Anyone who thinks that the forthcoming Stanford Super Series in Antigua is a glorified jolly, a stress-free bonanza for Club England to make some easy money before their tour to India, did not see the steely look in Kevin Pietersen’s eyes as he spoke at Lord’s yesterday.

The England captain does not do jollies. He does not do stress-free. Above all, he does not do losing. Especially when he is representing England, even in an unofficial match.

Pietersen leaves for the Caribbean tomorrow and the 15-man England squad, who are travelling independently, will convene on Friday, two days before they take on Middlesex in the first match of the series. On Saturday week they will play the Stanford Super-stars with the winners taking home $1 million (about £585,000) a man. The losers get nothing.

The money will put pressure on those taking part and Pietersen is relishing it. The way that his team handle the situation will tell him a lot about the character of the players he will command on the sub-continent and next summer.

“The Stanford game will be as pressured as playing India in India or Australia on the first day of an Ashes Test series,” Pietersen said. “It will be interesting for me as a skipper to see how people deal with the week. Mentally, how they talk, what their primary focus is. It’s a case of winning games out there and taking momentum to India, which we can see is going to be really tough.”

Some players have been flippantly discussing how they will spend the money – always assuming that they win on November 1 – but Pietersen said that representing England should be the prime motivation for everyone.

Acknowledging that some regard playing for such riches as obscene in the present economic climate, Pietersen said: “We have been fortunate enough to be picked. We are playing for England. There will be people out there with their noses up, but we can’t be blamed.”

However, he said he would be “really angry” with any player who was seen not to be acting in a professional manner. “There is no way in the world I want people to carry on like a clown, win or lose next week, because there are a lot more things happening in the world that we want to respect,” he said. “I have friends who are really struggling, people who have lost their jobs. This game has come at a difficult time. There will be no nonsense out there and I will be really angry if stuff does happen.”

If England win, Pietersen has promised to give a portion of his winnings to charity, although he said that he would not make this obligatory for the rest of the team. “There are guys in the team who are older than me, I’m not their financial adviser,” he said.

The decision on which XI plays in the big-money game will be up to Pietersen, with the four unused members of the squad sharing a reduced pot. “It will be a tough decision and I might have to take a bodyguard,” he said. “But I’m going to find out a lot about some individuals.”

However, he urged younger players not to be impatient for the quick riches available in Twenty20. “Playing for England, playing for the badge, is my biggest thing,” he said. “My message to those younger players is that if you play well for England over the years, you will earn that type of money and earn more than that.

“Twenty20 is here to stay and is the future of coloured-clothes cricket, but white clothes separate the men from the boys. Tests are the pinnacle and I want to be remembered for having pretty good stats in Test cricket.”

He is saddened by reports that Sri Lanka’s leading players may choose to stay away or arrive late for their tour to England next summer because of the lure of the Indian Premier League. “The priority should always be playing for your country,” Pietersen said. “I can’t imagine an England player wanting to arrive late for a tour.”

The dash for cash

Other times when cricketers were lured by money

— William Clarke, a one-eyed publican, formed the All England XI in the mid-19th century, made up of the country’s best players. He paid for their services and turned a profit by charging people to see them.

— Sir Julien Cahn, a philanthropist, paid for a touring side who were so strong they had first-class status. His team in Jamaica in 1929 featured eight Test cricketers.

— The Maharajah of Vizianagram predated the Indian Premier League franchise owners. In 1930 he paid Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, the England openers, to play for his team in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. “They were exhibition matches,” Hobbs wrote. “We knew we’d got to score hundreds – so did the bowling side.”