Lord's holds some special memories for James Kirtley.

Every one of the countless wickets he has taken there during a decade or more of stalwart service for Sussex has some significance.

But nothing will top the catch he took against India in one of his 11 one-day international appearances for England back in 2003.

That catch ranks of one of the best there has ever been at the home of cricket as Kirtley hurtled around the boundary before launching himself across the turf, thrusting out his left hand and intercepting the ball about an inch from the ground.

Even talking about it now brings a smile to his lips.

"Lord's has been a good ground for me," he said. "It's nice that people still talk about the Ganguly catch when great catches in cricket history are mentioned.

"All I remember was everything happened so quickly. It's wasn't a drawn out thing like getting five wickets and contributing to the team's success in that way."

That catch was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Rather than a repeat tomorrow, what is more likely is that Kirtley will show once again why he has been probably the most consistent one-day bowler in county cricket for the past decade.

Even this season, after he re-modelled his action during the winter, his statistics in limited overs cricket are impressive.

No English qualified bowler has taken more than his 14 wickets in the C&G Trophy so far and his 21 wickets in all one-day cricket have cost just 22 runs apiece.

"I know that some people are judging me differently since I changed my action," he said. "But Mark Robinson and Chris Adams have stuck up for me because they knows what I have had to go through in the last year or so.

"I know I can still perform in one-day cricket. I haven't always bowled brilliantly - who has? But my record speaks for itself and I'm confident I can perform tomorrow."

What Kirtley also brings is experience of the big Lord's occasion. Only two of his team-mates, Chris Adams and Richard Montgomerie, have played in one-day finals before but Kirtley has played for his country in front of a full house at headquarters.

"Of course you try and treat it like any other game but it's not and you have to be ready for the distractions," he added.

"You don't have the same time as you think on the morning of the game for instance. There will be distractions like your friends and family asking about tickets. At Hove you can control that, but it's a lot more difficult trying to get someone into a crowd of 30,000 than it is 3,000.

"I will tell the guys when we go back to the pavilion after nets at 10.15 to try to take in the atmosphere so that when you go out again the sights and the noise from a 30,000 crowd isn't a big shock. Nothing prepares you for that if you haven't experienced it before."

What Adams will want more than anything from Kirtley tomorrow is wickets with the new ball against Lancashire's feared top order.

Yasir Arafat has done a great job as Rana Naved's replacement, but Sussex have missed Rana's knack of making early inroads into the opposition batting since he left the squad at the start of June with Sussex's place in the final all but secured.

After his initial burst, probably from the Nursery End, Kirtley may well be brought back in mid-innings for a couple of overs if a containing job is required before he returns at the end when he will simply try to bowl as straight as possible whilst mixing up his pace.

Whatever the outcome, Kirtley believes Sussex could not have done anything which would have improved their build-up to the big day.

"Physically we are in great shape and we are playing good cricket," he said. "We couldn't have prepared any better.

"We are very clear on our plans and now it's a case of putting them into practice.

"Neither team has any idea what the conditions are going to be like and of course it's at a neutral venue so neither side has any advantage."

It hasn't always been so good for Sussex in one-day cricket. The dark days when they could hardly string two good limited overs performances together were not that long ago. As recently as 2003 they were being embarrassed on their own patch by Scotland.

Kirtley's role in the side remains the same but these days Sussex perhaps do not rely on him quite so much.

"The team has evolved in one-day cricket, especially in the last year," he said. "We have always had good individuals but only recently has it really come together.

"I like the mix we have. We have six or seven guys aged over 30 who are still performing, balanced by the youth and energy the youngsters give us as well as match-winning performances themselves. You could not have asked for a more balanced squad and the mood is good."