Wild West Twenty20 bonanza in store
Northants Steelbacks' Twenty20 Cup specialist Ian Harvery will have his sharp shooting skills on show this Saturday
It’s approaching high noon in cricket’s original and best Twenty20 tournament as four counties prepare to get their hands on the fist-full of dollars on offer at this year’s Twenty20 Cup finals day at Edgbaston on Saturday.
With the action promising to be quicker than a gunfighter at the O.K. Corral, fans can look forward to a fantastic day of entertainment. With bucking broncos, the mascot derby, DJs, dancers and much, much more this promises to be a wild west day to remember.
The first team to ride into town are Sussex Sharks, who will journey from the south coast to face Northants Steelbacks in the first semi-final shoot-out.
With four Steelbacks bowlers - Ian Harvey, Nicky Boje, Andrew Hall and Johan van der Wath - each taking 12 wickets this season and young gun David Willey bagging 10, Sussex’s batsmen - led by Dwayne Smith and Chris Nash - will have to be quick off the draw to see off Northants wild bunch bowling attack.
The Sharks also have an excellent record with the ball and will be relying on the sharp shooting of leading wicket-taker James Kirtley (13) and death bowler Yasir Arafat (11).
Both will be ably supported by Sussex’s skipper Michael Yardy, who has taken 12 wickets this season, and Rory Hamilton-Brown, who finished with 4-15 in the Sharks’ quarter-final win over Warwickshire Bears.
With the saloon doors still swinging from the first semi-final encounter, Somerset Sabres and Kent Spitfires will stroll into town looking to claim the last place in this year’s dusk final.
The Spitfires, led by Rob Key, will be looking to carry on the form that saw them emphatically defeat Durham Dynamos in the quarter-finals.
The mascot race is always one of the highlight of finals day
Top run-scorer Martin van Jaarsveld will be looking to add to his tally of 316 in this year’s competition, while Kent will also be relying on Darren Stevens - with an impressive strike-rate of 142 this season - to add rapid-fire runs.
Kent’s bowlers will have to be at their most accurate as they come up against a posse of Somerset batsmen which have plundered runs throughout this year’s competition.
Leading the way is top gun Zander de Bruyn with 336. But, with a strike-rate in excess of 150 and a top score of 69 not out, the big-shooting Somerset talisman Marcus Trescothick promises to be the man to watch.
The order of play is as follows:
Semi-final one: Northants Steelbacks vs Sussex Sharks – 11.30am
Semi-final two: Kent Spitfires vs Somerset Sabres – 3pm
Final: 7.15pm
A small number of tickets are still available for finals day. Any fans looking to enjoy a day full of the best bat-toting, ball-slinging, action-packed Twenty20 cricket can purchase a ticket by calling 0870 062 1902 or going to www.edgbaston.com
