Sixteen gruelling encounters, a catalogue of injury problems, the perceived risk of relying on a batch of young-guns and until last night’s dramatic last ball scenes, a mediocre Hampshire Royals Twenty20 record had been an unhealthy weight on the clubs shoulders since 2003.

The scriptwriters since the county cricket’s seasons early April dawning had criticised a less then fruitful summer for the Rose Bowl outfit but somehow amid seemingly constant crisis’s Dominic Cork, the Royals stand-in skipper has installed a gritty, resilient and robust attitude into a squad generally short of experience.

Wily old seasoned campaigner Cork, now 39 with a wealth of international pedigree under his belt striking character has rubbed off on his playing colleagues. Long term injuries to Dimitri Mascarenhas, Kabir Ali and Nic Pothas meant the former Lancashire seamer has cleverly had to use all his cricketing nous to help the step-up of the clubs young academy starlets into the first team spotlight. In Hampshire’s two Twenty20 Finals Day matches against Essex and Somerset respectively, the club’s quality quadruple of James Vince, Michael Bates, Chris Wood and spin sensation Danny Briggs seemed to take the pressure of county crickets most coveted day in their stride, not shirking under the responsibility injuries to experienced players granted them.

This accomplishment of wholesale confidence has invited itself to the table amidst a close-knit, collaborative team ethos behind closed doors. In spite of an inconsistent LV County Championship season and repeatable difficulties in tying down an overseas squad addition, this squad, underpinned by the shrewd day to day running of Coach Giles White has managed to squeeze every ounce of enthusiasm and desire it possesses to lift a prize many had said wouldn’t happen.

Indeed, six or so Sky Sports pundits predicted Somerset’s more experienced starting XI; undoubtedly still hurting from last year’s Twenty20 Final defeat would have the edge over the Royals. Though, the home side had other plans.Twenty20 competition, allows no such let up in gradually sifting players through the side giving them a chance to find their form, as the tournament, centres on the need to deliver, there and then. In front of a home crowd, Hampshire obviously knew this. But for all the pressures this season, amid backs against the wall difficulty plunged onto the Rose Bowl side in recent months this emerged as a springboard for a virtue of patience. After sneaking through to Finals Day, the Royals directed their momentum into the task at hand, reaping the rewards of a successful venture.

With Rod Bransgrove at the helm and his intrepid development of the club over the last decade, a strong mind with a contemporary modern day ethos acted as a subtle influence behind the rise to prominence of the clubs younger off-spring. There could have been a temptation to lure the stubborn embodiment of Kevin Pietersen back into the fray even after his obscene statement of intent echoing a London county should be his next port of call. But Bransgrove for all his millions rose above it. Let’s not forget when all wasn’t going to the rulebook before, a chequebook overseas signing or two (that actually materialised) could have stuttered the impact of the Royals Twenty20 winning youngsters who in the end landed a knock-out blow to proceedings. But no, faith poured into the clubs future.

Following the post match presentations late into the night on Saturday, images of a Hampshire Royals group huddle orchestrated by Cork, again, illustrated the togetherness of a threadbare squad (embodied by the picture of the clubs injured trio Lumb, Mascarenhas and Pothas) where they appeared to be revelling in the moment, whilst looking like a real team, a sight so often a forlorn rarity in modern sport. With two trophies in consecutive seasons and an aspiring accumulation of youngsters already establishing their first team credentials, in turn with talk of international honours in the reckoning, the future seems bright at the Rose Bowl. After all, a team with personalities such as Cork provide an incomparable blend of experience and youth, which money just can’t buy.