Centrefold: Howzat]: International cricket stars hold an end of season bash at The Oval

Being asked to captain your country is not something usually regarded as the icing on the cake, but then it has been a remarkable week for Dermot Reeve. On Sunday, the Warwickshire captain added the Axa Equity and Law League trophy to the Edgbaston collection of silverware, completing a unique treble in county cricket. This afternoon - weather permitting - he will lead out an England team in the two-day International Floodlit Cricket Sixes.

Tacked on to the end of the season, the Sixes may not appear the most prestigious event in the cricketing calendar, but a pounds 15,000 first prize - almost half as much as Warwickshire won for an entire season of pyjama-clad Sundays - has brought out the stars.

In addition to the home side, teams representing the West Indies, South Africa, Australia, Pakistan and India will be taking part, and the former West Indies captain, Viv Richards (right), will become 'King' for a day or two, when he skippers a team of international allstars.

Players participating in the 23 five-over matches, each of which will last about 40 minutes, include Sunil Gavaskar, Courtney Walsh, Clive Rice, Mohammad Azharuddin and Tom Moody. The seven-man England squad, boasting a combined total of 225 Test caps, contains Angus Fraser, Gladstone Small, Chris Lewis, Derek Randall, Allan Lamb and John Emburey.

Despite the number of veterans braving the chills of September (even Greg Chappell has been induced to drag out his boots), Geoffrey Boycott has decided not to cross the boundary ropes. He will, however, be acting as the match referee. Could this, like the floodlights, be a sign of things to come?

International Floodlit Cricket Sixes, today and tomorrow. Play starts at 3pm and is scheduled to end at 10.30pm. Tickets, at pounds 17.50, are available from First Call (071-240 7200)

(Photograph omitted)