Essex Eagles v Yorkshire Vikings
Royal London Cup
The Cloud County Ground
Wednesday 17 August
11am start
Essex Eagles have grown in confidence in the Royal London Cup and backed up a promising performance against Kent Spitfires with another dominant display against Glamorgan.
There is plenty to be excited about for Eagles supporters who have seen the likes of Feroze Khushi and Robin Das impress already before Luc Benkenstein announced himself in the best possible way with a stunning 6/42 against Glamorgan.
Wednesday’s game is an important one for both teams, who sit 3rd and 4th in the Group B table, with the Eagles knowing a win will propel them into the qualification spots.
Squad:
Essex have named a 12-player squad for tomorrow’s game with Aaron Beard missing through illness, while Jamie Porter is yet to fully recover from a groin strain.
The Opposition:
Yorkshire Vikings performed well in last year’s Royal London Cup but were eventually knocked out of the competition in pretty emphatic style when they visited Chelmsford in the Play-Offs.
They’ve started the 2022 campaign in a similarly positive fashion, winning three of their four games and finding themselves 3rd in the table despite having played one fewer game than any other team in the group.
Yorkshire are one of the few sides that have been able to field a relatively consistent playing XI throughout the competition, with nine of the squad having been ever-presents in the competition to date.
Two of those are Will Fraine and Harry Duke and the pair have formed a formidable opening partnership, scoring 232 runs and 228 runs in the competition respectively, both at an average well in excess of 50.
The work has been spread more evenly between the bowlers, with Dom Bess leading the way with six wickets, but Ben Coad, Jack Shutt and Matthew Waite all have five of their own. Coad has been in particularly fine form in this year’s competition and as well as picking up those five wickets, he has gone at just 3.36 runs per over.
Yorkshire are without their fair share of players due to the Hundred as Adam Lyth, Joe Root, David Malan, David Willey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Adil Rashid, Harry Brook and Jordan Thompson are all absent. Elsewhere, Matt Fisher is injured and Jonny Bairstow is resting ahead of the South Africa Test Series.
Yorkshire squad: Fin Bean, Dom Bess, Ben Coad, Harry Duke (wk), Will Fraine, George Hill, Will Luxton, Tom Loten, Matthew Revis, Jack Shutt, Harry Sullivan, Johnny Tattersall (c), Matthew Waite.
Last time out:
When Essex and Yorkshire last met in List A cricket, a spot in the 2021 Royal London Cup Semi-Final was at stake.
Although there was a lot riding on the match, it didn’t seem to affect Essex, who completed a 129-run victory over their visitors.
Josh Rymell had shown plenty of promise during the group stages, but kicked on in magnificent style against Yorkshire, scoring 121 from from 130 balls and was the last batter out with the score on 267-7.
His wicket brought Simon Harmer and Aron Nijjar together, and the pair made good use of the final overs, taking the Eagles to 317 at the end of their 50 overs.
Yorkshire’s response struggled to get going and although they had only lost one wicket after 15 overs, they were already well behind the rate.
The Essex bowling unit picked up wickets at crucial times as no Yorkshire batter made it past 42. Tom Westley and Jack Plom finished with three wickets each, while Harmer and Nijjar both took two wickets.
Yorkshire eventually fell to 188 all out as Essex progressed to the Semi-Final against Glamorgan in Cardiff.
Tickets:
Tickets for tomorrow’s game are still available and can be purchased in advance online, or at the gate. Adult tickets purchased in advance are £5 cheaper than at the gate. Advanced ticket prices are from £15 for Adults, £10 for Students and Young Adults and £5 for Juniors. Essex County Cricket Club Members are able to attend home Royal London Cup matches free of charge.
If you can only make the second innings, tickets purchased at the gate can be bought at a discounted rate if you purchase them after the interval. Prices range from £12 for Adults and £5 for Students and Young Adults to £1 for Juniors.
How To Watch:
A free live stream of the game will be available via Essex Cricket TV on YouTube. It can be accessed through The Essex Cricket Matchzone, which includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the game.
Keep up to speed with proceedings with the Essex Cricket Matchzone here.
Wet Weather Policy:
With thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow, all ticket holders should familiarise themselves with our Wet Weather Policy.
