Stanford Superstars captain Chris Gayle with the trophy. - File

A WHIRLWIND captain's knock off 65 off 45 balls saw Chris Gayle guide the Stanford Superstars team to a 10-wicket drubbing of England on Saturday night and the richest prize in a one-off team game at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua.

When the tall lefthander drove Andrew Flintoff over long on for six in the Stanford 20/20 for 20 finale he turned his immediate teammates into instant millionaires as the Superstars reaped the lion's share of the US$20 million booty.

Chasing a meagre target after the home side's attack had restricted an out-of-sorts England to 99 all out, Gayle and young Grenadian Andre Fletcher (32), after shaky starts, made quick work of the chase - wrapping up the game with 44 balls to spare.

West Indies skipper Gayle was particularly harsh on a lacklustre England attack, flaying five sixes and five fours at a strike rate of 144.44 on a pitch the England batsmen had trouble adjusting to.

remarkable effort

The captain's effort was even more remarkable considering he had virtually no form going into the big match thanks, in part, to off-field issues including illnesses afflicting his father and brother.

In his only action before the showdown, Gayle made a two-ball duck against England 20/20 champions Middlesex.

"Words can't explain how I feel just now," he said after the match. "I'm just glad it's over. The feeling is tremendous, outstanding, great happiness - whichever way you want to describe it, but we are very, very grateful for what happened tonight," he said. And consi-derably richer.

- Tym Glaser