Never have so many damp trainers been raised ceremoniously into the drizzle-soaked Oval air. Northamptonshire’s “Shoe Army” descended on south London in hope rather than expectation of reaching Finals Day, the most dramatic of victories sending them to the Edgbaston showpiece for the first time in nine years.

The barefoot ritual that ended the victory over Surrey is more of a rugby and football tradition than a cricketing one. It was, nevertheless, saluted by Ravi Bopara – who at 40 years old is still hitting centuries in this format – and Darren Lehmann, the former Australia head coach inspiring a renaissance in the club’s Twenty20 fortunes.

Of course this matters immensely in the corridors of Wantage Road, but the Steelbacks also continue to attract widespread sympathisers from across

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