Kent won the Twenty20 Cup final by four wickets

Key's men were cruising early on but scraped home with three balls left, courtesy of Darren Stevens' 30 off 21.

"Two overs before (the end) I was back in the dressing room kicking things around," said Key.

"We'd like to open with him (Stevens) but he's done too well and he's in the middle order for life."

Key, who made 18 before falling to a controversial catch from Hamish Marshall, added: "It's the biggest day in domestic cricket - not many of us get to play in front of packed crowds like this. They've been brilliant."

Kent won the toss and elected to field and limited Gloucestershire to 146-8 off their 20 overs, with South African all-rounder Ryan McLaren tacking a hat-trick in the 17th over.

Gloucestershire skipper Jon Lewis led a crucial rearguard to add some respectability to the total but despite reducing a rampant Kent to 127-6, the Gladiators were unable to contain Stevens and partner Yasir Arafat at the death.

"It will take a while to settle in. It's something special you can remember for the rest of your life," said McLaren.

"It was getting a bit nervy but I'm just happy we came out with it today."

Lewis said: "I thought we'd done a great effort to pull them back, to be honest.

"They got off to a flyer, we grabbed some wickets through the middle but, fair play to them, they kept their head and stayed composed and that's why they've got the trophy.

"We haven't won the game - that's Twenty20, you don't always win. It's pretty hectic stuff but we had a great time and we'll hopefully be back next year."