Essex v Nottinghamshire
LV= Insurance County Championship
The Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford
Thursday 03 – Sunday 06 May
11am start
Essex play the penultimate LV= Insurance County Championship Group One match when entertaining Nottinghamshire at The Cloudfm County Ground starting on Thursday.
The home side will be seeking revenge for the defeat by an innings and 30 runs when the teams met at Trent Bridge at the start of May, but they go into this week’s clash sitting at the top of the Group One section with Nottinghamshire arriving in second position but with a match in hand.
Victory against Durham last week took Essex back to the top of the table and they will be looking for a win that would put distance between themselves and their closest pursuers in the bid to secure a top-two finish. That would guarantee them their place in Division One where they would have the opportunity later in the season to compete once again for the County Championship title.
Essex have played eight of their 10 matches in the group stage and have amassed 107 points, five more than Nottinghamshire and seven more than Warwickshire, both of whom have three matches left to play.
Worcestershire, who have also played eight matches are in fourth position with 94 points.
Squad:
Hear from McGrath:
Essex returned to winning ways when they beat Durham last week to record their third win of the campaign and second in three matches.
Head Coach Anthony McGrath praised the spirit of the side in the manner in which they achieved their success.
He said: “It was a very interesting game really because conditions changed so much from Day One. We would definitely have bowled had we won the toss but as I say, conditions really changed a lot.
“I think the overall way we played epitomises everything we have been over the past few years, showing character, skill and whenever we have been under pressure, we have found a way to win.
“I’m delighted for the boys because we’ve probably not been at our best this year but to get the win over Durham that takes us to the top of the table is a nice feeling.
“The last three games have shown what our bowling attack is all about. We have bowled as a unit and that’s been our success really. If one of them is not getting wickets, they are not going for runs.
“I felt before the game with Durham that we needed to win two of the three remaining games depending on other results, but our group is very tight. We try to win every game, of course, but going into what is a big game with Nottinghamshire, we’ll take the confidence and momentum from that victory over Durham.”
Injury/Absentees News:
Dan Lawrence will miss the clash with Nottinghamshire at Chelmsford having been named in the England squad for the forthcoming two-match Test series with New Zealand.
Opposition:
Nottinghamshire’s batsmen have recorded six centuries collectively so far this season. Two have been scored by opener Haseeb Hameed (who has accumulated 515 runs at an average of 46.81) and two by fellow opener Ben Slater (503 runs at an average of 45.72).
Joe Clarke has yet to post a three-figure contribution although he has made four half-centuries amongst his tally of 365 runs.
Luke Fletcher is enjoying a profitable campaign with the ball having bagged 36 victims thus far at an impressive average of 13.22. He has taken three 5-fers and one 10-fer amongst his prolific haul of victims. Dane Paterson offers chief support with 24 wickets at an average of 23.62.
Head-to-Head:
Despite a career-best 7/98 from Shane Snater, Essex crashed to an innings defeat when they met Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge a month ago. Nick Browne scored 53 but Dan Lawrence was the only other Essex batsman to reach double figures (14) when the visitors were undone by Luke Fletcher, who captured 6/24 in the Essex meagre effort of 99 all out.
Notts Captain Steven Mullaney showed the way with the bat posting 117 supported by a half-century from Lyndon James as the home side gained a first-innings lead of 224 runs. James then showed his all-round capabilities with 4/51 when Essex were bowled out for 194 with Browne again top-scorer. This time, the left-hander contributed 64 batting for more than four hours.
When the two teams last met at Chelmsford in the County Championship back in May 2019, Essex emerged winners by 8 wickets.
Nottinghamshire won the toss but were dismissed for a below-par 187 as Jamie Porter claimed 4/75. In reply, Essex posted 241 with Nick Browne scoring 67 whilst Luke Fletcher proved the pick of the visitors attack with 5/50.
Notts then struggled to contend with the wiles and guile of spinner Simon Harmer who took 6/60 in a total of 158 all out. Essex reached their target for the loss of 2 wickets with Tom Westley falling one run short of his half-century whilst Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 40 when the winning runs were scored.
In the 137 Championship clashes so far, Essex have won 37, there have been 66 draws and Notts have been victorious on 34 occasions.
Potential Milestones:
Adam Wheater requires 5 more victims to reach 150 first-class dismissals for Essex. He has currently claimed 133 catches and 12 stumpings.
Simon Harmer requires 11 more wickets to record 300 first-class wickets for Essex.
Ryan ten Doeschate requires a further 173 runs to record 10,000 first-class runs for Essex.
How To Watch:
Our Live Stream service will be available across all four days of this game from 11am, which also includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the day. Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.
