One-Day Cup
Preview for the Lord’s final as Surrey face Warwickshire
SURREY and Warwickshire will make a familiar journey to the Home of Cricket tomorrow – and both teams are painfully acquainted with the heartache that a Lord’s Royal London One-Day Cup final can bring.
A year ago, 2011 winners Surrey suffered crushing disappointment as their batsmen failed to hunt down a Gloucestershire total that had limped along to a sub-par 220.
As for Warwickshire, this is their fourth final in seven years, but not since 2010 have they lifted the trophy – defeated by virtue of more wickets lost to Hampshire before 2014’s early batting collapse against Durham.
But the Bears have been imperious in this year’s knockout stages thus far, beating South Group winners Somerset by eight runs, while Surrey booked their second consecutive trip to Lord’s by beating a Yorkshire side that had looked revitalised across the white-ball formats this season.
And, with that final defeat still simmering in the minds of the Surrey players, Jade Dernbach – who took an ultimately futile hattrick against Gloucestershire – insists his side have learned valuable lessons over the past 12 months.
“We had a young side then and we are the same side this year pretty much with a year’s more experience. That feeling you have in the dressing room afterwards is something you never want to go through,” said Dernbach, who got on top of Yorkshire in the semi-final with figures of 2-45.
“It is another game tomorrow but we are determined not to have that feeling again.
“We had the high of winning it in 2011 and it was one of the greatest days of my life, and I won’t forget that. Now I want everyone else to feel that.
“We will put on a good show, for ourselves more than anything else.
“We have a lot of unfinished business in terms of going forward after last year. That fuelled us as a group and made us focus on a run, and getting back to Lord’s.”
After taking a while to warm up this summer, Surrey’s bowling unit has come into its own with a fully-fit Stuart Meaker taking the wickets of Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leaning within nine balls at Headingley.
And considering that 18-yearold Sam Curran also heads to Lord’s off the back of a four-wicket, seven-ball spell in the County Championship against Durham, it’s an attack that will give Ian Bell and company plenty to ponder.
Curran’s elder brother Tom, with 18 List A wickets so far this year, is none too shabby either.
“I think we are lucky because we have two exceptional cricketers (in the Currans),” added Dernbach. “Tom from the get-go settled into white ball cricket and is key to the end of an innings.
“That is always the achilles heel to overcome because it is a tough job – it goes wrong more than it goes right.
“Now it is about improving his game through experience and it has come to the stage now where he and I are becoming a formidable duo at the end.”
Lurking over Warwickshire’s shoulder is the prospect of relegation from Division One ahead of next week’s four-day clash with Lancashire, who are in real peril themselves.
But captain Bell insists his side have been able to compartmentalise their troubles ahead of tomorrow’s big occasion.
“We have dragged ourselves right into a relegation fight,” admitted Bell. “We need four good days next week but I think a Lord’s final is a great occasion to be a part of and I would much rather be involved with that than not.
“I don’t think it is a distraction for us, although some will say it is. We’re a strong group who will relish both matches and not let one affect the other.
“It is a great opportunity to win a trophy and that is the aim at the beginning of every season.
“Only rarely do you actually have a chance so we are very excited and have prepared as well as we can. It would mean a lot to win.
“Generally, I have averaged over 40 in T20 and 50 in one-day cricket so I am happy, but I have not got that big score I needed in red ball cricket this year.”
Warwickshire’s semi-final victory over Somerset was inspired by Bell’s unbeaten knock of 94 and spinner Jeetan Patel taking matchwinning figures of 5-43.
Alongside Surrey’s England firebrand Jason Roy, Kumar Sangakkara is the name that Patel will so dearly want to snare at Lord’s – the Sri Lanka legend single-handedly dragged his side into the semis with an unbeaten 130 against Northants.
“Kumar is a world class player