Worcestershire Rapids take on Hampshire on Saturday in the final of the Metro Bank One Day Cup, in what is set to be another fascinating finale to England‘s seemingly forgotten format.
The Trent Bridge showpiece event will cap off an enthralling week of action, showcasing county cricket at its very best, following Somerset’s triumph at T20 Blast Finals Day and Nottinghamshire’s likely title-defining victory at Surrey in an all-time Championship classic.
The One Day Cup has once again served up an intriguing clash, with Worcestershire in a List A final for the first time since 2004, whilst Hampshire – no strangers to the big stage in white ball cricket – are looking to avenge their narrow defeat to Leicestershire at this stage two years ago.
Both sides head to Nottingham on the back of a difficult week, as Worcestershire’s relegation from Division One was confirmed and Hampshire, who still have major relegation fears of their own, were unable to defend a record-equalling score of 194 in the T20 Blast final at Edgbaston last Saturday.
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Road to the final
For the Rapids, in their first final since the 2019 T20 Blast, they finished top of Group A with six wins and one tie from their eight games, before dispatching Somerset in style at a boisterous New Road in the semi-final.
As for Hampshire, their runners-up finish in Group A – having lost to Worcestershire when the sides met – meant they had to come through an additional knockout match against Middlesex in which they forwent home advantage due to a scheduling conflict with the Hundred, before getting the better of Yorkshire in a DLS-affected semi-final clash at Scarborough.
With rain forecast for much of Saturday in the East Midlands, a reserve day on Sunday is available, as was the case with the final 12 months ago when Glamorgan defeated Somerset in what eventually became a T20 contest.
Whatever the weather, the stage is set, and we take a look at the key head-to-head battles that could decide the One Day Cup final.
The experienced leaders – Jake Libby vs Nick Gubbins
Finals are often decided by the big players and for both sides, they will be looking at their consistent performers with the bat to deliver as they have throughout the competition.
Worcestershire captain Jake Libby boasts a remarkable career average of 58.65 in what will be his 50th List A appearance, amassing 442 runs this campaign with four half-centuries and a high score of 112 not out in their opener against Nottinghamshire Outlaws.
His counterpart Nick Gubbins has enjoyed a highly productive tournament with 669 runs – only bettered by Yorkshire’s Imam-ul-Haq – at an astonishing 95.57 average, which involved an impressive consecutive run of 60, 81, 87* and 144* during the group stages.
However, the 31-year-old left hander was dismissed for single-figure scores in both knockout matches.
Worcestershire will be sweating on the fitness of their top run-scorer and fellow key figure Brett D’Oliveira.
He was forced to leave the field with an ankle injury during the final day of their County Championship draw at Durham.
The breakthrough stars – Daniel Lategan vs Ben Mayes
The One Day Cup has now become synonymous with breeding young players as counties continue to lose their heavyweights during August to the Hundred.
Saturday’s final will provide an opportunity for a number of emerging talents from 2025 to showcase themselves on a big stage.
Worcestershire’s Daniel Lategan has been a revelation at the top of the order since breaking into the side midway through the group stages, registering 254 runs in just five innings, which culminated with a career-best score of 78 in the dominant semi-final win against Somerset.
The 19-year-old South African, currently on an overseas deal ahead of becoming locally-qualified, was picked up by MI Cape Town in the recent SA20 auction and also made his First Class debut for the club earlier this month.
The 17-year-old wicketkeeper Ben Mayes has also impressed in his first taste of professional cricket for Hampshire, with the England U19 member averaging a commendable 38 in his eight List A innings to date.
A rapid 55-ball 74 on debut and a match-winning, unbeaten 62 in an innings way beyond his years were notable highlights, now with exposure to high-pressure situations after being entrusted to feature for the club in their T20 Blast quarter-final and Finals Day.
All-rounder Andrew Neal, 25, made the step up from 2nd XI cricket this campaign and the left-arm spinner had an immediate impact with 13 dismissals and could have a big role to play with star man Liam Dawson away on England duty.
The match winners – Ethan Brookes vs James Fuller
When it comes to game-changers with both bat and ball, neither side is short of options – and it may be those all-round influences that prove decisive.
Such has been the form of Worcestershire’s top order, Ethan Brookes’ batting exploits have not been relied upon often.
Yet the leading six-hitter in the County Championship has already shown this season just how much of a destructive player he can be, in addition to his handy seam bowling, which has also accounted for 12 wickets in their One Day Cup campaign.
Worcestershire are not short on seam bowling all-rounders, with Tom Taylor and Matthew Waite both also providing strong wicket-taking options with the new ball, as well as the ability to score quick runs lower down the order.
Whereas the Rapids have had consistent contributions throughout their team, Hampshire relied heavily on the form of Nick Gubbins throughout the group stages.
But it was fellow opener Ali Orr who scored a crucial century in their low-scoring win over Middlesex in the quarter-final at Radlett.
Their semi-final success against Yorkshire was centred heavily around the performances of Liam Dawson and Scott Currie, returning from the Hundred, but Dawson is once again unavailable alongside bowler Sonny Baker.
Meanwhile, Hampshire are waiting to see if Currie will be granted a return from England’s T20 series in Ireland to play, though they are boosted by the inclusion of the Blast top run-scorer Toby Albert, who has only been able to feature on the one occasion in this format.
As such, with the potential loss of two key all-rounders, they may look to the experienced James Fuller in the middle order, who in his three appearances in the competition this season, has taken seven wickets and made two valuable contributions with the bat in match-winning causes.
The overseas quicks – Khurram Shahzad vs Kyle Abbott
Whilst many counties have been disrupted by the premature loss of their Australian imports, Worcestershire and Hampshire will have their respective overseas to take the new ball.
Pakistan’s Khurram Shahzad has proved a useful addition for Worcestershire in the second half of the season, saving his biggest impact to date for the semi-final win.
The 25-year-old ripped through the dangerous Somerset top order in a sublime opening spell to end with figures of 4-36, which set the hosts well on their way to booking their spot in the final.
South African veteran Kyle Abbott has been a consistent leader of the Hampshire attack for a significant period of time, particularly in the County Championship.
He has also been a regular in the One Day Cup alongside a crop of exciting young fast bowlers, adding another 11 scalps to his name this time around.
Abbott will be expected to pose the biggest threat to Worcestershire’s batting order up front.
Elsewhere, in Ben Allison, Worcestershire have one of the tournament’s most impressive bowlers with 17 wickets at an average of 17.17 – six of which came against their final opponents in a career-best effort during the group stage meeting.
Finally, Hampshire’s 20-year-old Eddie Jack is another name from the South Coast county firmly on England’s radar and has notched 13 wickets in the competition.
PICTURE: Alamy
One Day Cup final memories
The List A final has a long, storied history in England’s domestic calendar, and whilst its position in the schedule has been altered over the years and moved away from its traditional home at Lord’s in light of the Hundred’s inception, it remains a hugely momentous and tribal occasion for the sides involved.
We take a look back at some of the best moments the One Day Cup final has produced over the previous ten seasons.
2023 – Leicestershire win thriller
A raucous Trent Bridge witnessed one of the greatest finals in English domestic history as Leicestershire recovered to stun Hampshire and land their first List A title since lifting the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1985.
Local lads Harry Swindells and Sam Evans were the unlikely heroes, sharing a stand of 151 for the seventh-wicket as the Foxes recovered from a nightmare start at 19-4 to post a competitive 267, with Swindells making a maiden century in limited-overs cricket on his first appearance in the competition that season.
Needing eight to win off the last over, 19-year-old left-arm quick Josh Hull – who had conceded 70 runs in nine overs – held his nerve to concede just five singles and remove half-centurion Liam Dawson to spark wild scenes of jubilation on the pitch and in the stands.
2021 – Glamorgan end trophy drought
The first final since moving to Trent Bridge saw Glamorgan take on Durham, with the Welsh county clinching their first silverware since 2004, and in doing so also secured a maiden victory in a limited-overs cup final.
Following a chaotic schedule with just two days to prepare after their semi-final victory over Essex, Glamorgan produced a professional team performance to win by 58 runs, as captain Kiran Carlson top-scored with 82 in a total of 296, before they restricted Durham to 238 all out with the wickets shared among the bowlers.
Glamorgan’s triumph was all the more impressive given that Durham had chosen to reinstate players who had been competing in the inaugural edition of the Hundred, a decision the champions had opted against.
2017 – Alex Hales produces Lord’s masterclass
Alex Hales’ record-breaking 187 not out guided Nottinghamshire to a four-wicket triumph and inflicted a third successive One Day Cup final defeat on Surrey.
The former England international registered the highest individual one-day score at Lord’s and fastest Lord’s domestic final century (83 deliveries), smashing 20 fours and four sixes in his 167-ball innings as Notts chased down their target of 298 with 13 balls to spare, despite Mark Stoneman’s earlier unbeaten 144, which laid the foundations for Surrey’s total.
Having been given a life on 9, the opener ensured his side remained ahead of the rate throughout, but at 150-5, he was not getting enough support at the other end, until wicketkeeper Chris Read – playing in his final season – made a much-needed half-century in a 137-run stand to steer them to within touching distance.
2015 – Gloucestershire edge out Surrey
Gloucestershire produced a stunning recovery with the ball to pull off an enthralling six-run victory over Surrey and maintain their impressive record in Lord’s one-day finals.
A score of 220 all out appeared way under par after Jade Dernbach ended the innings with a hat-trick, though they were thankful to Geraint Jones’ fifty in his final game before retirement, and at 143-2 Surrey looked well in control until the dismissal of Kumar Sangakkara triggered a dramatic collapse of eight wickets for 71 runs.
Surrey’s middle order were buckling under mounting pressure, but a 17-year-old Sam Curran threatened to drag his side over the line until he picked out Benny Howell on the long-on boundary off the first ball of the final over, with Gareth Batty perishing just two balls later in a desperate attempt for a boundary which sealed the win for Gloucestershire.
2014 – Ben Stokes shines in tense tussle
Five years prior to his man-of-the-match display in England’s dramatic World Cup victory over New Zealand on the very same ground, Ben Stokes was influential with bat and ball as Durham held their nerve in a low-scoring contest against Warwickshire on a gloomy day at Lord’s.
Stokes’ 2-25 helped to dismiss Warwickshire for just 165 in bowler-friendly conditions with the floodlights on from the outset, but at 86-5 in response, the game remained very much in the balance with spinner Jeetan Patel (4-25) proving a constant threat.
Coming in at number seven off the back of a sublime 164 off 113 balls in the semi-final, Stokes restored an element of calmness to slowly tick off the runs required, remaining unbeaten for a crucial 38 alongside Gareth Breese as Durham reached their target with three wickets in hand to secure their second white ball title.
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