Hurricane Gayle forces the pace against Colly's England

Clearly, however, he is thoroughly enjoying being in charge of the West Indies limited overs side.

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Ryan's side show: Sidebottom gets in the way during his bowling spell

Gayle's appointment as leader in the one-day game was initially vetoed by the West Indies board before they were forced to accept the selectors' recommendation or risk losing the entire panel.

Then, when they reluctantly conceded that the Jamaican was indeed a better bet than Daren Ganga, the board winced and threatened that they would, in effect, 'see you later' when Gayle dared suggest the administrators might have something to do with the decline of West Indies cricket.

The pressure of the conflict, however, is bringing the best out of Gayle. He joked before the first of the NatWest Twenty20 internationals at The Oval that he 'might hit someone' on the field when asked if he would be more animated as captain.

He then indeed proceeded to be far more lively at the helm than he was in the ranks — thankfully without fisticuffs — and led his side with calm authority in their 15-run victory on Thursday.

Last night we saw Gayle the explosive batsman in the second of the two abbreviated matches, something glimpsed all too rarely in a Test series which was played on pitches and in conditions that were not just alien to him but utterly not to his taste.

Fall-guy: Kevin Pietersen takes a tumble after being run out

The perfect batting strip at The Oval was much more to West Indies liking and Gayle thoroughly enjoyed himself after winning another toss when he set the tone for the tourists with an innings of 61 from 37 balls.

How West Indies needed their captain. They had to go into last night's match without the injured Devon Smith and Shiv Chanderpaul, so integral to their initial victory, and the novices Lendl Simmons and Austin Richards struggled to fill the gaps.

The only batsman who gave anything like the support Gayle required was again Marlon Samuels, the very individualistic batsman who made a mockery of his initial exclusion from the West Indies tour party with another mighty, explosive contribution.

Three huge sixes flew from Samuels' bat to add to one of the biggest ever seen at this famous old ground on Thursday. But once he and Gayle were gone, West Indies were unable to sustain their momentum and slipped to 169 for seven.

England were much better.

They still left out Monty Panesar but their faster bowlers learned the lessons of the first match, bowling a lot fuller and straighter and making strokeplay more of a hazardous business.

Ryan Sidebottom, was the pick of the English bowlers with two for 25 in his four overs. Jimmy Anderson was nearly as economical and was also inspired in the field, saving at least 10 runs on his own to make up for his slightly shoddy performance on Thursday.

Alastair Cook began England's reply with three boundaries in swift succession before Daren Powell knocked out his middle stump for 13.

Leg before: Kevin Pietersen holds his leg in pain after taking a fall

Matt Prior's leg peg went in similar fashion to Ravi Rampaul after the wicketkeeper had bludgeoned 22 from 14 balls and when Jonathan Trott failed again — caught tamely gloving an attempted hook off the same bowler for two — captain Paul Collingwood came out with his side teetering on 43 for three.

e and Kevin Pietersen kept up with the rate but the latter soon chipped a soft return catch to Darren Sammy. Collingwood brought up England's 100 with a six over long-on in the 14th over but was stumped off the following ball. Owais Shah took 16 off Samuels' next over, while Dwayne Smith conceded a further 16 to leave England needing 24 off the last three overs.

Forceing the play: Chris Gayle on the attack

Shah showed superb composure with a half-century which guided England to a victory that was sealed when Gayle, of all people, conceded five wides.