Ian Ward previews the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals and backs Rob Key's Kent Spitfires to march on.
Eight sides remain, but who will reach Finals Day?
It may be a cliché, but the eight teams left in the Twenty20 Cup need to take each game as it comes now.
We're at the quarter-final stage, but these teams cannot afford to think about the pot of gold at the end of the Champions League rainbow. They've got to keep going through the process, continue enjoying the games and they must stay relaxed.
If you enjoy playing then you're more likely to be able to react to different situations. There's always so much going on in Twenty20 cricket and you need to be focussed as much as possible.
I know the players have enjoyed this competition, but the tournament has been longer this year and some of the guys have suffered a bit of mental fatigue.
Twenty20 cricket won't take it out of you physically but it's quite tiring mentally to be playing so many games one after another - although the fact that the games keep coming is great for the spectator.
That's why I like the way Kent approach it because they play in a very relaxed fashion and Rob Key captains the side in quite a laid-back way. I'd say they are very well placed to go far.
Middlesex Crusaders v Lancashire Lightning
(5.30pm, Tuesday, Sky Sports 1)
I don't think too many of the Middlesex members are happy that they're playing this home game at the Brit Oval because Lord's is hosting the Test match.
But one thing they will get at the Oval is a fantastic wicket for Twenty20 and I'm sure the match will be well-supported as the London city boys pile into the stadium.
Middlesex have been the surprise package of the Twenty20 Cup because they didn't have any pedigree in previous seasons and all of a sudden found themselves dominating the South Division for the majority of the qualification period.
They've been playing good cricket, but to all intents and purposes this is an away game and they're coming up against a Lancashire side who've got a spring in their step again.
With Glen Chapple and Andrew Flintoff playing in last week's County Championship game with Sussex, Lancashire look like they've got something back - both in terms of personnel and in terms of having a buzz in the dressing room.
Big Fred has been bowling really quickly and aggressively again and there aren't many better one-day bowlers in the world than him. Plus Sajid Mahmood is bowling really well so this is a really tough one for Middlesex.
They will need their stars from this season's competition - such as Dirk Nannes, Ed Joyce and Dawid Malan - to continue to really turn it on as they have done up to this point.
But I'm going to go for Lancashire on this one.
Warwickshire Bears v Kent Spitfires
(5.30pm, Wednesday, Sky Sports 1)
At the start of the year I tipped Kent to do really well in one-day competition because, like Northants, they've got some fantastic all-rounders.
There's Ryan McLaren, Yasir Arafat and Azhar Mahmood who is one of the most dangerous players in domestic one-day cricket. Then there's Geraint Jones and the likes of Rob Key and Joe Denley who I watched bat really nicely at the Riverside on Friday.
They are well-led by Key who provides a relaxed atmosphere in the dressing room so I think they'll have enough for Warwickshire on this occasion.
It will be interesting to see what sort of pitch they prepare at Edgbaston because the spinners Ian Salisbury and Ant Botha have bowled very well in tandem and have been they key for them in the Twenty20 Cup.
They'll be hoping Darren Maddy is fit because he's a dangerous player, but they've only lost one game in this competition this season and I'm sure confidence will be high after such a fabulous run.
However, I'm going to go with Kent because I think they're a top side and I tipped them at the start of the year to do very well in one-day cricket.
