Twenty20 Final - Lions roar.

Warwickshire v Surrey, Trent Bridge

Surrey totally outplayed Warwickshire from start to finish in winning the Twenty20 cup at Trent Bridge today, dismissing the midlanders for just 115 and knocking the runs off with almost nine overs to spare.

Warwickshire won the toss and elected to bat, presumably suspecting that batting under lights would place Surrey at a disadvantage. How wrong they were. Pinch-hitter Neil Carter raised Warwickshire hearts at the start in an eventful first over, being dropped by Salisbury and following that reprieve with a big six over midwicket.

Nick Knight too started well, a lovely signature cut for four opening his account, and after two overs the Bears were seemingly set fair on 16-0. They reckoned without James Ormond who just adjusted his length back a couple of feet and struck in his second over, enticing Carter to play on.

A poor effort by Ramprakash at mid off gave Ian Bell a life off Mahmood, but Ormond struck twice in his third over. First of all Knight tried to run a delivery down to third man but only succeeded in playing on, then a superb ball to Troughton found the outside edge to Ally Brown in the slips to leave Warwickshire in dire straits at 22-3 after 5 overs.

An extraordinary uppercut six by Penney off Mahmood threatened to get the innings moving again, but any lingering hopes of setting a large target were wiped out as a ball from Mahmood to Bell lifted, caught the shoulder of the bat and presented Rikki Clarke with the simplest of chances in the gulley.

Dougie Brown fared little better, being beaten twice by the sensational Ormond. It was certainly not a case of third time lucky as John Batty took a regulation catch behind the wicket to reduce the Bears to 33-5. Ormond's four overs had realised four wickets at a cost of just 11 runs.

Saqlain's introduction was greeted by a smear for four by Trevor Penney who, in conjunction with Tony Frost, set about rebuilding the tattered remnants of the innings. Rikki Clarke replaced Ormond and the young all-rounder proceeded to bowl a solid spell of back-of-a-length deliveries which offered little scope for easy runs.

Hollioake's golden arm worked once more in his first over as Penney, who had previously hit a couple of balls over mid off, played over a slower delivery and was bowled. In his next over, still more success. Tony Frost cracked a splendid boundary over point but new batsman Graham Wagg was totally bamboozled by another extravagant slower ball, this time losing his leg stump.

At 87-7 and with six overs remaining, it was essential that Warwickshire took few risks in a bid to see the overs out and at least set some semblance of a target. Collins Obuya pounced on a half-volley by Saqlain and the resultant six over midwicket brought the Warwickshire total to three figures in the 16th over.

An over of singles off Hollioake saw Warwickshire to 108-7, but in Saqlain's next over, two wickets fell. Firstly, Tony Frost (31) failed to middle one and Ormond took a fine catch in the deep. The next ball, Ramprakash put Obuya down but it mattered little, for on the following delivery, the Kenyan holed out to Ian Ward a yard inside the midwicket boundary.

An almighty mix-up between Neil Smith and Waqar Younis saw Smith run out by half the length of the wicket and Warwickshire's innings had quietly subsided on 115, leaving Surrey seemingly with the formality of 116 to win.

Warwickshire's final was summed up perfectly as early as Surrey's first over. Ian Ward profited from some wayward bowling by Neil Carter, slamming four boundaries to give Surrey the perfect start. Ally Brown signalled his intent to make his own mark on the tournament, crashing a good length ball from Waqar Younis to the point boundary.

Carter's second over was much more effective, going for just four runs, but it was wickets that Warwickshire needed. In Waqar's second over, the breakthrough almost arrived. A seaming delivery found the edge of Brown's bat but narrowly evaded second slip. A moral victory for the bowler, but more to the point, another boundary to Brown.

Dougie Brown replaced Carter and this was the signal for Surrey's version Ally to take matters into his own hands. Two sixes and two fours from a brace of Dougie Brown overs took Surrey on to 66 without loss after just seven overs.

Collins Obuya represented the final throw of the dice for the Bears, but sixes for both Ward and Brown saw 18 runs plundered from a single over. The tenth over of the extraordinary reply, bowled by Graham Wagg, saw Ward go to his fifty with a cracking straight drive, the hundred partnership and the loss of Ward's wicket, well caught by Waqar. As if that was not enough, Brown smashed two boundaries of his own to register his own fifty, there was a no-ball resulting in a free hit (which itself was called wide, resulting in yet another free hit - this time missed by Brown) and the scorers lost count.

The coup-de-grace was provided by Mark Ramprakash, driving sacrificial lamb Nick Knight through the covers to end the game with fully nine overs remaining. It had been a thoroughly emphatic victory for Surrey, but congratulations should go to all the participants for making it a fun day to remember.

Surrey 117-1 (A Brown 55*, Ward 50)
beat
Warwickshire 115 (Penney 33, Frost 31, Ormond 4-11, Hollioake 2-27, Saqlain Mushtaq 2-35)
by 9 wickets

Cricket Web Man of the Match - James Ormond (Surrey)


Posted by Eddie