Bicknell: Strike bowler

Seven one-day appearances have softened the blow a little, but Bicknell said: "At least I'm not in the one-Test wonder club - I've a grand total of two.

"It does get a bit tiresome being asked about it. I thought I was just about the best seamer around in 1993 and I didn't do badly on a flat wicket at Edgbaston.

"Then I had tendinitis in my knee and missed the last Test at The Oval. The hammer blow was then being ruled out of the tour to the West Indies that winter. After that I had two years of problems with my knee.

"Since then, every time I've got close, people say I'm too old or don't bowl fast enough, which I find a bit strange.

"I do a lot with the ball and I think I do the basics as well as anybody.

"I bowl at a similar pace to Dominic Cork and Alan Mullally and that doesn't seem to have stopped them, but I'm not going to lose any more sleep about it and, anyway, I�m happy playing for Surrey."

Bicknell, 32, made his Surrey debut in 1986, and passed 800 first-class wickets last July with a match performance of 16-119 (7-72 in the first innings and 9-47 in the second) against Leicestershire in the Championship.

Bicknell denied Leicestershire with the bat

The stunning performance took place at Woodbridge Road, Guildford, the ground where he played as a youngster.

He said: "That was the best I've ever bowled but I still wasn't expecting the call-up.

"Ed Giddins had been selected against New Zealand in 1999 and I thought that was probably it for me then. The selectors are right to look at younger players now.

"It's funny really, because I'm the same age as Mullally and Andrew Caddick, but there you go."

He took 60 Championship wickets last year at 17.53 as part of a potent attack that also includes Alex Tudor, Saqlain Mushtaq and Ian Salisbury, and he averages 21 in first-class cricket.

Last Saturday he scored 85 not out as Surrey managed an unlikely draw, starting the final day with six wickets down in their second innings, at Leicester.

Fully expecting him to be one of those tail-enders who loves batting, his answer was surprising: "I'm not too bothered about it although it's okay once I get to 20.

"It means I'm close to bowling again, and I'd rather be relaxing.

Bicknell celebrates his 9 wicket return against Leics

"I'm pretty lazy."

Looking ahead to Saturday's final, he said: "If all our players are available we are a pretty good one-day side.

"We've done our homework on them and we feel if we play to the best of our ability we have a very good chance, especially if we can bat like we did in the semi final.

"We didn't set out to get such an enormous score (361) against Notts, but Ian Ward and Mark Butcher played very well and we kept the impetus going.

"We sent Nadeem Shahid out to have a go at their spinners and we ended up with more than seven runs per over."