Key eyes victorious Ford farewell

Robert Key savours Kent's Twenty20 triumph in 2007. He has his sights set on repeating the feat on Saturday

Kent captain Robert Key is determined to give Graham Ford the perfect leaving present - by winning the Twenty20 Cup.

Ford will step down as director of cricket at the end of the season after five years in charge, having overseen Kent’s transformation from Twenty20 whipping boys into near-certainties to reach finals day.

Kent failed to progress beyond the group stages in the first three years of the competition, but Ford’s input has seen them reach finals day for the last three seasons, the highlight of which was victory in 2007.

And Key is keen to send Ford off in style at Edgbaston on Saturday, when his side meet Somerset in the second semi-final, after Sussex and Northamptonshire kick proceedings off.

“You’d like to think he deserves it - he’s done so much hard work here,” Key told the TwelfthMan Podcast.

“Before he came we’d won one or two Twenty20 games in the whole time and we were bottom of our division every single year that we played it.

“Since he’s come in, this is the third time we’ve got to finals day. It would fitting if we win it to send Fordy off because he’s done an unbelievable job to get us from where we were to where we are now.”

Key is also relishing the prospect of playing in front of a capacity crowd, on what he describes as “the big day out in domestic cricket”.

Key claims there is no better atmosphere in county cricket than Twenty20 Cup finals day in front of a packed crowd

However, experience has taught him that the margins between success and failure are particularly slender in the shortest form of the game.

“There’s no better atmosphere as a county cricketer than playing in finals day - it is just electric,” he added.

“Sometimes you can be made up just getting to these things, but that’s certainly not a place we’ll be in because we know how soul-destroying it is when you end up losing in the final.

“We’ve been playing some good Twenty20, and this year we’ve got a few more guys in nick, which is going to be crucial on the day.

“The problem with Twenty20 is one bloke can ruin your whole day, and we just hope that bloke is on our team smacking someone else around.”

Marcus Trescothick, who is capable of performing such feats for Somerset, echoed Key’s comments, but stressed that the players which handle the occasion best will find themselves on the winning side.

“Anybody that gets to Twenty20 finals day has got a good chance,” he said. “It’s all about who turns up on the day, deals with the pressure and the emotion and everything that goes with it - that’s the key.

“It is going to be good because you get a sell-out crowd, you get excitement from the people, and you get good cricket. It will be good viewing.”

Marcus Trescothick has promised the spectators "good cricket and good viewing" at Edgbaston this weekend

Stephen Peters and his Northamptonshire team-mates go into the showpiece event relishing a rare opportunity on the grandest stage in domestic cricket.

One of the smaller counties on the circuit, Northants nevertheless boast formidable Twenty20 pedigree this season, having won seven of their nine completed group matches before disposing of Hampshire in the quarter-final.

“We’re classed as one of the more unfashionable counties, so to get to a day like that is a real coup for the club,” said Peters.

“Over the last couple of years we’ve put in some really quality performances in the Twenty20 tournament - that’s where a lot of people are watching.

“Hopefully we can show our class on the day and show people we’re becoming a biit more fashionable.”

Murray Goodwin acknowledges Northants’ quality, and, while he insists Sussex are “quietly confident” of victory in the semi-final - and a place in the lucrative Champions League in India later this year - he is chasing the ultimate prize.

“It is a lot of money for the club - the money is fantastic and you always think of it in the back of your mind,” Goodwin said.

“More than anything, to win the Twenty20 day is what it’s all about. To get to the final’s great, but ultimately you want to win a trophy.”

Listen to the full Twenty20 Cup preview on Episode 19 of the TwelfthMan Podcast