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Durham and Warwickshire set for battle 'Royal' in One-Day Cup Final

Nasser Hussain and Nick Knight assess both sides ahead of showpiece Lord's final

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Image: Skippers Varun Chopra and Mark Stoneman will go head-to-head at Lord's

Durham will try to deny Warwickshire a dynamic double in Saturday’s Royal London One Day Cup final, at Lord’s.

The Bears have a second trophy in their sights after powering their way to the NatWest T20 Blast trophy on home turf earlier this summer.

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But Durham have struck a rich vein of form and will be no pushovers in a clash you can watch live on Sky Sports 2 this Saturday from 10am.

Nick Knight and Nasser Hussain will be part of our commentary team at the Home of Cricket – here are their Final thoughts…

What has impressed you most about each county’s charge to the final?

Nick: Any county would love to have Warwickshire’s extensive bowling resources – by my reckoning they’ve got seven frontline, first-class seamers to call upon! This competition has been played over a very short period of time and in a long county season that strength in depth is vital. Allied to a strong batting line-up, it has meant that Warwickshire have been very competitive throughout the competition and even though Ian Bell has been ruled out with a broken toe, they welcome back Chris Woakes.

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Reaction from Rob Key and Varun Chopra after Warwickshire beat Kent by six wickets in the Royal London Cup semi-final.

Nasser: Warwickshire do have an impressive number of big-game players but you can argue the same for Durham, who have come into form in the Championship and who dismantled Nottinghamshire – probably the best 50-over side we’ve seen this summer - in the semi-finals. That was a phenomenal effort.

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Sky Bet make Durham slight favourites at this stage…

Nasser: That could all change at the toss, which traditionally is crucial at Lord’s in September! Durham do have people in form – for example Paul Collingwood and Ben Stokes, who are very, very fine players. I like the look of Phil Mustard and Mark Stoneman at the top of the order to pave the way for the big guns in the middle order. Combine that with an attack that includes Chris Rushworth, who clearly is in great form if his 15-wicket haul this week is anything to go by, and they probably are shading it. Don’t underestimate the importance of the extra off day they’ve earned by beating Northants so convincingly in the Championship – that will be important and ease the pressure of travelling down to Lord’s.

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Durham bowler Chris Rushworth took fifteen wickets in his side's win over Northamptonshire.

Nick: If you break it down, Warwickshire are a side made up of people who are very content in the role they have to play and they’ll go into the game full of confidence. Yes, they’ll be rightly wary of Durham but I think that deep down they’ll be pretty confident that they can have a good day. Woakes and Rikki Clarke will probably open the bowling with Boyd Rankin and Patel bowling in the middle.

Oliver Hannon-Dalby has done a brilliant job closing games out, bowling at the death with Woakes, and he’ll be crucial for them. You can’t over-estimate the impact Patel has had in all cricket but particularly the one-day formats this year. He’s been so reliable – even when he hasn’t picked up wickets, he’s built pressure at one end. He has perhaps played the crucial role this season.

How can Durham counter that, Nass?

Nasser: Well, Stokes’ 164 in the semi-final was one of the best one-day innings we’ve seen for a long time. He seems to be back on the up after an inconsistent summer – it would be nice for him to get some, particularly with the World Cup around the corner. He’s got to take every opportunity to impress that comes his way because at the moment he strikes me as a very streaky player. 

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Ben Stokes produced a record-breaking performance as Durham thrashed Nottinghamshire by 83 runs to reach into the final of the Royal London Cup.

The ODIs in Sri Lanka and the triangular games against Australia and India will be very important for him. If you look at his career as an England cricketer, when he’s right on top of his game he’s hot but occasionally he seems to fall off a cliff. He might be a rhythm player – certainly the more he’s played for Durham, the more he’s found his form.

These are lessons you learn as you develop as an international cricketer. Someone like Bell rarely takes time off because he is a rhythm player and Stokes might be the same. He’s delivered already on a big occasion in the home semi-final against one of the favourites, so it would be nice to see him deliver again.

Nick: At this stage we don’t know what Warwickshire’s final XI will be but it could well be that of the final XI they have, up to eight or nine players may have either played for England or the Lions. What that will do is provide the necessary experience on the day. When it comes to finals – a big occasion in front of a big crowd – experience is a key ingredient.

Nasser: This could be Collingwood’s last Lord’s final and he’ll want to go out on a high. Not only is he right up there in the averages but he’s a brilliant fielder and captain. I happen to think he’ll make a very decent coach too, so he ticks every box. The club has been very successful in the past but it was just going in the wrong direction before Colly took over; he’s improved the squad’s fitness and done a lot of good things off the field with them. He’s instilled his sense of discipline into the Durham team while keeping his form, which at his age is phenomenal!

Last month Gareth Breese confirmed that this will be his last season at the club and Durham will want to send him off on a high. He’s been a massive stalwart of the club – crikey, I was playing against him so he’s been around forever and he’s been a good cricketer for them. They’ve had their injury problems in the bowling – Graham Onions has been missing for the latter part of the season - but the way some of the other guys have come on, has been excellent.

Rikki Clarke of Warwickshire celebrates dismissing James Foster of Essex during the Royal London One-Day Cup Quarter Final
Image: Rikki Clarke of Warwickshire celebrates dismissing James Foster of Essex during the Royal London One-Day Cup Quarter Final

So come on, then, who is your Player to Watch?

Nick – Rikki Clarke: In regards to the senior standout players you can’t look past Trott and Woakes but Patel and Clarke have had exceptional seasons and are integral to everything that Warwickshire do. Clarke has a crucial all-round role to play – with the bat, the new and the old ball and in the field, where he catches everything that comes his way. I’d love him to have a very special day at Lord’s.

Nasser – Ben Stokes: I’m keen on Mustard, who is dangerous at the top of the order, but it will be all eyes on Stokes – with bat and ball. He’s always got that magic spell in him even after he’s bowled the odd four-ball; he’s always been a wicket-taker and that’s what you need on the big occasion.

Watch Durham take on Warwickshire in the Royal London One Day Cup Final, live on Sky Sports 2 on Saturday from 10.30am.

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