da pinup bet： Ed Joyce paid testament to Middlesex’s fearlessness after leading themto their first title in 15 long years, beating Kent in the final ofthe 2008 Twenty20 Cup
Will Luke27-Jul-2008
‘It is fantastic to lead the county to their first title for 15 years’ – Joyce © Getty Images
Ed Joyce paid testament to Middlesex’s fearlessness after leading themto their first title in 15 long years, beating Kent in the final ofthe 2008 Twenty20 Cup.Middlesex posted 187 for 6, the highest total for a final in the Cup’shistory, thanks to a sublime 75 from Owais Shah. Kent, however, edgedcloser to the target before falling three runs short in a nailbitingfinal over bowled by Tyron Henderson. The allure of the ChampionsLeague and Allen Stanford’s offering were always liable to affect theplayers’ focus, but Joyce insisted they were not swayed by thefinancial incentives on offer.”We have been talking about the Champions League all season but inthis game said we were going to play fearless cricket and, if wethought about bowling a certain ball or playing a certain shot, wewere going to go out and do it,” Joyce said. “We were going to do it withno 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 andeveryone else chipped in around them and everyone bowled and fieldedvery well. We talked about the Champions League but I don’t think itdistracted us too much.”The win ended a barren period for Middlesex of 15 years without atitle. Not since Mike Gatting’s side won the Championship in 1993 hadthey any silverware to enjoy, and that particular victory ended aprolific period for the club. From 1976 to 1993, Middlesex were theteam to beat. Yesterday’s win was all the more remarkable for thehaplessness with which Middlesex have performed in the six years ofTwenty20 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 wellwhile 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 thecounty to the title.”Joyce’s opposite number, Robert Key – whose slick 52 gave Kent such beliefthat they would retain their title – remained proud of his side’sefforts. As a bonus, Kent can now join Middlesex in the ChampionsLeague with a chance to win an unprecedented US$2.5 million, subject to theeligibility of their Indian Cricket League players.”If anything, I thought we coped pretty well,” Key said. “I thought wefielded brilliantly in the semi-final and that was almost as big agame as the final because winning that gave you entry into othercompetitions and the money that everyone’s going on about.”That was the time when all that was at stake and I thought it was acredit to both sides on how they performed and how they behaved outthere.”Twenty20 might in the long run harm other forms of the game but Iwould have thought that was brilliant to watch. That final was a greatadvert for Twenty20 cricket.”