As the last round of fixtures draws to a close, we want to thank our Members and supporters for your support over the course of the Royal London Cup campaign.
The past month has seen the emergence of a host of talented youngsters as a depleted Eagles squad showed strength in depth to pick up three successive home victories during a spirited campaign.
Of the 15 players to represent the Eagles during the Royal London Cup, nine were under the age of 25 and prior to this year, 10 had a total of 10 or fewer List A appearances for Essex.
While there were strong performances across the board, those to stand out included two teenagers in Luc Benkenstein and Jamal Richards as well as Robin Das and Feroze Khushi.
17-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder Benkenstein made his Essex debut against Durham in last year’s competition, however, it was against Glamorgan in his second outing for the Eagles this season that he made his breakthrough appearance.
With Glamorgan chasing 342 runs for victory at Chelmsford, Benkenstein ran through the opposition’s batting lineup with incredible figures of 6/42 from his 10 overs. Extracting prodigious turn and demonstrating impressive accuracy for a young legspinner, he picked up the key wickets of Sam Northeast and captain Kiran Carlson as the Glamorgan batters were unable to cope with his flight and turn.
Benkenstein went on to pick up four more wickets in the competition, ending with a haul of 10 wickets at an average of 16.70 and an economy of just 5.06. He also scored a maiden career half-century against Worcestershire when the side was under pressure.
18-year-old Jamal Richards made a highly anticipated professional debut when Essex faced Derbyshire on 05 August and impressed immediately. Picking up a maiden wicket when he got his chance with the ball, he then backed that up with 46 with the bat.
He continued to impress in both departments throughout the campaign, playing all seven fixtures and picking up five wickets at an average of 37 and scoring 137 runs at 34.25.
20-year-old Robin Das made his Essex debut back in 2020, but enjoyed his longest run in the first team during this year’s Royal London Cup. Starting in the middle-order and finishing as an opener, he displayed an eye-catching naturally attacking style of cricket.
After striking 47 from just 25 balls against Northamptonshire, his best performance came against Worcestershire, where, paired with Benkenstein he clawed Essex back into the game with an important 63, his maiden career half-century.
Feroze Khushi has been a familiar name to Essex supporters for a number of years, but at 23 is still very much in the formative years of his career.
After impressing in 2021 with a maiden List A century, he followed up with another two this season as he scored 324 runs at 46.28 at the top of the order.
Only two Eagles batters scored more than Khushi in the Royal London Cup, with skipper Tom Westley hitting a fine run of form, scoring two 100s and two 50s in succession. Westley’s 335 runs came at 47.85.
Leading the run-scoring charts though was Overseas recruit Grant Roelofsen, who made a lasting impression in the short time he was with the Club, scoring 355 runs at 59.16.
The South African always looked assured at the crease, which was reflected in scores of 43, 16, 77, 69*, 90, 31, 29. He also took the gloves for the last five Royal London Cup fixtures, taking four catches and three stumping.
With the ball, Shane Snater had another strong season to back up an impressive showing in 2021. He took 14 wickets at an average of 23.85 with a best of 5/29 in an incredible all-round display against Kent where he also scored 41, claimed a catch and completed a run out.
The team enjoyed another successful campaign at home in front of excellent crowds, winning three out of their four matches at Chelmsford.
