Date-stamped : 08 Sep97 - 02:08 Natwest Trophy Final: Law helps Essex restore belief in chase for victory IT TOOK Essex precisely six overs yesterday to reach the total that their entire team managed in the NatWest final last year against Lancashire. Their revenge after the huge disap- pointment 12 months ago could not have been sweeter. Warwickshire had thrashed them twice in the previous 10 days, but had little chance yesterday once Paul Prichard won the toss, writes Christo- pher Martin-Jenkins at Lord`s Essex (171-1) beat Warwickshire (170-8) by 9 wkts There was barely a moment`s doubt after that, especial- ly as the weather conspired to double the bonus. Taking full ad- vantage of their good fortune by bowling and fielding exceptional- ly well, Essex limited Warwickshire to 170 for eight in 60 overs, whereupon Prichard and Stuart Law moved the silent sup- porters of last year to transports of delight. Given the tendency to denigrate the English county cricketer let it be said that Prichard played no less well than his bril- liant partner and led the assault with tremendous dash for 57 off 45 balls. With Law doing much as he pleased, even with bowlers of the class of Allan Donald and Gladstone Small, and Nasser Hussain to come, it was already no contest. Law had before bowled 12 tidy overs and he and Hussain knocked off the runs with disdainful ease in the second over after tea. Last year Essex had been bowled out for 57 in the 28th over; now they scored 171 to win by nine wickets in the 28th. It was the earliest finish in a final with a 10.30 start and the biggest margin of victory since 1982. The 1996 fi- nal proved that fielding first does not guarantee victory but it is the exception which proves the rule: 10 out of 11 games have now been won by the fielding side. The Lord`s pitch and those who prepare it will no doubt be blamed for the deflating one-sidedness of the final for the second year running. When asked whether it was good enough, the Warwick- shire captain, Neil Smith, was reluctant to lay his side`s mis- erable defeat entirely at the door of the toss and the early morning dew: "The ball still moved when the sun was out but we didn`t get enough balls in the right place," he said. True, but only up to a point. It is worth recalling that there were more than 640 runs in the 1993 final here when the sun shone all day. Yesterday it was more the degree of swing created by the mixture of the dew and the heavy grey skies which made batting so desperately difficult in the morning. Movement off the seam was accentuated by the slope but wickets would have tumbled on almost any ground in England. The real vil- lain is the fixture list. Essex seized their chance admirably, with Law, Prichard, Ashley Cowan and Ronnie Irani the principal players. In Irani`s case it was a triumph of determination simply to be bowling at all. Having torn an inter-costal muscle in the semi- final three-and-a-half weeks ago, he had received homeopathic in- jections of zinc, vitamins and ameno acids from a specialist in Munich who has also helped British athletes and the footballer Jrgen Klinsman to recover in time for big events. If no-one can be certain that this aided his recovery, torn muscles between the rubs have been known to make bowl- ing impossible for much longer. Irani not only bowled but bowled accurately and with real craft. It was Cowan, however, enhancing his chances of being picked for the tour of the West Indies today, who made the first incisions, swinging the new ball late and wicked- ly away down the slope from the Nursery End. Mark Ilott beat the outside edge of the left-handed David Hemp with equal frequency after Nick Knight had padded up to the third ball of the morning and been defeated by late movement into his pads from a foot outside his off-stump. Events unfolded beneath a sombre sky before an almost silent crowd which was still, it seemed, affected by the solemn events in the capital the day before and the minute`s silence before play started. Smith edged an out- swinger in the seventh over and though Hemp and Dominic Ostler battled to 45 by the 23rd over, a cru- cial hesitation and quick fielding by Paul Grayson at cover put Warwickshire back on their heels again. Peter Such bowled his usual exemplary spell to keep the pressure on and a stand of 51 in 12 overs by Ashley Giles and Dougie Brown after lunch, plus some effective bustling by Keith Piper, was too little too late. Prichard and law, who have batted effectively together all sea- son, never Brown and Graeme Welch settle and by the time that Allan Donald came on at 45 for no wicket for the sixth over, the die was cast. Law`s driving was, as always, a joy. He needed only 71 balls for his 80, Prichard a mere 45 for 57. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Cowan`s tour reminder By Charles Randall ASHLEY COWAN, at the age of 22, did his chances of selection for England`s West Indies tour no harm with his three wickets for Essex yesterday - and he knew it would be the day`s first over that could set him up for a successful return to Lord`s after last year`s shattering defeat. The seam bowler`s third ball darted back at Nick Knight and removed one of Warwickshire`s most dangerous batsmen for a duck. Cowan said: "If you bowl your first over very well, that sets the whole tone of the game. It was a big over for me - all the boys had told me that - and it was still ringing in my ears. "The pitch was doing a lot, but obviously after last year`s visit I wasn`t going to get too excited. As soon as the ball did start moving about, Mark Ilott and I licked our lips and got on with it. I can now get last year out of my mind and be happy. "When we came here we were on a mission. Everybody basically put us down - maybe they had good reason to do so - but as soon as you come to a final, Lord`s or wherever, previous games don`t count so much. "People have said it might make a tour for me or it might not, but I didn`t even think about it. My only thoughts were to get down there and to bowl well." Cowan spent last winter coaching and playing club cricket in South Africa, but yesterday`s impressive display on a big occa- sion has made his selection for England A`s tour, at least, a certainty. As has so often happened after these September finals, there were resigned comment from the captains about the imbalance of the conditions. Neil Smith, of Warwickshire, had his worst fears realised when he lost the toss, opened the batting and found Essex`s seam at- tack, especially Cowan, moving the ball extravagantly. Smith said: "I thought we were lucky to get 170. It`s a shame, because it`s a showpiece final and everyone`s come here, and there hasn`t really been a game of cricket in the end. "All credit to Essex. They came here and did a job. They bowled very well, but it`s a little bit strange that two weeks before you get to Lord`s everyone`s saying `you`ve got to win the toss to win the game`. Whether the game should be shortened or brought forward earli- er in the season, I don`t know." Paul Prichard agreed that the coin contest had been as impor- tant as ever. He said: "The ball moved around more than it would nor- mally do, and our bowlers exploited it really well. I`m hap- py for them." Unlike Cowan, though, Prichard did not think about last sea- son`s collapse to 58 all out against Lancashire. He said: "It never went through my mind when we were going out to bat. I bat- ted with Stewie Law and we played positively as usual. We en- joy batting to- gether." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)