TWENTY20 FINALS DAY at Edgbaston, 17 AUGUST 2013

ESSEX EAGLES
Odds: 5-2.
Key man: Reece Topley (19 FLt20 wickets at 13.36 runs apiece).
Handy man to have in your side: Graham Napier.
Bat or bowl first? Not fussed. Five of Essex's six victories in this year's FLt20 were pretty emphatic either way - by seven wickets or more or by over 45 runs.
Of the four teams to have made it through to finals day, Essex have won the fewest games to get there. But, on their day, the Eagles are a match for anyone. For Essex, it's so much more than being Ryan ten Doeschate and Owais Shah with the bat, or Reece Topley and Shaun Tait with the ball. Bubbling under in their FLt20 averages are some proven match-winners like Ravi Bopara and David Masters.
Prediction: If they made it through to the final, you wouldn't bet against them taking the title.

HAMPSHIRE ROYALS
Odds: 7-4 favourites.
Key man: Michael Carberry (496 FLt20 runs at an average of 62.00).
Handy man to have in your side: Adam Wheater.
Bat or bowl first? Bat, definitely. Their solitary defeat - by 8 runs - came when Kent won the toss and batted.
Even though I have singled out Michael Carberry as the key man, Hampshire's opponents won't be able to breath a sigh of relief until the Royals' top six are back in the hutch. Not that it's a common occurrence - Hampshire have only lost more than five wickets on three occasions in this year's FLt20. If you are looking for a chink in the Royals' armour, look no further than Pakistani left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir, who has one of the worst economy rates in this year's Twenty20.
Prediction: If Carberry and Vince get the Royals off to starts with the bat, Hampshire could easily make it three T20 titles in four years.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STEELBACKS
Odds: 4-1.
Key man: Azharullah (24 FLt20 wickets at 11.37 runs apiece).
Handy man to have in your side: Matthew Spriegel.
Bat or bowl first? The Steelbacks have batted first in eight out of their 11 T20 games this season; and you could say it only really cost them the once.
Hardly anyone seems to be talking about Northants, but they're certainly not there to make up the numbers. Not only are the Steelbacks on course for promotion in the County Championship. But also, after a poor start, they've turned their YB40 campaign around. If Northants have a weakness it's that they rely heavily on their two overseas representatives - Cameron White and Richard Levi - to get the runs. But with bowlers like Pakistan's Azharullah plus David Willey almost any total is defendable.
Prediction: Definitely in with a shout of reaching the final.

SURREY
Odds: 10-3.
Key man: Jade Dernbach (16 FLt20 wickets at an average of 13.06).
Handy man to have in your side: Gary Wilson.
Bat or bowl first? Surrey much prefer to bat first in the T20. That said, two of their last three wins were successful chases.
In terms of freshening the side up, due to the enforced absence of Gareth Batty, it's a case of Maxwell in, Duminy and Pietersen out. It is looking extremely unlikely the Oval outfit will see anything of Kevin Pietersen and JP Duminy; not just this weekend but also during the championship run-in. But the good news for the only representative from Division One of the County Championship is that all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is available again following Australia A's tour of South Africa.
Prediction: If Surrey can find someone capable of batting through to make a sixty or even a seventy, they could be in business.

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