This bank holiday weekend was due to mark our sixth match of the season in the County Championship and trip to Canterbury. This fixture always creates exciting matches, especially with the Battle of the Bridge honour also on the line.
Last season was no different. After moving ahead of Somerset in the previous Championship fixture just over a month earlier, the team travelled to Canterbury in high spirits after winning the previous five matches against Hampshire, Somerset Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Warwickshire.
With Mohammad Amir announcing that the match would be playing the final red-ball match of his career, the air of anticipation was already circulating much further afield.
Alongside Sam Cook and Jamie Porter in the bowling attack, it was ‘Little Chef’, Cook who was to produce career-best figures of 7-23 to help take the side another victory closer to that epic final showdown in Taunton.
Following the match in Canterbury, the squad faced a run of five Vitality Blast games which ended in a place at Finals Day, before an Edgbaston trip to face Warwickshire ensued. As quoted by Adam Wheater after play versus Kent, “There are three games left now and Somerset keep on winning, which is making it harder for us, but we will just keep taking every game as it comes and see where we finish.”
You can also rewatch this match alongside Sam Cook in our latest Essex Replayed feature. Head over to our YouTube channel now to view this and our other content, or follow the link – here.
