Essex host the West Indies in a first-class fixture starting at The Cloudfm County Ground on Tuesday with a scheduled start time of 11am for all three days.
The hosts have named a 12-man squad which includes teenage pace bowler Sam Cook, who could be in line to make his senior debut following a string of impressive performances with the ball for the Second XI.
Having spent the last month playing T20 cricket, the match with the tourists offers a timely opportunity for a number of the Essex players to return to the red ball game ahead of their next Specsavers County Championship fixture which starts on Sunday against Yorkshire at Scarborough.
Head Coach Chris Silverwood admits that there could be changes to the usual red ball starting line-up for the match with the West Indies.
“We’ve got to get the balance right between getting a bit of rest into some of the players whilst getting others back into the swing of things,” he said. “But it is a great opportunity to get back into a bit of red ball cricket and prepare for Yorkshire.
“It’s always nice for us to play against International sides, often a youngster will come in take his chance and do well, gaining confidence and turning a few heads.
“So there will be opportunities for some of the guys to perform against a Test side. For those that won’t be involved in the West Indies game, they will be working hard in the nets so it’s going to be a busy three days for all the first team squad with one thing in mind and that is to prepare for Yorkshire.
“It seems an age since our last red ball match when we played Middlesex, so it will be great to get back to that format. It’s not always easy to keep switching between codes but from a coaching point of view, all you can do is to try and provide the best environment for players to practice.
“I can see from a player’s perspective how it can be difficult to go from one format to another but we’ll all be working hard to try and make that transition easier and get everyone back into red ball mode.”
Essex squad:
Ryan ten Doeschate (Captain) (27)
Adam Wheater (Wicket-keeper) (31)
Varun Chopra (6)
Kishen Velani (8)
Nick Browne (10)
Aaron Beard (14)
Sam Cook (16)
Paul Walter (22)
Aron Nijjar (24)
Dan Lawrence (26)
Matt Dixon (30)
Callum Taylor (67)
West Indies squad:
Jason Holder (Captain), Kraigg Braithwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach.
Tickets are still available for all 3 days but allocated seating is now sold out. Purchase on the gates from 10am each day or online via the link.
