After the euphoria of clinching a place at Finals Day for the first time since 2013, Essex’s focus now returns to red-ball cricket with a County Championship fixture against Warwickshire at Edgbaston starting on Tuesday 10 September.
Essex sit top of the County Championship table as things stand, and are now unbeaten in their last ten red-ball matches, a run which stretches back to April when the side lost to Hampshire at The Ageas Bowl.
Essex will rely on home-grown players for their final three Championship matches of the season, with the management deciding that the options available were not better than the players already at the Club.
Head Coach Anthony McGrath explained: “We got close with a couple of players, but then one got injured and the other then became unavailable.
“But our own players have all done well so we will stick with them; that’s what a squad is for and I’m more than confident going into the rest of the season with those guys.
“They have all proved they can achieve well for us and I think it’s really exciting because we are at the business end and we are utilising our own squad of players which is great.”
McGrath also expressed how pleased he was with the season so far, saying: “Here we are into September and we are still in two competitions with realistic chances of winning both and personally, that is really satisfying.
“But we have to flick the switch from white-ball to red-ball now because we’ve got two big weeks before Finals Day and we have to put that particular day on the back-burner for a while.
“Immediately coming up we have to focus on the match with Warwickshire. Neither side has played a red-ball game for a while so it’s all about who adapts best to the longer format.
“We need to play really well over the four days, we know that Warwickshire are a good team at home but as ever, it’s for us to ensure that we concentrate on our game, disciplines and skills and keep the pressure on other teams in the race for the title.”
Essex squad to face Warwickshire:
Ryan ten Doeschate (27) (Captain)
Ben Allison (65)
Aaron Beard (14)
Ravi Bopara (25)
Nick Browne (10)
Varun Chopra (6)
Alastair Cook (26)
Sam Cook (16)
Simon Harmer (11)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Jamie Porter (44)
Tom Westley (21)
Adam Wheater (31) (Wicket-keeper)
Tickets: Essex Members can get free entry into Edgbaston for all 4 days of this fixture by presenting their valid Membership card.
Please note: Due to the mid-season switch of Specsavers County Championship fixtures, there will be an amended set-up for all members and supporters during the match at Edgbaston.
The Tom Dollery Lounge is unavailable for the duration of the match so Warwickshire and Essex Members will have full use of the facilities in the David Heath Suite and the Old Player’s Dining Room in the RES Wyatt Stand, as well as the Skyline East in the South Stand.
The lower tier seating of the South Stand will remain open as usual.
