Lord's hero wants more glory (From The Argus)

Lord's hero wants more glory

2:40pm Saturday 4th July 2009 in

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James Kirtley is desperate for one more big day out at Lord’s.

He believes he can get there with Sussex who face Gloucestershire at Hove in the semi-final of the Friends Provident Trophy tomorrow (10.45am).

The hero of Sussex’s win against Lancashire in the 2006 final when he took 5-27 thought his chance of another showpiece at headquarters had gone.

He said: “At this stage of my career it was in the back of my mind that I might not have the opportunity of getting to another Lord’s final.

“When I played there in the Twenty20 last week I even wondered if I would play there again. You don’t get to many big finals in your career so there is extra incentive but I’m not getting ahead of myself.

“We have a very difficult semi-final to get through first.”

Kirtley, 34, has been rejuvenated this season after winning his place back in Sussex’s Championship team last month.

He is also the Sharks’ joint leading wicket-taker in the FPT with 12 victims at 30.16 including a career-best 6-50 against Durham in the group stages.

He said: “My form has picked up in the last few weeks.

“I don’t pride myself on being a net bowler, I need to be in the middle competing which is why it was great to be playing Championship cricket again at Worcester three weeks ago as well as all the one-day stuff.

“I’m hitting my straps and hitting the wicketkeeper’s gloves hard again which I haven’t done consistently in the last two years.

“So it’s lovely to come into a game as important as this in form, particularly a 50 overs game where your opening spell is crucial.

“I have let myself down a little at that in the past but if I can hit my lengths hard I know I can rely on my skill and experience at the end and in the power play.”

Kirtley believes Sussex’s preparations could make a difference against a Gladiators team who only finished four hard days against Kent at Beckenham yesterday.

“It is unusual to have 2-3 days to prepare for a match of this importance,” he added. “It’s been fantastic to have the time to think about how the opposition will come at us and what the pitch might offer.

“We had the same build-up against Somerset in the quarter-finals and Gloucestershire’s preparations won’t have been so structured.

“Ultimately it will be about delivering your skills on the day but hopefully we have given ourselves a small advantage.”