WHEN Durham trudged off the Hove pitch late into the evening and way back on the 5th of August, there seemed little chance of never mind reaching Lords but of finishing the 50-over cup with anything resembling dignity.

It was a game they’d controlled in the main until that reoccurring inability to kill teams off struck and fledgling captain Mark Stoneman staggered off the pitch looking like it was all far too much for him.

But a kind run of home fixtures, followed by a positively joyous choke by county champions-elect Yorkshire at Headingley meant that Saturday’s semi-final at home to an under strength Nottinghamshire seemed so silly that the victory had an almost ridiculous air of inevitability about it.

That’s not to suggest the victory was easy, but the sheer brutality in which Nottinghamshire were put to the sword will live long in the memory, just as the low scoring nerve shattering of the 2007 semi-final against Essex will.

For a man whose international batting form in the early part of the season was nothing short of abysmal, Ben Stokes’ innings was a more than ample reminder of why he could be a mainstay for England in all three formats over the next decade.

Having been fortuitously been dropped by Chris Read, who’s arguably still the best wicketkeeper in England, on 10, Stokes shimmied, bludgeoned and drove his way to Durham’s best team and individual score in limited overs cricket.

The previous highest team score had come against Worcestershire in a game when Will Smith and Dale Benkenstein continually dispatched the ball towards the ice cream van on a very short boundary from the pitch nearest the old scoreboard.

But this was no helpful pitch and the signs were all there once Stokes clubbed Samit Patel over midwicket for a glorious six.

While the innings surely had power, it shouldn’t be ignored how many glorious cover drives or straight batted timed shots down the ground he played.

England places are still there for the taking in the run up to the World Cup and an innings like this should secure a place in the squad this winter.

Stokes himself remarked on how surreal it will be to play in a Lords final after watching on as a fan in 2007, when a team which including Collingwood, Breese and Mustard won Durham’s first ever silverware.

Mustard’s 89 in the semi-final, which was firstly free flowing in the powerplay, then awful out of it, then back to gloriously driving over the top with the return of the fielding restrictions, before equally awfully running himself out after calling for a spectacularly optimistic single, should not be ignored.

In many regards he announced himself to wider audience in the 2007 final which led to a fleeting England career.

For Breese, the shot at the fairytale goodbye is still on.

There was something moving about him being applauded off the pitch after the semi-final and it I cannot be alone in already daydreaming about him potentially scoring the winning runs at Lords.

Despite Varun Aaron’s signing for the last two Championship games, it would be a real shame if John Hastings isn’t able to make a slight return from the T20 Champions League to play in the final.

Having seemed like an initially underwhelming signing, Hastings has arguably been the player of the season and deserves a showpiece final.

Come the final, it would be hoped that the threat of relegation will be banished and the day can be enjoyed after an inconsistent season.

Improbable it may once have seemed, but it’s one of those occasions to be savoured.

JAMES TIERNAN