Saturday, 22nd June 2002 was the date of the very last Benson and Hedges Cup final at Lord's. Essex had been pulling up trees on their way to the final thanks to the likes of Nasser Hussain, Andy Flower and Ronnie Irani. Warwickshire were a side who could boast South Africa's captain, Shaun Pollock, and England's Nick Knight but otherwise were generally unsung and unfancied.

A quick look at the scorecard might suggest that it was another case of win the toss and win the match. In fact, the rapid Essex demise, having been put in by Warwickshire, had more to do with some indifferent batting against good bowling supported by efficient fielding. It appeared that Essex had an unquenchable belief in their invincibility as they produced a series of reckless strokes that could have carried them to glory, but it was the Warwickshire batsmen who called, and played, all the shots to bring an early finish to the competition as they won by five wickets.

The winner of the individual gold award was 20 year-old Ian Bell. His side was in a certain amount of trouble when he came in at the fall of his captain, Michael Powell's wicket with the score on 19. In the space of six balls, Knight was out as well and at 21 for two there was the makings of a crisis.

That was averted by Bell and Jamie Troughton – a comparative veteran of 23. Bell went on to anchor the innings with a classy 65 not out while Troughton took 37 off 33 balls as the pair added a match-winning 84 for the third wicket.

Despite his superb innings, Bell modestly gave the credit for Warwickshire's success to the bowlers. "The way they bowled was fantastic and probably the best we bowled in one-day cricket during the season. Our fielding was tremendous as well and we saw the job through."

On the subject of that partnership with Troughton in the final, Bell maintains his equilibrium and looks back on it philosophically. "We'd been in that position a couple of times before, and we tried to get on with it as a normal game and not a final. Fortunately, things went our way."

It was a highlight in an otherwise ordinary season for Bell who began it on the fringes of the Test squad yet, apart from the B&H final, did not enjoy the most productive of seasons. Only 658 first-class runs and 770 in limited-overs games, it was only an average of 54.33 in the B&H that lifted his season.

He realised, however, that although he was masterful in the final, such an innings on its own would not get the England selectors rushing to his door. "I just tried to do what I do well and score as many runs for Warwickshire as possible and get in that way."

It was the B&H Cup that gave Warwickshire captain Powell some respite from an otherwise disappointing season with the bat. In fact, he jokingly claimed that his greatest contribution to the final was getting out early to allow Bell and Troughton to get in together. But he handled the side with assurance to guide them to what he remembers as a pinnacle of his career to date.

"I was speechless at the end. I had felt quite calm about the whole day – apart from sitting in the dressing room when I had got out to a very poor shot. But in the field I felt fine.

"It was a massive thing to play in the last final. Just reading through the programme and seeing who had played in the competition and some of the captains, to be the one who lifted the trophy was a childhood dream come true. It was an awesome experience."

The last word goes to Bell. "It was a great day for Warwickshire." But a sad day for cricket, with the end of the Benson and Hedges Cup.

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