Kent vs Essex - Friends Provident Trophy Final, Lords, London - Saturday 16th August 2008

Having only recently seen Kent play Essex in a major game, we did it all over again, this time in the Friends Provident trophy final at Lords. I never really like going to Lords, and having lost the last 6 finals we had played there, I suspect that most Kent players and fans agree. I always find that the place is full of old duffers, and they they use their position as "home of cricket" to really give a poor service for an over inflated price - but more of that later.

Kent batted first in this game, with the much hyped Denly and Key opening up. They just seemed to be settling in when Key was given out, harshly it seemed on the TV replays, and the innings was shaken right up by that. Although it doesn't excuse what happened next, that decision started things off pretty badly. What did happen next was a succession of Kent batsmen seeming to give their wickets away very cheaply - at least 4 or 5 of them got themselves out - only Martin Van Jaarsveld and Ryan Maclaren did themselves justice, scoring a half century each. But the total of 214 was always likely to be too small - Kent needed at least another 30 or so to have a decent chance.

Half time came, and the congestion and general hassle around the ground was ridiculous. Near my staircase, there was a time where (literally) nobody moved for 20 minutes - an absolute joke. The queues at the bar were insane, made worse by the fact that they were not pre-pouring beer, and were selling everything from the same counter. So, ordering a few pints entailed attracting somebody's attention, then waiting for ages as beer dribbled out of the taps into cups. Presumably they make more money by running things that way - and Lords management just don't seem to care much in any case - they expect you to put up with it whilst on your special day at the home of cricket. Not really good enough, and a reminder of why I generally avoid Lords.

Essex made heavier weather of the run chase that I was expecting, but got there in the end with balls to spare. Kent did manage to scare them with a few early wickets, but once Grant Flower dug in, the remaining wickets never looked like coming. Robbie Joseph did a great job at slowing their scoring right down, and took a couple of wickets into the bargain - but it was the low Kent total that had done the damage. Essex fans went home happy, Kent only had themselves to blame - hopefully the next crack at winning a trophy won't be too long into the future. The match report is here.