Lord's final should be inspiration

6:51am Friday 4th July 2008

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Former Essex wicket-keeper David East believes his modern day contemporaries should be inspired by the prospect of playing in a Lord's final - just like he was.

East, now the county's chief executive, appeared in three finals in the space of three seasons.

The 47-year-old was part of the Essex team that lost the 1983 B&H Cup final to Middlesex in agonising circumstances, and returned two years later to suffer a similar fate at the hands of Leicestershire.

However, East did enjoy victory two months later in the NatWest Trophy final, when Essex beat Nottinghamshire by one run.

Since then, Essex have appeared in four more one-day knock-out finals - the last of which came with a B&H Cup defeat to Warwickshire in 2002.

And East is desperate for the county to return to Lord's again this summer.

"The last Lord's final we were in was the B&H Cup in 2002, and of that team only Graham Napier is still in our side," he observed. "The rest of the playershave not had the honour of playing in a Lord's final.

"It is a fantastic occasion. Everyone wants to win one but just to be part of them is an amazing feeling.

"It still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I remember the finals that I was a part of with Essex.

"The lads will not need any other incentive on Saturday than the prospect of playing in a final at Lord's - it really is something quite special.

"If we get there, there will be a lot of very nervous but also very satisfied cricketers."