11th Aug 2010: All roads on 14th of August will lead to Rose Bowl for the finals day of the much-talked-about Friends Provident T20 competition. The Hampshire Royals taking on Essex Eagles indeed makes for an alluring clash. The winner of the game will play for the title against the winner of the Somerset versus Nottinghamshire semi-finals. Both Hampshire and Essex look strong on paper and if they play anywhere close to their potential the game is sure to be an absolute ripper. Both teams have some real entertainers who could set the stage on fire with their electrifying performances.

On big occasions like this, it is not always the best team that comes through but the team that holds its nerves at crucial junctures that comes up triumphs. Going into the finals day, Hampshire Royals seem to have a slight edge over the Essex Eagles as they seem to be peaking at the right time. Most of their players are in striking form at the right time and this augurs really well for Hampshire. One of the most amazing things about this Hampshire side this season has been their ability to overcome their adversities at different points in the tournament. Players like Jimmy Adams, Michael Carberry, Sean Ervine, Niel Mckenzie, Daniel Christian and Dominic Cork have stepped up and done the job for the side. It will be interesting to see if Essex Eagles have enough ammunition to contain the Hampshire Royals batsmen when they go berserk. For that matter any formidable bowling attack in the world would not be jumping with joy at the prospect of bowling to some of the cleanest strikers of the ball like Jimmy Adams, Michael Carberry, Sean Ervine, Abdul Razzaq, Daniel Christian and Michael Lumb. With the ball too, Hampshire seem to have the edge with experienced bowlers like Dominic Cork, Abdul Razzaq and Daniel Christian supported ably by youngsters like Danny Briggs and Chris Wood. In all fairness, Hampshire do come across as the team to beat in the competition and it seems there is more than a little chance that 2010 is the year to get their hands on the silverware.

Essex, on the other hand, have some concerns with their team combination. Two of their best players, Ryan Ten Doeschate and Graham Napier, will be most likely missing from the action due to injury worries. To add to it, the availability of Alistair Cook for the finals poses a new question for the Eagles team management which is in two minds about breaking up the successful Pettini-Bopara duo at the top of the innings. However, on the positive side there will be some Caribbean flavour on the finals day as Essex have brought in the mercurial all-rounder Dwayne Bravo to replace Scott Styris.

All in all, the game promises to be a cracker. All the cricket fans around the world should get ready for some high-speed cricketing actions, more importantly t20 action!

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