Twenty20 bonanza in offing

Twenty20 Cup finals day takes place at the Rose Bowl on Saturday - the venue which staged the first Twenty20 Cup match on June 13 2003.

The 11-hour unique mix of blistering cricket action mixed with music and entertainment kicks off with the opening semi-final at 11.30am as Essex Eagles, including Twenty20 Cup sensation Graham Napier, face holders Kent Spitfires, led by Rob Key.

Key said: “All the guys are raring to go and we have a strong squad to choose from. Twenty20 cricket has caught on very quickly worldwide.

“It’s fun, exciting and action-packed but a very difficult form of the game. Plenty of mental resolve is required in order to be successful.

“The pressure is extremely intense for a short but hectically fast moving period.”

Middlesex Crusaders will face the formidable and experienced Durham Dynamos bowling attack of Pollock, Harmison and England Twenty20 captain, Paul Collingwood, in the second semi-final at 3pm.

The Crusaders and Dynamos are both making their Twenty20 Cup finals day debuts.

Sandwiched between the semi-finals is the infamous npower mascot race, featuring 15 mascots and two npower orbs.

The mascot race is always entertaining © Getty Images

This year the mascots will race a full circuit of the ground for the first time, negotiating five obstacles and trying to usurp last year’s winner, Bomber the Spitfire, who secured a Kent double.

The ball pool remains their sternest test, having been compared to the water jump at Aintree.

Following the second semi-final the mascots will be in action again as they embrace another cricket success story and take part in a ‘dance off’, strictly for fun.

‘Mascot Moves: Bust those Grooves’ will see two heats of DJ-accompanied mascot dancing, with the best chosen for the dance-off final on the DJ platform just ahead of the The Twenty20 Cup final at 7.15pm.

Music will be provided throughout the early evening by multi-platinum record DJ Karl ‘KGee’ Gordon and hip-hop DJ Big Ted doing battle on the decks.

KGee has mixed for All Saints, Sugbabes, Alesha and Liberty X and comes to the Rose Bowl from Stockholm where he was playing with Busta Rhymes.

Big Ted is currently at the helm of the now legendary weekly KISS FM radio show and boasts an A-list of celebrity guests.

The world renowned DJs will lead a crowd karaoke as the two finalists warm up for the fast-hitting finale of The Twenty20 Cup.

There are a limited number of tickets available for finals day direct from the Rose Bowl. Supporters who still want to attend can visit www.rosebowlplc.com or call 0845 811355.

Twenty20 finals day is broadcast live on Sky Sports with ball-by-ball coverage on Radio 5 Live Extra, and the final on Five Live, and all three matches on TalkSport.

The four Twenty20 Cup partners are Clydesdale Bank, Marston’s, npower and totesport.