Trinidad make Middlesex pay

Darren Bravo wheels away after hitting the six that secured victory for his side

Middlesex paid a heavy price for dropped catches as Trinidad & Tobago were crowned Champions Cup winners in an absorbing clash in the Stanford Super Series.

Shaun Udal’s side were on top when a trio of misses in the field late in Trinidad’s pursuit of 118 at Coolidge crucially relinquished momentum.

It meant that, although the English Twenty20 champions managed to raise the required run-rate to nine an over in the second half of the innings, the Caribbean team edged home in the final over with five wickets intact.

Darren Bravo finished things with a glorious straight six off Tyron Henderson as Trinidad won with four balls to spare.

Once again it was an inability to cling on to chances under the low floodlights - a feature of the tournament - that cost Middlesex the $280,000 winners’ cheque, although they picked up a far from paltry $100,000 for their efforts.

The turning point in this contest came in the 14th over when Bravo, teenage brother of West Indies all-rounder Dwayne, lofted the ball to long-on.

Although Ed Joyce steadied himself, he floored what should have been a comfortable chance and, having been given that life on six, Bravo enjoyed another reprieve when, on 17, a slice to backward point was inexplicably spilled by Neil Carter.

Two balls later, at the start of the 17th over, the third drop in quick succession brought the loudest cheers of all as Denesh Ramdin’s towering blow off left-armer Carter was palmed for six by Eoin Morgan at long-off.

Ramdin eventually fell for 41, made off only 28 deliveries, while Bravo finished unbeaten on 27.

Middlesex had been given a perfect start attempting to defend a below-par score when opening bowlers Tim Murtagh and Neil Carter struck in their first overs.

The Trinidad and Tobago players savour their triumph - and a healthy reward of $280,000

Murtagh clung on to a fierce return catch offered by William Perkins and left-armer Carter followed up with one that shaped back in to secure a straightforward leg before decision against Lendl Simmons.

That double blow dictated a rebuilding job for the Ganga brothers, whose tip-and-run tactics took their side to 46 for two at the halfway stage.

It was at that point, however, Middlesex captain Udal pulled off a masterstroke, throwing the ball to occasional leg-spinner Dawid Malan.

The youngster, who had failed with the bat, responded with the dismissal of both, Sherwin Ganga holing out to deep midwicket off Malan’s first ball and captain Daren Ganga the victim of a classical leg-spinner’s dismissal, lured forward by a perfectly-pitched delivery and brilliantly stumped by Ben Scott.

However, by the time Scott enacted his second such dismissal in the penultimate over to dismiss Ramdin, only two runs were required.

Earlier, Middlesex had been unhinged by Ravi Rampaul's new-ball spell, and then suffocated by spin as they posted only 117 for eight.

Trinidad’s trio of spinners capped the scoring from the start as Middlesex struggled for answers to the slow stuff on a sluggish pitch.

It took a mix of brains and brawn from Neil Dexter, a recent signing from Kent, to address a pitiful position of 56 for five in the 14th over.

Dexter managed to contribute more than half of Middlesex’s boundary count with three sixes followed by two well-placed fours towards the death in a fine 39 off just 25 balls.

Neil Dexter, who made a fine 39 to help rescue Middlesex's innings, is bowled by Ravi Rampaul

Of the top order, only Eoin Morgan, an England Performance Programme player, adapted to the conditions, striking 30 from 31 balls.

Man of the match Rampaul struck twice with the new ball to send back Carter and Joyce - he doubled his wicket tally in the final over - but it was Trinidad’s spinners Samuel Badree, Sherwin Ganga and Amit Jaggernauth who were decisive, conceding only 62 runs between them in a dozen overs.

Unable to get Rampaul’s opening partner Badree, a leg-spinner, away, England Test batsman Andrew Strauss lost patience against off-spinner Sherwin Ganga and was easily stumped.

Middlesex recalled all-rounder Henderson in place of youngster Steven Finn and he was sent in as early as the eighth over to up the tempo.

Although he managed one of only two boundaries in the first half of the innings, via a sliced drive over point, he missed an ugly hoik soon afterwards to be bowled for four.

Youngsters Morgan and Malan were both caught at short fine-leg via flicks, suffering from a lack of pace on the ball, but Dexter supplied some much-needed late impetus by swatting Sherwin Ganga over midwicket for six and lifting Navin Stewart for a one-handed maximum over long-on.

The likelihood is that Dexter’s contribution would have been decisive had Middlesex not fluffed their lines in the field.