Record county bounty at stake

The only cloud hanging over the Rose Bowl has been India's continued insistence that no county containing 'rebel' Indian Cricket League players could be allowed to join the Champions League.

Middlesex and Essex are 'clean' but both Kent and Durham would be barred if a compromise were not found.

There is still optimistic talk, however, of an England Cricket Board driven alternative event, which could also include domestic teams from around the world. By the looks of it, the only real losers tomorrow will be the two beaten semi-finalists, who each receive £10,000 and will not qualify for any of the big-money games.

The Twenty20 Cup winners collect £42,000 and the runners-up, £21,000. But that is of course just the start for those two teams, so it is no wonder all four counties are determined not let talk of money affect their cricket.

"Lots of things are being mooted and it's all very exciting," said Kent chief executive Paul Millman. "But I know captain Rob Key and the guys are just concentrating on getting to the next stage.

"I guess it's a bit like some of the England cricketers and talk of them playing in the Indian Premier League. That must be all very exciting as well but no doubt they are waiting to see whether they get invited rather than starting to count the pennies ahead of time."

As for the Champions League issue, Millman added: "We've been very conscious of taking things in stages and if we've got a problem we'll solve it. Until there's a problem we are not going to beat the air and worry about it. In the dressing room and around the club it's simply not an issue."

Over at Middlesex, the veteran bowler Shaun Udal is another hoping to benefit from cricket's financial revolution, but money cannot buy what the game has in store for him.

Twelve months after the crushing disappointment of being left out of a Lord's final with Hampshire and thinking his days as a professional cricketer were over, the 39-year-old former England spinner is heading for Twenty20 finals day with a new county.

Ironically, it is all happening at the Rose Bowl - Udal's home ground until the county decided it was time they got by without their ever popular veteran bowler.

"I couldn't have written a better script," said Udal. "I wasn't even picked by Hampshire last year for Twenty20 cricket and I was very disappointed about that. So to be going back to the Rose Bowl as one of the semi-finalists is a dream come true."

In a further twist, Middlesex's opponents are Durham - the team Udal would have played against in last year's Friends Provident Trophy Final at Lord's if Hampshire had not left out their former captain on the morning of the match.

"Let's just hope we do ourselves proud and we get through," said Udal, whose middle over bowling partnership with Indian left-arm spinner Murali Kartik has played a big part in propelling Middlesex to their first finals day.

Having reached only one quarter-final in the previous six years, the Crusaders won eight of their 10 group games before beating Lancashire to reach the semis.

It was that match against Andrew Flintoff's side that saw Dawid Malan, another of Middlesex's Twenty20 heroes, come to the fore.

Not 21 until September, the Roehampton-born batsman wrecked Lancashire with a brilliant innings of 103, from 54 balls, in the Cup quarter-final after Middlesex had been 20 for four. And he did this after scoring a century on his Championship debut just a few days before. Nevertheless, Durham, with England's Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison, will start as favourites, but the astonishing cash incentive will clearly focus the minds of both sets of players. "I'd be lying if I said the money people are talking about had not been mentioned to a certain degree," said Udal.

"But certainly not to the point of it being the be-all and end-all.

"If you make it into your big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow then you'll be too concerned about what might happen instead of worrying about the white ball coming towards you. I'm just looking forward to being part of a fantastic day."