Lancashire v Essex Eagles
Royal London Cup
Emirates Old Trafford
Thursday 12 August
11am start
The Essex Eagles booked their place in the knockout stages of the Royal London Cup when they beat Sussex Sharks at The Cloudfm County Ground yesterday, and they now have an important match when they travel to Emirates Old Trafford to face third-placed Lancashire in the last fixture of group matches.
Victory would guarantee a home tie on Saturday in the Quarter-Finals although, should Durham lose their remaining match against Hampshire and the Eagles win in Manchester, then Tom Westley’s side would by-pass the Quarter-Finals and be guaranteed a home Semi-Final on Tuesday.
For the second time in three days, rising young batting stars Feroze Khushi and Josh Rymell captured the attention. On Sunday, the emerging duo figured in a century partnership on their way to individual scores of 109 and 40 respectively although their efforts failed to gain the victory.
But 48 hours later back on home territory, their eye-catching performances delighted the 3,000 strong crowd basking in the sunshine and warming to the emergence of two future prospects. And the pair responded by underpinning a victory with Rymell posting a career-best 78 whilst Khushi contributed 77 supported by 53 from Adam Wheater.
Then all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate returned his best figures with the ball since 2016 claiming 4/34 as the Eagles completed a 97 run success and their fifth victory in 7 matches in the competition.
Squad:
Rymells’s View:
Josh Rymell once again demonstrated his batting talents when he top-scored for the Eagles in their win against Sussex Sharks yesterday with 78, having been promoted in the order to open with Alastair Cook.
The 20-year-old batsman was undaunted, batting beautifully to contribute the highest score in the Eagles win in what was only his third List A innings.
He said: “On the first 2 occasions, I was a bit frustrated that I didn’t get to the 50 mark (he scored 30 and 40) and against Sussex, I was frustrated that I didn’t go on and get a 100.”
He and Feroze Khushi have posted century partnerships in each of the last 2 Eagles matches and the Ipswich-born right-hander admits he believes the pair have an effective understanding.
“Feroze and I have batted together for a few years now and so we know each other’s game and it’s great to see him doing so well. We came through the Academy together and so it’s nice to see a familiar face down the other end.
“But it was a surreal experience to open with Alastair Cook on Tuesday. If you had told me 3 or 4 years ago that I would be opening with him, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’ve actually now got a photo of us together and I’ll be really cherishing that!
“Perhaps there was a little bit of nerves walking out to bat with him but I think I have enough confidence in my own game to back my abilities. I was quite composed now I’ve played a few games.
“I’ve mostly batted in the middle-order in my career so far but I think in white-ball cricket, opening the innings is the best place to bat, so I was really happy to be asked to open against Sussex.
“Everyone in the dressing room is looking forward to Thursday’s game now and hopefully we can keep that momentum going and come out on top again.”
The Opposition:
Lancashire have been weakened by the loss of a significant number of players to The Hundred competition. Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, Tom Hartley, Saqib Mahmood, Alex Davies and Luke Wood are all with teams in domestic cricket’s newest competition and additionally, Jos Buttler is with the England Test squad team for the Test series with India.
The Red Rose have won 3 matches in the Royal London Cup this summer beating Hampshire, Gloucestershire and Sussex although Middlesex and Durham have both inflicted defeats. 2 of Lancashire’s matches were abandoned.
The home side will select from the following 13-man squad:
Tom Bailey (C), Tom Aspinwall, George Balderson, Josh Bohannon, George Burrows, Taylor Cornall, Steven Croft, Liam Hurt, Rob Jones, Danny Lamb, George Lavelle, Jack Morley, Luke Wells.
The Eagles and Lancashire have met on 62 occasions in List A cricket, with Essex winning on 32 occasions, losing 25 whilst 5 matches have been abandoned.
How to Watch:
There will be a Live Stream service from Emirates Old Trafford. This will be available via the Essex Cricket Matchzone from 11am.
Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.
