LANCASHIRE V ESSEX
LV= INSURANCE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
STANLEY PARK, BLACKPOOL CRICKET CLUB
MONDAY 10 – THURSDAY 13 JULY
11AM START
With Essex navigating their way to the Vitality Blast Finals Day on Thursday evening, the 20-over competition takes a brief respite for Round 10 of the LV= Insurance County Championship.
Essex come up against Lancashire and head to the coast for fours of Outground cricket at Blackpool Cricket Club.
Monday’s opponents were knocked out at the Vitality Blast Quarter-Final stage by Surrey on Friday evening but it was the Red Rose who inflicted a first defeat of the season over the Brown Caps in the previous round of red-ball fixtures in late June.
Bowler, Tom Bailey was the hero taking 5/56 in the first innings, followed up by 4/16 in the second as Surrey were bowled out for 84.
Meanwhile, Essex also come into the fixture on a high following a vital 9-wicket win over Warwickshire in Round 9 at Chelmsford. Heroics from Simon Harmer was once again the key to success, with Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence both hitting centuries in fine all-round performance.
This round of matches will continue to use the Kookaburra ball, as part of the ball trial over two rounds of Championship fixtures.
Squad:
Essex have named a 13-player squad for the trip to Blackpool this week.
The match welcomes the return of red-ball specialists, Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Jamie Porter and overseas player, Doug Bracewell.
Progression into the knockout stages of the Vitality Blast has meant the fixtures have continued to come thick and fast. Will Buttleman is set to keep wicket after a string of good performances behind the stumps in the County Championship.
Adam Rossington is rested for this game, whilst Feroze Khushi will also not make the trip due a sore hand sustained in the match against Birmingham Bears on Thursday.
The Opposition:
Lancashire come into this fixture buoyed by their victory over Surrey in the last round of games.
However, the Old Trafford outfit have endured an indifferent season so far in the LV= Insurance County Championship.
Lancashire remain the only side in Division One to have not lost a game but a record of two victories and five draws means they currently sit in sixth position on 87 points.
Last week, the Club announced an injury setback to bowler Saqib Mahmood who remains sidelined with back stress fracture injury. Stalwart, Tom Bailey (28 @ 20.57) and overseas bowler, Will Williams (26 @ 20.14) will continue to lead the bowling attack, along with the likes of Balderson, Blatherwick and Kiwi Daryl Mitchell.
Josh Bohannon is the in-form batter coming in at number three for Lancashire and 26-year old is currently fourth in the run-scoring charts with 590 runs, averaging 49.16.
Division One Standings:
Last Time We Met:
Essex and Lancashire faced each other in a hard-fought clash at The Cloud County Ground to mark the first home match of the 2023 campaign.
The game ended in a draw but not without many ebbs and flows across the four days.
Sam Cook took his first 5-wicket haul of the season to help restrict Lancashire to 207 in the first innings. George Bell eventually succumbed to Cook but not before the wicket-keeper batter struck 60 off 109 balls and produce the only notable score for the visitors.
In reply, Matt Critchley followed up his two half-centuries in the first match of the season at Lord’s with a third successive 50 as Essex took a slender lead of 11 runs heading into the second innings.
The battle between Alastair Cook and Jimmy Anderson was in full swing at Chelmsford with England’s record wicket-taker ending with first innings figures of 4/70.
The Lancashire batting was far more fruitful second time round as 96 from Keaton Jennings helped apply the pressure on Tom Westley’s side.
A destructive 73 off 50 balls by Tom Hartley duly assisted another half-century from George Bell (63) to push a declaration of 351-7 and set up an intriguing conclusion.
Essex had a target of 340 runs from 68 overs but with the win growing more and more tricky, the home side soaked up the Red Rose attack for two sessions thanks to Tom Westley’s resilient knock of 43 off 120 balls.
How To Watch:
If you’re unable to attend, the game will be streamed live from Blackpool and available to watch via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.
Miss the action? Highlights will be available after each day’s play via the Club website and social media channels.
Tickets:
While T20 cricket won’t be returning to Chelmsford in 2023, there is no shortage of white-ball action at The Cloud County Ground over the course of the summer.
In under a month’s time, the Eagles will play the first home match of their One Day Cup campaign against Notts Outlaws.
With four One Day Cup fixtures set to be staged at Chelmsford, all during the school summer holidays, and an England Women’s ODI to look forward to, there’s plenty to look forward to at The Cloud County Ground.
