By Jonathan Agnew At the B&H Cup final

It never pays to make predictions in these finals.

I had Essex to win comfortably - and Warwickshire dominated the match from the second ball when Nasser Hussain was caught behind for a duck.

That was as clear a hint that Ronnie Irani's players could have been given that it was not to be their day, and before long they had slipped to 109 for seven.

It is not easy to explain away Essex's collapse away; the pitch was good and the ball barely moved all day.

Shaun Pollock took the crucial wicket of Hussain

These occasions produce pressure and nerves of their own and it might simply be that Essex's formidable run of success this season counted for nothing in front of a Lord's full house.

The shot selection of Essex's batsmen was awful.

It is forgivable to lose a couple of wickets in the early overs of an innings through extravagance, but when Irani, of all people, drilled a catch to mid off in the 19th over which reduced his team to 61 for five, it was difficult to fathom out what Essex were up to.

Valuable runs

Had it not been for the last two wickets which, thanks to Paul Grayson, added 72, Essex might have struggled to reach 150.

Grayson's 38 was the highest score of the innings and he was well supported by the number 10, Ashley Cowan, who made 27.

Chasing 182 to win, Warwickshire slipped to 21 for two and, with Nick Knight back in the pavilion, Essex were back in the match.

Bell's innings was rich in promise

But any thoughts they had of bowling Warwickshire out cheaply were quickly snuffed out by some outstanding, positive batting from two of the most promising cricketers in the country: Ian Bell and Jim Troughton.

The left-handed Troughton was particularly belligerent, seizing on Andy Clarke's inexperience and, within a few overs, Warwickshire were back in charge.

Bell was absolutely outstanding, and grabbed the opportunity to show what he is capable of producing on the big stage.

I still maintain that an opportunity was missed earlier this summer when John Crawley was chosen for England rather than this 20-year-old, and many others will now be of that view having seen his cracking innings of 65 not out.

After a partnership of 84 in 12 overs, Troughton was caught behind for 37 from 33 balls, but Pollock's 31-ball 34 maintained the momentum as Warwickshire romped home with more than 13 overs remaining.