Royal London One-Day Cup final: Warwickshire and Surrey's key men
Saturday 17 September 2016 11:55, UK
For Saturday's showpiece final in the Royal London One-Day Cup, there are some suitably big names set to take to the stage at Lord's.
Similarly, we've tasked two of Sky Sports' big-hitters in the commentary box, Nick Knight and Rob Key, to assess both sides and pick out three key men from each - Knight on Warwickshire and Key on Surrey.
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Jason Roy? Ian Bell? Kumar Sangakkara? Jeetan Patel? Who makes the cut, and who doesn't? Then find out who makes the difference in Saturday's final, live on Sky Sports 2 from 10am.
Knight's Warwickshire ones to watch
Chris Woakes
"What an incredible summer he's had - he goes into the game with an incredible amount of confidence. It's at Lord's, where he picked up 11 wickets in the Test against Pakistan. I interviewed him this week for the build-up on Sky on Saturday and he talked about how he likes the Lord's slope.
"Clearly he has the skills to cause trouble on the day for Surrey's batsmen, but his all-round skill creates a little bit of depth too for Warwickshire's batting line-up.
"Also, Woakes is not the sort of lad who will see his season as over now after things have gone so well with England. He'll be treating this as his most important game of the summer. A Warwickshire lad who has come through the system, so playing for the club means a tremendous amount to him and he'd love to win that trophy."
Jonathan Trott
"I've gone with Trotty. He has been in excellent form in this format with three hundreds, though you could make a good case for any of Warwickshire's top five - Sam Hain is the competition's top-scorer with 528 runs, and there's also Ian Bell.
"This is Warwickshire's best chance of a trophy for quite some time, and with that will come a focus that this is their big moment. In such times, you look to your senior players and Trott is certainly one of those, and someone who has played in a big-game atmosphere at Lord's before.
"It's the kind of occasion that he will relish, having not played international cricket now for a couple of years, and with a real chance to pick up some silverware."
Jeetan Patel
"You can't talk about the excellence of this Warwickshire side without mentioning Patel. He is one of the best, if not the best, spinner in the country for quite some years now, and is pretty handy for some lower-order hitting.
"It has been a hot old week in the capital, so inevitably you look at your spin options if the pitch is dry as a result. If conditions suit, he will obviously turn the ball and become a wicket-taking threat.
"But he also has the experience to know what pace to bowl at on any given surface and if the pitch wasn't to suit spin, you can expect him to still be very economical and build pressure from one end. He is a huge asset to the team."
Key's Surrey ones to watch
Kumar Sangakkara
"What a player! You're talking about one of the best batsmen in the world. I'm always amazed when players of his calibre want to play day in, day out, in county cricket. Big days, like Saturday, for everyone else, are just another day for someone like Sangakkara.
"But don't be fooled, he'll be doubly keen to make sure it's Surrey's day this time out, as in last year's final, he was making the chase against Gloucestershire look so easy but then was done by a full bunger - the last kind of ball he was expecting, a waist-high full toss.
"He is a phenomenal player, and why he is so great is more often than not, on big days like this, he stands up and is counted. You saw that in the quarter-final - he hit a hundred, and was the last man standing to see them over the line against Northamptonshire with a one-wicket win. An extraordinary knock."
Jason Roy
"Arguably, one of the most entertaining and dangerous batsmen in world cricket right now. A special talent - he has got the ability to do things that other players can't, not even Sangakkara.
"When he first came in to international cricket, he often got England off to lovely starts, playing no fear cricket. But that can sometimes give you an excuse as a batsman. He wasn't satisfied with that, he wanted to turn those scores of 30, 40, into big hundreds, and credit to him.
"He is just electrifying to watch! If he bats for 20 overs on Saturday, the game could almost be gone from Warwickshire."
Sam Curran
"Every time we see him on TV, he stands out. There haven't been many big games where we've not ended up talking about Sam Curran. He has that arrogance of youth where everything looks so simple.
"He has continued to deliver into his second season with Surrey. No second year blues, or 'sophomore slump'. He just seems to love the big occasion.
"He strikes me as a real impact player. I also think there is more to come from him with the bat in years to come - he will end up being a genuine all-rounder."
Watch the Royal London One-Day Cup Final between Warwickshire and Surrey from 10am on Saturday, Sky Sports 2.
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