Podmore’s calm head

Harry Podmore told himself to stay as calm as possible when it fell to him to hit the winning runs for Kent in their semi-final at Worcestershire on Sunday. Podmore was at the crease with his side needing four from the final three balls. He promptly hit Pat Brown’s next ball over cover to seal Kent’s place in the final. Earlier in the match he also claimed the wicket of danger man Callum Ferguson for just 13 on his way to figures of 2-55. Podmore said: “I felt like I had to hit the boundary. I just looked down, took one deep breath and said ‘enjoy yourself’ – and I did! “My first thought was to celebrate as much as you can, it all happened so quickly. “You are always going to be nervous going into a tight game. You have to back what you learn in the nets and try to stay as calm as possible. “It was Heino Kuhn who did all the hard work. He’s an allround great bloke as well. His personality and work ethic is just special.” Podmore, 23, joined Kent from Middlesex this season and will return to his former home ground for the final on June 30. The Worcestershire win was only his third match in the Royal London One-Day Cup this season, although he also played a key role in his previous outing – taking four wickets to set up the quarter-final victory at Nottinghamshire. Podmore added: “We’ve come back from all situations this year. At one stage we were dead and buried against Worcestershire but Blakey, Rousey and Heino batted superbly. The team spirit is awesome at the moment. “We work really hard on our fielding, it’s something we pride ourselves on. If we look after our fielding, the other skills come hand in hand. “I’ve never been involved in a final so it will be really exciting to go back to Lord’s, see a few familiar faces and hopefully lift the trophy.”