Middlesex's Andrew Strauss (left, in foreground) drops a catch from England's Andrew Flintoff during their Stanford Super Series match at Stanford Cricket Ground in Coolidge, Antigua, on Sunday. England won by 20 runs. - AP

COOLIDGE, Antigua (CMC):

Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) captain Daren Ganga has described his team's Stanford Super Series win over English county Middlesex as the result of detailed planning and executing the strategy.

T&T, the reigning Stanford Twenty20 Cup champions in the Caribbean, surprised the English Twenty20 Cup champions in a tense five-wicket triumph on Monday night at the Stanford Cricket Ground.

Deserving win

"Our planning has been spot on. It has been immaculate. It all came to fruition," Ganga said after his side won with four balls to spare and picked up the winners' purse of US$280,000. "That is the most fulfilling thing - the way we analysed the game and the way we saw things. It is something that is going to help Trinidad and Tobago cricket in the future."

The 29-year-old batsman added, "We came here switched on and we totally deserved our victory."

Choosing to bat, Middlesex posted a moderate total of 117 for eight off their 20 overs with the T&T pacer Ravi Rampaul picking up four for 25 and the Man of the Match award.

T&T replied with 122 for five off 19.2 overs with vital attacking knocks from Denesh Ramdin (41) and Darren Bravo (30 not out).

Batting at number four, Ganga contributed a valuable 28 off 33 balls with two fours and praised his team's effort in a game that meant a lot to them and tested their mettle.

"Trinidad & Tobago cricket has a bunch of young players eager to make their mark, who want to enhance their reputation and our reputation as a team," Ganga said. "We had everything to play for and have relished the opportunity to compete against teams outside our region."

Disappointment

Middlesex collected US$100,000 in defeat and their captain Shaun Udal praised T&T's performance, but expressed disappointment over his team's display.

"We just didn't get enough runs and when it really mattered, we let ourselves down in the field," he said. "Trinidad and Tobago are a very good side. They were competitive. They were eager in the field."

T&T faced England yesterday evening and the series continues later in the week with the Stanford Superstars facing Middlesex tomorrow, before Saturday's US$20 million clash between Stanford Superstars and England.