Essex v Surrey
Metro Bank One Day Cup
The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Tuesday 22 August 2023 | 11:00am start
Essex’s 2023 One Day Cup campaign draws to a close with a final fixture against Surrey at The Cloud County Ground tomorrow.
It has been a tough tournament for the Eagles, but top run-scorer Charlie Allison, who has hit 250 runs at an average of 41.66 despite being aged just 18, has given all those connected to the Club great hope for the future.
Meanwhile, the recruitment of all-rounder Beau Webster has been another bright spot, with the Australian having hit 191 runs and taken a joint-team-high 12 wickets.
Essex will aim to finish the competition on a high, ahead of a pivotal September which will decide the winner of the LV= Insurance County Championship.
Squad:
Head Coach Anthony McGrath has named a 14-strong squad for this fixture, with the group unchanged from that which travelled to Kent on Sunday.
The Opposition:
Surrey squad: Rory Burns (c), Josh Blake, Tommy Ealham, Ben Geddes, Luke Griffiths, Conor McKerr, Dan Moriarty, Ryan Patel, Dom Sibley, Cameron Steel, Amar Virdi
Surrey have endured rather than enjoyed their One Day Cup campaign this year, currently sitting in ninth place of Group A with three points and one win to their name.
That one win came against Notts Outlaws, by three runs in a rain-affected meeting, but since then, the Brown Caps have suffered back-to-back heavy defeats against Lancashire and Hampshire.
While their chances of qualification in this competition may be gone, their campaigns in other formats have been comparatively better.
They are currently engaged in a tight title race with none other than Essex in the LV= County Championship, while they also joined the Eagles at Vitality Blast Finals Day but were eliminated in the semi-finals by Somerset.
Key Battle – Feroze Khushi v Dan Moriarty:
Last Time We Met:
Although Essex slipped to defeat in their last List A clash with Surrey, at the Oval in 2019, it is far more likely that another meeting with the Brown Caps in the format, in 2013, is the one which will stick in Eagles fans’ minds.
That was the day on which Graham Napier picked up not just back-to-back scalps, nor even a hat-trick, but in fact became only the sixth man in List A history to take four wickets in four balls.
Essex had set 312-7, with Owais Shah’s 53-ball 68 and 54 from Ravi Bopara being the top scores, while James Foster had blasted 39 off just 18 in the latter stages, with Surrey reaching 113/4 after 24 overs in response.
The following scenes were barely believable for those watching under the Chelmsford lights, as Napier, starting with the second ball of the 25th over, saw off Azhar Mahmood, Zander de Bruyn, Tom Jewell, and Jon Lewis.
Having also already taken care of Jason Roy and Australia legend Ricky Ponting, Napier went on to finish with 7/32, the second-best List A bowling return in Essex history, as the Eagles secured a crushing victory by 178 runs.
Metro Bank One Day Cup Remaining Fixture:
Tickets:
As ever, Essex Members can enter by showing their valid card at the gate, and are free to sit in any vacant seat in the ground, though the Doug Insole Pavilion benches and blocks 1-14 and 27-31 are reserved for Members.
General admission seats are located in blocks 15 to 26 and are unreserved, with the Family Area able to be found in block 23, which is part of the Felsted School Stand.
These are priced at £16 for adults if bought in advance or £22 at the gate on the day, while young adults aged between 18 and 25 can buy at any time for £11 and under-18 tickets cost just £5.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting the link below:
How To Watch:
If you are unable to make it to The Cloud County Ground in person, the action will be streamed live via the Essex Cricket Matchzone and on the Essex Cricket TV YouTube channel.
Live updates will also be provided on the Club’s social media channels, while highlights will be available after the match via the Essex Cricket website and social channels too.
