The key men

Jeetan Patel Warwickshire

A Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 2015, all of this season’s statistics point to an even better summer for Patel. The Kiwi spinner has already beaten last year’s redball haul of 58 – he is on 64 with a game to go – and, in truth, his List A showings in 2015 were a disappointment as he returned just six wickets. But only Kent’s Matt Coles with 24 has seen the umpire raise his finger more times this year, as Patel has taken 20 scalps at an average of 20.95.

Sam Hain Warwickshire

That Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott will deliver solid performances for Warwickshire is almost a given – Warwicks’ prospects beyond those two fall on the shoulders of Sam Hain. It has been a turbulent year for the 21-year-old. He would have had hopes of an England call with another fine season, but his red-ball batting average of below 20 is a considerable step back. However in his first full One-Day Cup campaign he has scored 528 runs including two centuries.

Jade Dernbach Surrey

Jokes about Jade Dernbach are starting to wear thin – regardless of his travails with England, Surrey consider him as one of the best one-day bowlers in the country and his statistics have been staggering in the competition this year: 15 wickets, averaging 11.87, at an economy rate of 4.58. The Currans are the future of Surrey and possibly England, but the 30-year-old Dernbach’s performances are deserving of just as many column inches.

Ben Foakes Surrey

Which Surrey player has the best batting average in the One-Day Cup his season? Clue: It is neither Jason Roy nor Kumar Sangakkara. Ben Foakes is growing into a more mature bat with each passing day and, should Jonny Bairstow or Jos Buttler fall out of favour with England, he is surely the next wicket-keeper in line. Foakes is averaging 55 in the cup and made a superb 45 in a crucial group stage clash with Middlesex.