Worth the wait?

Not many could have foreseen back in April when the county season begun in unnaturally hot conditions that 2007 would be a summer in which rain would be a menace more persistent than even English cricket followers are accustomed to. But it appears that the rain deities managed to confuse June and July for January, in the process almost completely snuffing out the Twenty20 spark which county cricket has become almost entirely dependent on for publicity and popular presence. With this failing, the old standby of the domestic one-day final has been looked to, and, glory-be, there is a story.

Just as Gloucestershire became known by the name of their talisman Mike Procter in the 1970s, Shane Warne now has such influence over his dominion of Hampshire that a similar acknowledgement would not be remiss. And while he may in time join his four fellow Wisden cricketers of the century as a knight of the realm, the peership that only Learie Constantine from the cricketing fraternity has risen to is unlikely to ever be awarded to him, meaning that he can be Lord Warne of the Rose Bowl in the mind's eye only. And he, as ever, is a significant part of that story in what could well be his last Lord's final, 8 years after he made the best team of the tournament, Pakistan, look like impostors in the World Cup final.

15 years ago, the appearance of Shane Warne on any cricketing stage would have failed to produce much more than a passing interest. For it was back then that he was making his first steps in international cricket; around the same time, dominant minor county Durham were also starting out in first-class cricket, wet nursed through infancy by a number of fading star names in Wayne Larkins, Ian Botham and Simon Hughes, alongside combative Aussie Dean Jones and the homegrown crop. The two roads have diverged greatly since the shared point of departure: while Warne has, not without mishap, forged a path as the supreme bowler of his generation, and perhaps any, Durham have mostly been hacking through the rough, propping up the championship table and acting as cannon fodder for Brian Lara as he amassed, rather blasted, his record 501*. But as Warne's playing days reach a dignified end, and Durham taste sustained success for the first time in their history as a first-class county, the two paths cross again; it is Durham's first domestic Lord's final, as it is Warne's, and it is also conceivably the great man's last.

But just as Warne is now a totally different beast from that which managed just one expensive wicket on Test debut, Durham are no longer a team to be taken lightly, especially in this form of the game. Michael Di Venuto, whom only Mark Ramprakash has surpassed in run getting this championship season, opens up alongside wicket-keeper Phil Mustard, whose surname gives a fair impression of how he sets about opening bowlers. An international middle-order follows; Paul Collingwood, followed by batsman of the summer Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dale Benkenstein, the South African who bucks the general Kolpak trend by being a player of the highest class and commitment. Even without the injured Steve Harmison, the bowling is far from inert; Ottis Gibson is a year older than Warne and is already on the ECB payroll as an Academy coach, although he is playing almost well enough to be representing the national team, in the form of his life after achieving the rare feat of all ten wickets in an innings last month. He is backed up in the seam department by England present and future: Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions, as well as Neil Killeen, a war-horse who has survived through the dark days to represent his home county in their finest hour. Gareth Breese provides the spin option and sustains the West Indian connection as well as supplementing a strong lower order, alongside Gibson and Plunkett. With Collingwood and Benkenstein also good value for their medium-pacers, Durham will not be short of options as they seek to restrict Pietersen and co.

On a rare jaunt for his second county, England's kingpin will be the prized wicket, although he is by no means the be all and end all for the Hampshire batting. Despite not quite being in the imperious form of the past few seasons, John Crawley is still a force to be reckoned with at the top of the order, while a lot could depend on the contribution of the two Southern African left-handers, the hard hitting duo of Lumb and Ervine, whose belligerence will be complemented by the pragmatism of Nic Pothas, quietly enjoying another excellent season while the wicket-keeping debate rages elsewhere. Stuart Clark has gone, but in his place Daren Powell has blossomed after a mixed tour with his country in early summer, and leads the seam attack alongside Chris Tremlett, buoyed by his impressive Test performances and looking to lay down a marker for selection in the forthcoming one-day marathon against India. Likewise Dimitri Mascarenhas, who will aim to restrict with ball and explode with the bat and whose position as fourth seamer is indicative of his team's bowling depth, with James Bruce an understated performer as first change. And then there is Warne; like all others, he has only 10 overs to bowl, but for the Durham batsmen, experienced as the majority are, his spell will seem that much longer - while there is always a certain formulaic nature to one-day cricket, you cannot account for a singular genius like Warne. And not just with ball in hand; the chatter will not cease from his domain of first-slip, especially when Collingwood comes to the crease. And there are few other No.8 batsmen you would rather have coming in to guide a tight run-chase; while others might hesitate, or be seized by nerves, you know that Warne will never divert from his primary setting, which is attack, and attack again until the enemy has been defeated.

Warne 15 years in the making; Durham 15 years in the waiting. It is easy to overestimate the one, and underrate the other. Hampshire, with their unbeaten record in Lord's finals, will start as favourites, although Durham's inexperience in big-game situations is as a team only, with the majority of their team well versed in the cut and thrust of the winner-takes-all scenario. It is far easier in the mind's eye to picture Warne with the trophy held aloft, but on balance the solidity of the Durham line-up is a good bet to deny him. But probability and odds only interest Warne when he is laying bets, rather than deciding their outcome, and he is one major hurdle Durham will have to surmount if they are to mark the biggest day out in their history with their greatest achievement.