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Mark Mitchener - BBC Sport journalist

Unheralded Middlesex ready for next crusade (0)

If there is a sporting tradition that teams sometimes thrive at times of adversity, Middlesex continued that tradition with their thrilling victory in Saturday's Twenty20 Cup final at the Rose Bowl.

Less than two months ago, the county admitted there was unrest among their members after a poor start to the season in the County Championship - and a vote of no confidence in the committee was looming.

But since then, they have shaken off the loss of their captain Ed Smith to an ankle injury as an unheralded, youthful side raced to the top of their Twenty20 Cup group table - and went on to collect their first major trophy since winning the Championship in 1993, with the promise of the Twenty20 Champions League to come.

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Mark Mitchener - BBC Sport journalist

Finals day suggests England's got talent (0)

The focus of the Twenty20 Cup's Finals Day has primarily been entertainment - but since the competition was launched in 2003, the Twenty20 world has changed.

With riches now on offer from the Indian franchise leagues, the Champions League and (more importantly for the England-qualified players) Sir Allen Stanford, 2008's showpiece day at Hampshire's Rose Bowl ground on Saturday had more of the look of an extended audition.

On a day when county mascots participated in a "dance-off" as well as the usual race, the innings of the day came from Middlesex's Owais Shah, a regular in the England one-day side, whose stunning 75 in the final overshadowed two brutal knocks by team-mate Tyron Henderson, a non-English-qualified "Kolpak" player - while there were still plenty of homegrown cricketers keen to prove their credentials in the shortest form of the game.

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