Durham Jets captain Paul Collingwood is relishing the underdog tag ahead of Saturday’s NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day.
The Jets take on the Yorkshire Vikings in the second semi-final, meeting either the Northants Steelbacks or the Notts Outlaws should they progress.
All three teams finished ahead in the North Group standings before Durham’s sensational victory over South Group leaders Gloucestershire to reach their second Finals Day.
And Collingwood is backing his side to “do something special” and pick up a maiden Blast crown for the county.
“You can see from the performance at Bristol how much it meant to actually get to Finals Day and it’s something to be enjoyed as well,” he said.
“These are the days you want to be a part of and it’s a great opportunity. A lot of the youngsters at the Durham have got the responsibility of big positions in the team and they can go out there and show what they’re capable of.
“We’ll come up against a side full of international class, we’ve got an opportunity to do something special and maybe we are underdogs going into that game, but we don’t mind that underdog tag.
“We seem to have had it since we started playing first-class cricket so it’s something that we’ll look forward to and relish.”
All of the Jets players have pitched in with big performances at varying times of the 2016 season, epitomised by Michael Richardson’s sensational showing both with the bat and the gloves during the quarter-final win.
Mark Wood produced a hostile spell with two early wickets in that fixture while England compatriot Ben Stokes has also been cleared to play before both leave for the upcoming One-Day series against Pakistan.
But Collingwood says the two add more than just high-class cricket skills to the Jets squad.
“They really are the heartbeat of the side. Stokesy is a great character to have around,” he said.
“I know he’s young but he’s played in some huge games, so he’ll keep the atmosphere relaxed and enjoyable and fun, which is crucial on big occasions.
“Woody is exactly the same. The humour and character he brings is gold dust on days like this.
“It’s not just one or two people that have got us to the final, everyone throughout the line-up has had good days.
“With Mark Wood and Ben Stokes in the side, we have got two high-quality, x-factor players and that could take us a long way in winning the Finals Day. They’re as excited as anyone to perform for Durham.”
A Blast title would complete the set of medals for the Jets skipper, with County Championship and One-Day trophies under his belt alongside the honour of captaining England to the World T20 title in 2010.
“I haven’t looked at it that way to be honest but it’ll be another great notch on the CV!
“It’s something that I haven’t achieved and it will be great to lead the team to victory but I think it would be magnificent for the club.”
“To actually go out there and win, it will prove to everyone how good the talent in the North East is and how much we stick together.”