Essex v Lancashire
Pre-season friendly
The Cloudfm County Ground, Tuesday 23 – Wednesday 24 March
Squad News:
Essex: Alastair Cook, Paul Walter, Tom Westley (c), Feroze Khushi, Robin Das, Adam Wheater, Ben Allison, Jamie Porter, Matt Quinn, Eshun Kalley, Harry Phillips, Josh Rymell, Will Buttleman
Lancashire: Dane Vilas (c), Keaton Jennings, Owais Shah, Alex Davies, Josh Bohannon, Steven Croft, Rob Jones, George Lavelle, Danny Lamb, Luke Wood, Tom Hartley, Tom Bailey, Saqib Mahmood, Liam Hurt, Jack Blatherwick, Jack Morley
Match Details:
Umpires: Ben Debenham & Nigel Llong
Toss: Uncontested, Essex to bat first
Result:
Day Two: Close of Play
Dane Vilas underpinned the Lancashire success in their two-day friendly with Essex at The Cloudfm County Ground.
The visiting skipper was in fine early season form striking the ball cleanly and sweetly on both sides of the wicket as the home attack tried unsuccessfully to find a way past his bat.
Having totalled 161 on the first day, Essex gained their first wicket through the pace of Jamie Porter who won an lbw shout against Alex Davies who had raced to 29 runs from 31 balls.
Keaton Jennings was also trapped lbw to Matt Quinn to leave the visitors 50-2, and one further wicket fell before Lunch when Academy bowler Eshun Kalley struck the front pad to dismiss Josh Bohannon for 22. When the interval arrived Lancashire were 101-3, with Vilas unbeaten on 32 and Robin Jones on 4.
19-year-old Kalley, on his first senior appearance, bowled well maintaining a consistent line with his right-arm fast-medium and another Academy recruit, 18-year-old Harry Phillips, also impressed with his tidy left-arm fast-medium bowling.
During the afternoon session, Vilas and Jones dominated the play with Vilas retiring unbeaten on 79 and Jones moving to his half-century.
Phillips then collected the wickets of Lamb and Shah in successive deliveries, whilst Westley accounted for Lavelle, Hartley and Hurt for 21 runs in his 10 overs.
Phillips then bowled Blatherwick for just 1 to end the day with figures of 3/40 from his 11 overs, whilst all that was left was for Jones to reach his century, which he did with the final ball of the day when clearing the ropes from England man Dan Lawrence.
The two teams meet in another two-day friendly at Chelmsford starting tomorrow.
Day One: Close of Play
Paul Walter with 42 and Tom Westley who scored 38 proved the best of the Essex batsmen on the first day of their two-day friendly with Lancashire at The Cloudfm County Ground.
Under the match arrangement, both sides bat for a day and after a clatter of wickets post-lunch, a number of Essex batsmen paid two visits to the crease as the home side lost 13 wickets to post a final total of 161 runs by the close of play.
Walter and Westley added 84 for the second wicket but when both were dismissed within 15 balls after Lunch, the innings completely fell away as nine wickets were lost for the addition of just 30 runs.
Walter opened the innings with Alastair Cook but after striking a trademark cover boundary, the former England opener was dismissed three balls later for 4 when he edged a ball from Saqib Mahmood to Keaton Jennings at first slip, one of four wickets for Mahmood.
Despite some initial moments of playing and missing, Walter and Westley prospered with patience the watchword. A splendid cover drive by Walter raised the half-century partnership from 153 balls and at Lunch, the score was 74-1 from 31 overs.
But when Westley was caught off the thinnest of edges by the wicket-keeper for 38 with the total on 88, the innings fell into freefall.
Although Walter made 42 before edging to first slip, Feroze Khushi, Robin Das and Will Buttleman all failed to score. The fall of Buttleman’s wicket leaving the score on 91-6 brought the return of Cook to the middle but he managed only 5 before he was trapped in front of his stumps by Mahmood, the second time in the day that the England white-ball international had claimed his wicket.
Khushi and Das had another trip to the middle but departed for 10 and 0 before the enduring Adam Wheater collected 14 from 56 balls then became one of five catches behind the stumps and the tenth wicket to fall on the day.
Josh Rymell and Ben Allison combined for 19 in 14 overs with Rymell stroking the only maximum of the day but both fell to the gentle medium-pace of Jennings for 12 and 11 respectively.
Walter’s second knock of the day was brief, lasting seven balls for nought and it was left to Westley and Wheater to carry the side through to the close with Westley adding another 13 to his earlier contribution and Wheater 6 not out at the end of the 86 overs in the day’s play.
