Hard hats the order of the day

James Tredwell has taken 15 wickets at 14 apiece in this year's Twenty20 Cup

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The Sky Sports trailers for Twenty20 Cup finals day have got it about right.

The advertising executives predict hard hats will be the must-have accessory for fans at the Rose Bowl tomorrow, when the nation’s favourite one-day competition reaches its thrilling climax.

And a quick glimpse at the likely line-ups for the first semi-final between Kent Spitfires and Essex Eagles suggests spectators and bowlers alike can expect to come in for a peppering.

If the likes of Robert Key, Darren Stevens, Justin Kemp, Azhar Mahmood and Yasir Arafat are capable of sending a shiver down the spine of the Essex attack, then their Kent counterparts would be best advised not to spend too long pondering how much damage Graham Napier, Ravi Bopara, Ryan ten Doeschate, James Foster and Mark Pettini could do to their figures.

The presence of such proven and powerful hitters should ensure finals day gets off to an electric start, with the floodlit finale bringing the curtain down on one of the most exciting days in the cricket calendar.

Kent travel to the south coast as reigning champions, and it is the destructive nature of their batting which convinces off-spinner James Tredwell that they are equipped to lift the trophy again this year.

Kent are well aware of the threat posed by Essex all-rounder Graham Napier

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“We’ve got some great players in our side,” he told ecb.co.uk. “This season we signed Justin Kemp, who is a great player, and Azhar Mahmood, who is a quality cricketer.

“Macca (Ryan McLaren) has been brilliant with bat and ball, and then there are unsung heroes in the team, guys who maybe haven’t had a chance so far in the competition but are just as good.

“We’ve got 1 to 11 in our team who can win a game for us, and it just goes to show the power in our line-up.”

Napier has predictably hogged much of the pre-finals limelight following his remarkable exploits with the bat over the last month.

He hit a barely believable 152 off 58 balls - including 10 fours and 16 sixes - in the group game against Sussex, and enhanced his burgeoning reputation with 40 off 20 deliveries and four wickets as Essex made short work of Northamptonshire in the last eight.

Napier features prominently in the thoughts and plans of Tredwell, whose haul of 15 wickets at 14 apiece in this year’s competition has, like the powerful top order, been crucial to Kent’s progress.

“Essex have got a pretty powerful batting line-up, and Graham Napier has been superb for them,” acknowledged Tredwell.

“We tend to have a little chat about the opposition and work out where different players like to hit the ball, but if something does crop up within the course of a game then you have to change your game accordingly and work out different areas where you need to bowl.

Ryan McLaren and Robert Key celebrate Kent's Twenty20 Cup triumph last summer

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“I really enjoy playing Twenty20 because it’s a chance to change your game, but hopefully he (Napier) won’t be batting when I come on to bowl.”

Tredwell is hoping to draw on the experience of finals day at Edgbaston 12 months ago, when Kent beat Gloucestershire by four wickets in a thrilling match made all the more memorable by McLaren’s hat-trick.

They also head to Rose Bowl on the back of a splendid run of form, having reached the final of the Friends Provident Trophy and currently occupying the upper reaches of LV County Championship Division One.

“To be part of it last year was massive, and to be there again is great,” said Tredwell. “Having been there and experienced it will help us, but this is a different year and we’ve got to play some cricket before we get to the final.

“We’ve done really well with this season, especially in one-day cricket, and we’ve been fortunate that we haven’t had a game this week, so we’ve been able to recharge the batteries and practise the specialist skills that you need in Twenty20.”

Tredwell can barely contain his excitement at playing in front of another massive crowd, casting his mind back to Kent’s 13-run victory over Surrey last month.

“We played at the Oval this season in front of 24,000 people,” he added. “You don’t see that every day, and it gives you a taste of the next level.

“It’s great for the players because you’re playing in front of the biggest crowds, which is what it’s all about.”

Let us hope those in the stands at the Rose Bowl heed Sky Sports’ warning.