By Matt Somerford & Will Jackson
Fabian Cowdrey admits tomorrow’s Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final against Warwickshire will be the biggest match that most of his Kent Spitfires team-mates have ever played.
The Spitfires have relied on a youthful core to reach the last four and stay on course for a first major final in six years.
Cowdrey was the youngest of six players under the age of 25 that Kent used in their 24-run quarter-final success over Gloucestershire last week.
A trip to in-form Warwickshire is their reward and, while the likes of Rob Key and Darren Stevens have been to this stage before, most of the Spitfires will be stepping into the unknown.
“It’s just another game of cricket and that’s the attitude we’ve got to take into it,” the 21-year-old right-hander told ecb.co.uk
“It’s obviously a much bigger game and probably the biggest of most of our careers.
“It’s going to be a really good test of our mental and physical power so it should be good. Hopefully we can pull through because some of the boys, including myself, have never played in a final.
“It’s a great opportunity for all the lads and we haven’t had an important game like this for a while as a club.
“It means a lot to the boys to put on one more great performance and get to the final and you never know what can happen. We’re really excited.”
Kent have lost just once in the competition so far – a dead rubber in their final group game against Middlesex Panthers – as they have flourished on the back of some uninhibited youthful enthusiasm.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings has most significantly caught the attention with his match-winning power down the order.
The 24-year-old is the third-highest run-scorer in the competition with 418, but it has been the speed of his scoring that has been the most decisive factor.
No player across the country has scored at a faster pace than his strike-rate of 162 and he showed his appetite for the big occasion with 62 from 41 balls in the quarter-final.
“He’s in the form of his life at the moment,” Cowdrey said.
“It’s great for the squad that he is that place mentally. He’s high on confidence so it is brilliant to have someone playing with that freedom down the order - it means that we can set up the game and wait for him, Darren Stevens and the likes of Alex Blake as well to give it a thrashing at the end of an innings.
“We all back ourselves to set the game up for the end of the innings - and fingers crossed if we can do that one more time we’ll be in a Lord’s final.”
Cowdrey hit a patient half-century against Gloucestershire after coming in at 11 for two, but is not fussed if the heavy hitters at the end of the innings steal all the limelight.
“I try not to think about the headlines,” he said.
“The most important thing is that we keep qualifying for big games. We’re in a semi-final now so whoever takes the headlines whether it’s Rob Key, Mitch Claydon, myself or Sam again it doesn’t matter as long as we keep winning.”
Standing their way of reaching the final – and trying to lift the 50-over title for the first time since 1974 – is a Warwickshire outfit at the top of their game.
After clinching the NatWest T20 Blast title on the back of six successive wins, the Bears reached the last four of the Cup with an impressive 67-run win at Essex Eagles.
While Cowdrey acknowledges Warwickshire will be full of confidence, he warned his team’s own form should not be overlooked.
“I’m sure they will (be confident), but so will we,” he said.
“We’ve had a strong tournament – we’ve only lost one game and by that point we had already qualified so perhaps there was a bit of complacency there.
“This game is a big game for us and we all know that we have to step up to the plate and we’re all really excited and we’ll be as fired up as they are that’s for sure.”
Royal London One-Day Cup facts:
* Since a tie in 2009, Warwickshire and Kent have won three matches apiece of their six completed List A meetings.
* Kent have lost one of their last five List A games against Warwickshire at Edgbaston (won three, tied one).
* Warwickshire have won three and lost one of their four semi-finals in List A cricket in the last 10 years.
* Warwickshire have featured in 17 domestic List A finals, Kent 14, Nottinghamshire five and Durham one.
*Sam Billings’ batting strike-rate of 162.6 in Royal London One-Day Cup 2014 is the highest of anyone facing at least 30 balls – he has 418 runs from 257 balls faced.
* Billings has a dot ball percentage of 27.6% in the tournament so far, the lowest of anyone facing at least 100 balls.
* Of bowlers to deliver at least 100 balls in Royal London One-Day Cup 2014, Rikki Clarke (66.2%) has the highest dot ball percentage.