By Paresh Soni

Twenty20 cricket is made for powerful hitters and quick-running batsmen.

Bowlers who can spear in yorkers or deceive opponents with a few tricks also profit.

TWENTY20 CUP FINALS DAY Saturday, 30 July 1130 BST First semi-final: Surrey v Lancashire 1430 BST Mascot race 1500 BST Second semi-final: Leicestershire v Somerset 1915 BST Final Live commentary of all three matches on BBC Radio Five Live and this website

So the names near the top of the competition's batting and bowling averages going into Saturday's finals day are far from surprising - the likes of Brad Hodge and Mushtaq Ahmed.

But look a bit further down and, with all due respect, you will see someone you wouldn't expect to feature prominently.

For in addition to the clean-hitting Ian Blackwell and James Hildreth, a slightly more mature all-rounder has been one of the cornerstones of Somerset's succcess this year.

He is 32-year-old Keith Parsons, man of the match when the county won their last piece of major silverware, the C&G Trophy at Lord's in 2001.

This season, he has made valuable contributions throughout the Twenty20 campaign, most notably in the quarter-finals against Northamptonshire, when he scored an efficient 38 off 33 balls before taking 3-24 in four overs.

In all, he has scored 208 runs in nine knocks at an average of 34.66 and taken 10 wickets at 14.40, with a more than respectable economy rate of 7.20.

If you had looked at our bowling line-up you'd have thought that we would have gone for a few more Keith Parsons

It has been steady rather than spectacular - he has hit only one six - but his success shows there is room in even the most frenetic form of cricket for patience and guile.

"We've played pretty good cricket all the way through, given it a bit of thought. The bowlers have learned how to bowl in this form of the game," he told BBC Sport.

"James Hildreth and myself have taken the pace off the ball and swung it around a bit, while Ian Blackwell has spun it.

"We mix it up so the batters don't get settled - if you bowl one or two-over spells it's not easy for the batsman."

In the smash-bang-wallop that Twenty20 generally is, Parsons' gentle medium-pacers should be a prime target to be smitten around and outside the ground.

Even he is surprised at how well things have gone.

"If you had looked at our bowling line-up you'd have thought that without pace on the ball we would have gone for a few more," he admitted.

"But it seems to have worked the other way around. The way we have bowled has helped and getting wickets itself is the key to keeping the run rate down."

The last time Somerset and Parsons had a big day out, Leicestershire were the opposition.

Parsons made 60 and took two wickets in the 2001 C&G final

The Foxes, defending champions, will once again be standing in their way on finals day at The Oval on Saturday and Parsons is confident of another triumph.

"We've got a good chance. We beat them in three days in the Championship and played reasonably well against them in the National League game too, so hopefully we can carry the momentum into this weekend.

"I didn't watch the previous two on television but I've been told it's an awesome atmosphere on the day. We're on in the second game so it should be warmed up nicely by then.

"We fancy our chances of getting through the semis and then it's anybody's game."

Getting his hands on a trophy would complete quite a turnaround for Parsons, who was close to leaving the Taunton club at the end of last season.

The all-rounder was unhappy at a lack of Championship action but, although he has not seen much of it in his 13th season at the club either, things are looking up.

"Last season there were a couple of months when it was looking dodgy and I haven't played as much four-day cricket as I would have liked this time around," he added.

"But the one-dayers have gone really well and I've now got back into the Championship side.