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Kent v Middlesex, Twenty20 Final, The Rose Bowl
Champions League didn't distract us - Joyce
Will Luke
July 26, 2008
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'It is fantastic to lead the county to their first title for 15 years' - Joyce
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Ed Joyce paid testament to Middlesex's fearlessness after leading them
to their first title in 15 long years, beating Kent in the final of
the 2008 Twenty20 Cup.
Middlesex posted 187 for 6, the highest total for a final in the Cup's
history, thanks to a sublime 75 from Owais Shah. Kent, however, edged
closer to the target before falling three runs short in a nailbiting
final over bowled by Tyron Henderson. The allure of the Champions
League and Allen Stanford's offering were always liable to affect the
players' focus, but Joyce insisted they were not swayed by the
financial incentives on offer.
"We have been talking about the Champions League all season but in
this game said we were going to play fearless cricket and, if we
thought about bowling a certain ball or playing a certain shot, we
were going to go out and do it," Joyce said. "We were going to do it with
no regrets and not think about the potential riches that lie ahead.
That showed in the way we played in both the games.
"Owais Shah and Tyron Henderson played two fantastic knocks and
everyone else chipped in around them and everyone bowled and fielded
very well. We talked about the Champions League but I don't think it
distracted us too much."
The win ended a barren period for Middlesex of 15 years without a
title. Not since Mike Gatting's side won the Championship in 1993 had
they any silverware to enjoy, and that particular victory ended a
prolific period for the club. From 1976 to 1993, Middlesex were the
team to beat. Yesterday's win was all the more remarkable for the
haplessness with which Middlesex have performed in the six years of
Twenty20 Cup cricket, too.
"It is fantastic to lead the county to their first title for 15 years.
We've missed Ed Smith quite a bit at the top and his captaincy as well
while injured," Joyce said. "Ed, myself and (coach) Toby Radford came up with a template for the way we were going to play but it is great to be the person leading the
county to the title."
Joyce's opposite number, Robert Key - whose slick 52 gave Kent such belief
that they would retain their title - remained proud of his side's
efforts. As a bonus, Kent can now join Middlesex in the Champions
League with a chance to win an unprecedented US$2.5 million, subject to the
eligibility of their Indian Cricket League players.
"If anything, I thought we coped pretty well," Key said. "I thought we
fielded brilliantly in the semi-final and that was almost as big a
game as the final because winning that gave you entry into other
competitions and the money that everyone's going on about.
"That was the time when all that was at stake and I thought it was a
credit to both sides on how they performed and how they behaved out
there.
"Twenty20 might in the long run harm other forms of the game but I
would have thought that was brilliant to watch. That final was a great
advert for Twenty20 cricket."
Will Luke is a staff writer at Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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