side to within a few runs of victory - achieved by a huge Bravo six with four balls to spare.

In return for their victory, Trinidad and Tobago earned $280,000 (£180,000) as part of Sir Allen Stanford's big-money series.