Wycombe wonder if they can clear final hurdle
Cup fever has returned to High Wycombe, four months after the town's football team captivated the nation by reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Now, all eyes are on the cricket club this weekend as they attempt to go one step further than Lawrie Sanchez's Wanderers by reaching club cricket's equivalent of the FA Cup Final. High Wycombe Cricket Club stage the biggest match in their 178-year history at London Road on Sunday, when they entertain Bath in the semi-finals of the National Knockout Cup. The glittering prize awaiting the winners is a place in the final at Lord's on 6 September against Ayr or Bramhall.
The Buckinghamshire side showed their strength in the quarter-finals with a 105-run victory over Finchley. They beat another of London's top sides, Teddington, in an earlier round.
Wycombe's captain, Jason Harrison, has an extra incentive to reach Lord's. The 29-year-old opening bat had five seasons with Middlesex before being released in 1998. He probably thought he would never play at cricket's headquarters again and now he is one match away from leading out his home town team in club cricket's showpiece final.
Club official Keith Patten said: "There is tremendous interest in the town and we expect around 1,000 people on Sunday. This is basically a very young side. Five or six of them are under 21 and they have done us proud."
The team veteran is 43-year-old wicketkeeper Tim Russell, who is also vice-captain.
"Tim has kept wicket for us since he was 15," said Patten. "But unlike his namesake Jack Russell he is not very good at painting - but he has got a moustache."
Bath reached the semi-finals with an 18-run victory over Saffron Walden. The Essex League leaders can still reach a major Cup final, as they face Bexley on Sunday week in the semi-finals of the £12,000 Evening Standard Challenge Trophy. The winners will face Wanstead or Lambeth Enterprise in the final at The Oval on 9 September.
