Coolidge, Antigua – 31 October 2008 – In a thoroughly clinical performance, the Stanford Superstars crushed Middlesex by 58 runs in the fifth match of the Stanford Super Series on Thursday night to signal that they will be hard to beat come Saturday.That’s when they face England in the Stanford 20/20 for 20 and the opponents would have taken careful note of an awesome display.

Everything on the night worked to perfection for the Stanford Superstars.

The batting, spearheaded by Andre Fletcher’s superb unbeaten 90 off 66 balls that was decorated with a proliferation of sixes, piloted them to 173 for four, the highest total of the series.

The bowling, with pacer Darren Powell’s aggression setting the tone, was accurate throughout and Middlesex could only respond with 115 in 17.3 overs.

The fielding was also of a high standard. Not a single catch was put down and Ramnaresh Sarwan pulled off arguably the most sensational catch of the week when he ran several yards to his left at deep mid-wicket and threw himself full length to haul in the catch inches off the ground.

After the match, Kieron Pollard, one of the Stanford Superstars who shone on the night, spoke of the optimism the squad had ahead of the Stanford 20/20 for 20.

“We consider ourselves to be quietly confident going into the game,” Pollard said.

“We are just going to put everything together, what we have done in the last couple of games.”

After Middlesex’s impressive start to the match when they cheaply removed Stanford Superstars captain Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, they were stunned by the assault that followed.

A whopping 14 sixes came off the rampaging bats of the Stanford Superstars and Fletcher accounted for seven of them, including three in successive overs early in the match.

Some of the blows were mighty. One over long-on sailed completely out of the ground and onto Airport Road. Another at the opposite end landed on top of the Grand Stand.

Vice-captain Sylvester Joseph also helped the cause with a brisk 29 off 23 balls, but most exhilarating piece of hitting came at the end when Pollard bludgeoned an unbeaten 26 off nine balls.

The big right-hander smacked pacer Tyron Henderson for three consecutive sixes at the start of the last over. The first went over wide mid-wicket, the second over long-on and the third cannoned onto the sight-screen.

Middlesex’s reply was unconvincing and it sank them to their third straight defeat of the series.

Powell took two of the first three wickets with his aggression. One was from a lifter that hit the body of Ed Joyce and went into the stumps and the other was from a pull shot that was caught at deep mid-wicket by Darren Sammy.

Sammy, who also played a part with the ball, took another catch later in the innings in which there was also sharp return catch accepted by fast bowler Rayad Emrit.

The work of the faster bowlers was complemented by spinners Lennox Cush and Dave Mohammed, who each collected two wickets.

SCORES:

Stanford Superstars 173-4 in 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 90 not out, Sylvester Joseph 29, Kieron Pollard 26). Middlesex 115 in 17.3 overs (Eoin Morgan 22; Dave Mohammed 2-10, Darren Sammy 2-14, Daren Powell 2-15, Lennox Cush 2-27). Stanford Superstars won by 58 runs..