When Jamie Porter dismissed Jordan Clark for 30 in Surrey’s second innings at the Kia Oval on Tuesday 02 July, he reached the latest milestone in his exceptional career of 500 first-class wickets.
In honour of that exceptional achievement, this is a look back across the scalps taken by one of Essex’s best in recent times.
Porter’s bunnies
Like almost all bowlers, Porter is no stranger to having a ‘bunny’ – a batter he has dismissed more than any other – and his is Warwickshire man Alex Davies.
Porter has removed the former Lancashire player seven times in first-class cricket – five times while he was playing for the Red Rose and twice more recently since he made the move to the Bears.
On one occasion at The Cloud County Ground in April 2018, Porter dismissed Davies in both innings of a 31-run win over Lancashire; first caught by Ryan ten Doeschate and latterly pinned lbw.
While Davies stands alone at the top, Tom Abell, Haseeb Hameed, and Steven Patterson are close behind, falling to Porter six times each, while he has seen off eight further batters five times each.
Success against Surrey and Somerset
Given his success against Davies and former Somerset captain Abell, it is perhaps unsurprising that Porter has been prolific against the West Country outfit as well as Lancashire.
His 40 wickets against the Red Rose put them third in his list, while he has taken 48 scalps against second-placed Somerset.
However, standing clear at the top, having lost 51 wickets to Porter, are – in an eye-catching twist considering who he has just claimed his 500th against – Surrey.
Meanwhile, Porter’s best average against another county is the 16.72 he holds over Northamptonshire, having claimed 22 wickets against them.
Three-way tie for his favourite ground
Almost exactly half of Porter’s 500 have come at The Cloud County Ground – 249, to be exact – while it is a three-way tie for the away ground at which he is most successful.
Trent Bridge, home to Nottinghamshire, and Hampshire’s Utilita Bowl share that particular crown with Old Trafford in Lancashire.
Porter has taken 18 wickets apiece at all of those grounds, with the Home of Cricket, Lord’s, just one behind on 17, while the Spitfire Ground St Lawrence in Canterbury has seen him claim 16.
In all, he has claimed a combined 235 at 17 other first-class county grounds and five further outgrounds, a total that includes the five wickets he took in two matches at Castle Park in Colchester.
All the milestones
While 500 is the most momentous milestone Porter has reached so far, his huge haul of first-class scalps has taken in several other big moments along the way – and many of them against Kent.
His very first wicket in the format came all the way back in September 2014, when – on Championship debut against Kent in Chelmsford – he pinned county stalwart Darren Stevens lbw for 11.
His 100th wicket, just under two years later, was also against Kent at home, with the man in question being Fabian Cowdrey, caught for 15.
Since then, his 200th was Tom Alsop against Hampshire in 2017, his 300th followed in 2019 when he saw off Azhar Ali against Somerset, and his 400th was Ben Compton, once more against Kent, in 2022.
Friends in the field
Naturally, the amount of his wickets that have been caught have led to a lot of common combinations, and the one that leads the way is ‘c Foster b Porter’.
That particular line has been on a scorecard no fewer than 45 times, and is comfortably clear of Porter’s second-highest partnership, which is the 33 he has taken with Adam Wheater.
While those two will forever remain set, with both Foster and Wheater having hung up their wicketkeeping gloves, the man in third could yet increase his catching tally off Porter’s bowling.
Behind the 33 catches of Wheater are the 26 of Simon Harmer, with the South African’s love of a stunning grab making it feel likely that that combination could surpass Wheater.
The Eagles Have Landed: The 2024 Vitality Blast at The Cloud County Ground
Fresh from a Finals Day appearance last summer, Essex are now back in Vitality Blast action for 2024.
With the Eagles sitting fourth in the South Group and firmly in contention for another knockout match, demand for tickets remains exceptionally high.
As Essex continue to aim towards going one better in 2024, there is no time to waste to snap up your seats.
Friday 05 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Somerset – SOLD OUT
Thursday 11 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Kent Spitfires – buy here
Sunday 14 July, 2:30pm: Essex v Surrey – buy here
