General

Who will take home the millions?

Money rules and the winners take all this Saturday when England and a Standford Superstars side clash in a Twenty20 match in Antigua that will see the victorious team take away $20 million and the losers taking home nothing



Kevin Pietersen loves the big stage and it would be no surprise if he performs well in the winner-takes-all battle on Saturday © Getty Images

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Money rules and the winners take all this Saturday when England and a Stanford Superstars side clash in a Twenty20 match in Antigua that will see the victorious team take away $20 million and the losers taking home nothing.

Click here to bet on England v Stanford Superstars at bet365

Now predicting the outcome of any Twenty20 match is a lottery, as you all no doubt know, but such is the hoo-hah surrounding the winner-takes all encounter that I will at least give it a go.

Bet365 make England the slight favourites at 8/11, while the Superstars side is even money. That's probably about right, in terms of the strength of the sides on paper, but the match could go either way, quite easily, especially as the England team has been rocked by a bout of flu in their camp.

Quite frankly, England look like they just want to get out of there and that's not just because they are no good at Twenty20. Fortunately for them, though, nor are West Indian sides, in general.

England are more of a team than the cobbled-together opposition and as a cricketing nation are on the up, so they should have plenty of confidence. Kevin Pietersen's captaincy is instilling belief in the side and as they build towards next summer's Ashes, things are starting to look rosier.

The likes of Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are matched by Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, so there is plenty of firepower on show. Using it will be the key for both sides.

Pietersen is the obvious favourite to top-score for England, and bet365 make him 3/1 with Ian Bell 4/1 and Matt Prior and Owais Shah each 5/1, and Flintoff a 6/1 chance.

For the home side, big-hitting Gayle is 3/1 favourite, while Chanderpaul is 7/2 and Sarwan is 4/1. Behind them, I am afraid, it's anyone's guess.

England ought to win this, but I would not be staking your house on it. Rather, sit back, enjoy the fun, and try not to think about the money too much, or too often.

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.

Simon Cambers is Cricinfo's betting correspondent