Chris Nash is delighted that Sussex play first in today’s Twenty20 finals – because it will stop him spending money.

Nash, who will have a key role with bat and ball against Northamptonshire Steelbacks, went on a spending spree in Birmingham two years ago when Sussex made their first appearance at finals day.

They lost to Kent in the second semi-final and Nash went home with an expensive shirt he has not worn since!

He said: “The trouble with 2007 was we spent all morning at the hotel hanging around so I went out shopping in Birmingham and bought this Hugo Boss shirt which was expensive and I never wear it.

“I spent too much money so it would be nice to get out there and perform.

“This way we won’t have time to get too nervous, we’ll just get up this morning, prepare and play.”

Nash and his Sussex team-mates will at least be able to afford a few fashion faux pas with the two finalists guaranteed a place in the inaugural Champions League in India in October when the world’s best 12 Twenty20 teams compete for a £3.6m jackpot.

But he admits that will be the last thing on their minds as they meet the Steelbacks for the first time in Twenty20 cricket.

He added: “It would be a big thing for the club and us as individuals to qualify for the Champions League but there is a bigger incentive for us.

“This is the one trophy we haven’t won before as a club and it would be great to put that right. Anything else that comes from it is a bonus.”

Nash has re-invented himself in Twenty20 this season and now has a floating role in the middle order which gives him the freedom to go for his shots.

In the last group game against Middlesex he scored 35 off 13 balls at No. 6 and 29 from 14 deliveries in the quarter-final win over Warwickshire.

With the same pitch likely to be used for all three games, Nash’s off breaks might come in handy were Sussex to reach the final and encounter a dry surface conducive to their battery of slow bowlers.

First of all they have to get past a Steelbacks team who reached the finals with an identical record to the Sharks of seven group wins and include former Sussex all-rounder Johan van der Wath.

He said: “We have kept an eye on how Northants have done in one-day cricket and we will be well briefed about them before the game and we will be ready for them.

“I know a lot of our supporters were happy when they beat Hampshire in the quarter-final but it’s definitely not an easier game.

“The best teams have got to the finals and I don’t think there is a good draw in the semis.

“But we are really looking forward to it. We haven’t had a lot of time to think about it but we have had an extra day to focus and prepare properly.

“It’s a long day if you don’t win your semi-final but it’s nice to go back there.

“We know how it works from 2007 and, hopefully, that will give us a small advantage.”

Coach Mark Robinson played in his only Lord’s final for Northamptonshire and insists his players should relish the club’s fourth cup final in the last three years.

He said: “I played for 16 years and only got to one cup final. Tony Cottey played for even longer and never played in a final so you can’t take for granted just how privileged we are to be involved in days like this. It is a day to savour for the club, the players and our supporters.

“We will be well prepared and having been at Edgbaston in 2007 we will know what to expect. But in Twenty20 the margins are so small – a crazy run out or a brilliant over and the game can be gone but we will go at Northamptonshire hard and be fully committed.

“We don’t know much about them and they don’t know much about us but they have got some outstanding players and in a way playing them for the first time in a semi-final makes it more exciting.”