Vivian Richards, ever the nationalist, thought it a good chance to test local talent against what he called full-time professionals. Well, it was Middlesex who went away disappointed, if not entirely emptyhanded late last evening, as Trinidad & Tobago won the clash of domestic champions by five wickets with four balls to spare.

Trinidad, as winners of the Stanford regional tournament have already pocketed $1 million (about £650,000) this year to add to the $500,000 they received for finishing runners-up in the inaugural event two years ago. Now, having put Middlesex to the sword, they are $280,000 richer. They are very much the Twenty20 specialists of the Caribbean.

It was nothing less than they deserved, too. A 67-run partnership between Denesh Ramdin and Darren Bravo took Trinidad to the brink of victory, leaving Richard Kelly to seal the match with a thumping six over long-off. Earlier, they put together the best performance in the field that we have seen so far in the series, looking notably sharper and more committed than they had against the Stanford Superstars. It is amazing what the promise of a few quid will do.

With the exception of Neil Dexter, with 39 from 25 balls, no Middlesex batsman managed to break the tourniquet applied by Trinidad’s combination of canny spin and incisive pace. Ravi Rampaul, the young quick bowler, who has been touted as a potential star for some years, was the pick with four wickets from as many highly disciplined overs. There was just the odd peccadillo in their performance — a couple of wides and the obligatory dropped catch.

Middlesex’s fielding, on the other hand, bordered on the comical as the match neared its tense finale. Three chances were put down, by Ed Joyce, Eoin Morgan and Neil Carter, any of which could have turned a tight game in their favour. No doubt there will be more whingeing about Sir Allen’s lights.

This was a bad night for Middlesex on a day when they looked to the future by confirming Angus Fraser as their new director of cricket. Never mind, Gus, there’s always next year.

Chris Cairns and Dinesh Mongia, both of Chandigarh Lions, have been suspended by the Indian Cricket League “on disciplinary grounds”.