Middlesex won their first trophy for 13 years and the most lucrative match in their history when they pipped Kent, the holders, by three runs in a pulsating Twenty20 Cup final last night. Both teams qualify for the Champions League, for which this year’s prize-fund has been put at £5.1m, while Middlesex also go forward to the Stanford Super Series in Antigua.

The finale could not have been more exciting, except perhaps had the batsman and bowler for the last two balls been Englishmen rather than South Africans. As it was, Justin Kemp, who may be prevented from participating in the Champions League because of his connections with the rebel Indian Cricket League, faced Tyron Henderson needing four runs to win.

Kemp had struck the previous balls in the over for two, four, four and two, so the force had very much switched to Kent, especially as two of these runs had been gifted by a wild throw from the deep by Dawid Malan that suggested Middlesex’s nerves were fraying.

But Henderson, deaf to the buzz around the ground that there was only a couple of million quid riding on the next two minutes, proceeded to beat Kemp outside off stump, and then smartly field a return drive to run him out before he could complete even one run.

Kemp, helped by Darren Stevens and Azhar Mahmood who had taken 12 off the penultimate over from Dirk Nannes, had heroically kept Kent in the hunt with a hard-hit 49 from 38 balls. But his side were always struggling to keep pace with their requirement after Rob Key and Joe Denly had fallen in quick succession after posting 89 in nine overs with some brilliant strokeplay.

Kent’s opening pair, along with Owais Shah, whose brilliant 75 from 35 balls for Middlesex won him the man-of-the-match award in the final, were England’s flag-bearers on a day largely dominated by foreigners.

Middlesex thus maintained the trend of the teams that play the day’s second semi-final going on to win the final. The only exception was Leicester-shire in 2006.

Middlesex’s Twenty20 campaign has brought a remarkable turnaround to their season. They have struggled in the championship, come off a three-day thrashing by Worces-tershire and recently faced a members’ revolt after a feeble start in all competitions, but this cup run helped quash a vote of no confidence in the committee.

A freak accident to Ed Smith, their captain, meant Ed Joyce taking charge of the team and a new mood of confidence built up as one victory followed another. Middlesex qualified for finals day with more wins than their rivals. They had many heroes yesterday, but Henderson, a Twenty20 specialist playing in the final against the team he represented in 2006, was certainly the man of the finals with two murderous pieces of hitting before his cool bowling at the death.

Joyce chose to bat first in the final in order to give his spinners their best chance to exploit a turning surface. Shaun Udal, whose move from Hampshire last winter was prompted by the belief (mistaken as it turned out) that Shane Warne would be returning, and Murali Karthik had played a central part in the whole campaign and in the semi-final defeat of Durham they had, crucially, bowled eight overs for 36.

The plan worked better than he could have expected. Henderson, an itinerant South African who turns 34 on Friday, had settled the semi-final with Durham with a whirlwind 59 from 21 balls, and he now again came off as a pinch-hitter. Riding a lot of luck, he bludgeoned 43 off 33 balls and after he had holed out to cover, Shah went on the rampage. Shah peppered the midwicket boundary time and again as James Tredwell and then Darren Stevens conceded 21 in an over.

After 16 overs, Kent were on the ropes with Middlesex 157 for three, but they fought back tenaciously over the last four overs, which yielded just 30 runs. Middlesex’s total of 187 was the highest ever recorded in a final.

As a talent-spotting exercise for Geoff Miller, the chairman of selectors, the day brought mixed returns. Denly showed enough class to warrant a trial in England’s 20-overs or 50-overs team. He stroked three boundaries of real pedigree off successive balls in the final against Henderson and generally looked comfortable on the big stage, as he did in scoring a century against Durham in the Friends Provident Trophy semi-final.

Key also batted with panache for 52 from 30 balls as he and Denly gave their side a chance of chasing down Middlesex’s huge score. Key is a far better player now than he was when he last played for England; as he himself has said, Twenty20 has improved him as a batsman.

Joyce, who has made a one-day century against Australia, batted well in both games and executed an important runout in the final, although he missed what could have been a disastrous catch when Kemp was on 24. James Foster kept wicket well for Essex and Tredwell bowled tidily for Kent, at least until Shah got hold of him. There were no headlines for Graham Napier or Malan, neither of whom did much with the bat and made errors in the field.

Any hope of the ECB being saved further embarrassment over the issue of rebel ICL players disappeared with Kent’s victory in the first semi-final. A decision will now have to be hammered out between the club and the various stakeholders in the Champions League as to whether Kent should be allowed to field Azhar Mahmood and Kemp in the tournament, due to be staged in the Middle East in the autumn.

David Collier, the chief executive of the ECB, conceded beforehand that it would make life easier for the board if Kent and Durham, whose captain Dale Benkenstein had also played in the ICL, were eliminated before the final and thereby prevented from qualifying for the Champions League, but said he still hoped to persuade the Indian board, which is taking a hard line against the ICL, into a compromise solution.

The ECB announced a cut-off point of November 1, 2007 regarding the signing of ICL players by counties. Mahmood is believed to have signed before that date but Kemp signed afterwards. The upshot may be that Kent will consent not to field Mahmood and Kemp in the Champions League.

Kent may also be without the services of Martin van Jaars-veld, who had already become eligible to play in the Champions League for the Titans, his South African franchise.

All in all, this was a terrific day’s entertainment, perhaps the best finals day yet at a first-rate venue, on a first-rate pitch, in first-rate weather conditions. This tournament has been a huge success after the watery fate that met last year’s event and yesterday’s attendance lifted the aggregate gate for the competition above 571,000.

There have been accusations that the game is killing the goose that laid the golden egg, but there does not seem to be any sign of it yet.

MIDDLESEX v KENT

Middlesex
B A Godleman b Arafat 1
*E C Joyce c Jones b Cook 23
T Henderson c Key b McLaren 43
O A Shah b McLaren 75
E J G Morgan c Tredwell b Mahmood 23
D J Malan not out 6
S D Udal b Arafat 1
† B J M Scott not out 6
Extras (b 5, lb 1, w 3) 9

Total (6 wkts, 20 overs) 187

Did not bat: T J Murtagh, D P Nannes and T Henderson

Fall:119, 2-47, 3-83, 4-162, 5-173, 6-179

Bowling: Arafat 4-0-20-2; Mahmood 4-0-33-1; McLaren 4-0-36-2; Cook 4-0-35-1; Tredwell 2-0-27-0; Stevens 2-0-30-0

Kent
J L Denly c Godleman b Udal 31
*R W T Key c Scott b Kartik 52
J M Kemp run 49
Yasir Arafat run out 1
D I Stevens c Joyce b Nannes 33
Azhar Mahmood not out 6
Extras (lb 6, w 4, nb 2) 12

Total (5 wkts, 20 overs) 184

Did not bat: M van Jaarsveld, R McLaren, †G O Jones, J C Tredwell and S J Cook

Fall:189, 2-91, 3-96, 4-166, 5-184

Bowling: Murtagh 4-0-32-0; Nannes 4-0-37-1; Henderson 4-0-58-0; Kartik 4-0-30-1; Udal 4-0-21-1

Umpires: J W Lloyds and N A Mallender

This year’s tournament has been a huge success after the watery fate that met last year’s event and yesterday’s attendance lifted the aggregate gate for the competition above 571,000. There have been accusations that the game is killing the goose that laid the golden egg, but there does not seem to be any sign of it yet.