Tony Frost may not have been the most glamorous sportsman on display at Edgbaston on Saturday but his contribution typified Warwickshire's professional demolition of a Lancashire side packed with star players.

Frost's vital partnership with Michael Powell revived Warwickshire's flagging innings before he took four catches to help clinch his side's place in the final of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy against Hampshire at Lord's on September 3.

Frost is unusual in that he has played more first-class matches than one-day ones. He has played his career in the shadow of a great keeper, Keith Piper, and has struggled for opportunity in this form of the game.

Despite a decade at the club, Frost had never previously won an individual man- of- the- match award and has yet to play in a Lord's final. He corrected the first of those anomalies on Saturday and should amend the second a week on Saturday.

Despite his success, however, Frost appears to be fighting for his future in the team. Frost knows there is talk of the club signing another keeper at the end of the season. Luke Sutton and James Pipe are out of contract in a few weeks and are among a host of rivals being considered by the club.

Despite his pivotal role in the side's success over the past two years, Frost's position would appear to be under threat.

"I know there's speculation, but it's not something I'm focusing upon," Frost said. "I really don't know what the club have planned."

"We've got some good keepers at the club already. Stuart Eustace is a quality player and there are good players coming through the youth system.

"Even if the club do sign another keeper I'll back myself to keep performing and retain my place."

Frost has been in poor form with the bat of late but his confidence remains undimmed. "I've felt I was batting well, but kept finding ways of getting myself out," he says. "It has been frustrating but I wouldn't say I've felt out of touch."

Referring to his vital rearguard with Powell in the semi-final, Frost said that the pair kept their tactics simple.

"We knew we had to stay there," he said. "We were up against it a bit but we reckoned that if we were still there at the end the score would be about 220. That wouldn't have been great but it would have kept us in the game.

" Fortunately ' Powelly' played exceptionally well and we were able to exceed that.

"I still thought we were a few runs below par but our bowlers put them under pressure straight away and they seemed to buckle a bit.

"Nick Knight had said before the game that Lancashire had thrown away a couple of big games from positions they where should have won, and we were able to sustain the pressure with all our bowlers performing really well. It was a real team performance."

Knight, meanwhile, preferred to focus on the solid team performance and reasoned that relegation from totesport League Division One provided the catalyst for Warwickshire's improved one-day form.

"The most pleasing thing about this performance is that everyone chipped in," Knight said. "We pride ourselves on our team spirit. Everyone has reason to be proud of how they played.

"It probably wasn't a bad toss to lose. I really wanted to bat first but I don't think I would have been brave enough to do it.

"It wasn't looking great for us when we lost wickets in a cluster in the middle of our innings but we packed the middle order with experience and that proved decisive.

"Some people might have thought it was a big call to bring in Michael Powell [who had not played since June 25], but he showed what a good player he is and turned the game in that partnership with Tony Frost.

"Neil Carter has been outstanding all year and Makhaya Ntini did fantastically well. Really, wherever you look in our side you'll find a key contribution. We played very well as a team.

"We were poor in one-day cricket last year. Being relegated in the totesport really was the worst feeling in the world.

"But I think it was the catalyst to this year's success. It forced us to reassess ourselves in one-day cricket. We talked about it a lot in the winter and we've worked hard to improve.

"To make it to Lord's is special. It's great, but not because me and John are in our last years as captain and coach respectively, but because all the guys in the dressing-room are winning the reward they deserve for their hard work."

* Warwickshire travel to Leicestershire today as they continue their bid to win promotion back to totesport League Division One.