Pettini hoping to be fit

Essex have suffered a double injury scare on the eve of their Friends Provident Trophy final against Kent at Lord’s.

Captain Mark Pettini suffered a recurrence of astigmatism in his eye and wicketkeeper James Foster was struck down by a mystery virus during the current LV County Championship contest against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Although both are expected to play tomorrow, it has not been a build-up to English cricket’s one-day domestic cup showpiece they would have liked.

They will be desperate to feature, particularly given their experiences of six years ago when Essex were defeated in the last Benson & Hedges Cup final - Pettini, then a teenager, was on drinks duty and Foster, one of England’s centrally-contracted players at the time, was sidelined with a broken arm.

Pettini went to see a specialist in Birmingham this morning, having reported blurred vision yesterday and opted not to bat until number 11 in a match fizzling out towards a draw.

Foster, 28, was put on a drip during lunch on the third day of the contest following consultation with a local doctor but returned behind the stumps later in the day and batted today.

Essex wicketkeeper James Foster could be sidelined

If Foster’s condition worsens then Pettini would usually be the man to don the gloves in a limited-overs contest but his eyesight could open the door for specialist keeper Adam Wheater.

Pettini’s housemate Alastair Cook and another England player Ravi Bopara will provide quality and experience beyond their years at the top of the Essex order.

“Cook is obviously around less than Ravi, who still plays the majority of his cricket with us for the time being,” Pettini said.

“But they come back from international duty and people aspire to the heights they have achieved.

“From a personal point of view, I obviously see Ali a lot and he has been great for me to chat to about cricket over the last couple of years.”

In addition to their England duo, Essex also have the pyrotechnics of Graham Napier to fall back on.

While Bopara’s double hundred took the honours in the victory over Leicestershire, all-rounder Napier extended his 20-over form to blast past Yorkshire in the semi-final.

“We have had a number of outstanding individual performances from a lot of different players, which have won us games on numerous occasions,” said Pettini, whose team were beaten by Kent in the Twenty20 semi and are also top of Division Two of the Pro40.

“Guys are very clear on their roles and have been very focused on executing their skills.

“The other thing is that momentum plays a huge part in one-day cricket and when you keep winning it becomes a habit.

Mark Pettini is excited about playing in a Lord's final

“The guys were extremely disappointed that we didn’t play our best cricket on Twenty20 finals day, which is a shame, because we wanted to express ourselves on that big stage.

“But we are fortunate enough to get the chance to put that right on Saturday and are also well placed in the Pro40.”

Pettini has spent this particular August weekend at the V Music Festival over the past five years but is happy to have an extra day of work.

There is no financial carrot of a Champions League place or a money-spinning match in Antigua but the traditional prestige is more than enough to invigorate modern players.

“For county cricketers it is still the biggest date on the calendar, and something guys remember forever,” Pettini said.

“People are talking about Twenty20 cricket a lot at the moment but it doesn’t get much bigger than a Lord’s final.

“It might seem like a convenient thing to say now having lost the semi-final of the Twenty20 but you cannot get better than winning at Lord’s.

“When I took over as captain, one of the reasons I wanted the job was that I thought this side had huge potential.

“The thing about young sides is they don’t always get results straight away but we have been lucky enough this year to have a winning season and surpass expectations.

“One of the great things for me is that there are signs we can go on and win a number of trophies in the coming years and hopefully get better and better.”