Surrey are 'blessed' but need to be on Finals Day game, admits Jordan

Has county cricket ever seen a fixture with as much star power as last Friday's T20 Blast quarter-final between Lancashire and Surrey? The two biggest clubs in the country fielded 13 internationals between them, and boasted over 3,500 matches of T20 experience worldwide.

"As a neutral, you'd probably like to see that sort of game in a final," Chris Jordan, Surrey's captain, reflects. He is right - and not least because it would have meant the game being televised rather than merely live-streamed.

Lancashire were unbeaten in three seasons at Old Trafford heading into that quarter-final, but Surrey's all-star XI - the Harleyford Globetrotters - defended 187 against a batting line-up containing three of England's T20 World Cup-winning side in their top four, and New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell at No. 5.

It means Surrey will be in Birmingham on Saturday for Blast Finals Day, hoping to win only their second T20 title - almost exactly 20 years after their first. It is a bizarrely poor record given the calibre of players Surrey have fielded across those two decades, and one they are looking to put right.

"We're very fortunate that we have so many players that have played international cricket and have played a lot of T20 cricket," Jordan says. "And not only that: they've played in a lot of big games in front of big crowds and know what comes with that, and what to expect in those situations.

"We are blessed with so many awesome players. But cricket is played on the day: no matter how good a team you have, or how good a set of individuals, you definitely have to play cricket as a team to win over a long period of time. That's definitely something that I feel we're growing into nicely as the season's gone on."

Jordan has also grown into captaincy, taking the reins on his return to The Oval - where he started his professional career before joining Sussex - last summer. "Even though it might be challenging, it's an enjoyable challenge," he says, "trying to find solutions to problems, trying to put guys in positions to succeed.

"I've been very fortunate to play under people like Morgs [Eoin Morgan], MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma - so many different top captains. I've learned a lot from playing under their leadership. I guess I also want to bring my own flavour and my own style as well, but I'm definitely drawing on those past experiences as well to help me through."

He has had to make some tricky decisions - not least in selection. Jason Roy, for example, missed the vast majority of the group stages through a calf injury; when he returned, Will Jacks and Laurie Evans' success as an opening partnership meant the only room for him in the side was in an unfamiliar role at No. 3.

"Jase was very open to it," Jordan explains. "All his life, he's only ever been an opener - but in that quarter-final, he really did show his versatility. He came in at the back end of the powerplay and had to work his way through the middle playing some smart and really mature cricket. You would swear he'd been batting No. 3 for ages."

Evans edged past Jacks as Surrey's leading run-scorer during the quarter-final, but Jacks is the Blast's leading six-hitter. Across the last four Blast seasons, he averages 35.41 and strikes at 155.10; at 24, he looks on the cusp of a breakthrough at international level. "He's been ready to go to that next step for a while," Jordan says.

"He's been a little bit unlucky with one or two injuries, but he's ready, man. He's one of those guys you want to cross the line with. He's a really good leader, always up for the fight and for the challenge. He always wants to be that guy with the bat, always wants the ball in the field, no matter what the situation."

Jacks is always the big wicket for Surrey's opponents; Somerset, who they play in the semi-final on Saturday, rested their entire bowling attack for their Championship game against Hampshire ahead of that challenge. Not that Surrey will underestimate Somerset, who have won 13 of their 15 games in the Blast this year.

"They're an impressive outfit," Jordan says. "You know exactly what you're going to get from them: they're very organised in the field, they have a clear template with the way they want to bat and bowl. They fully deserved to finish the league games on the top of the table.

"It's one-all so far in the season. We beat them at their place, they beat us at ours so I guess we're on neutral ground now. The most important thing now is we keep getting those Ws - the semi-final first, and then hopefully that ultimate W at the end of it."