As the school holidays approach, the return of 50-over cricket to The Cloud County Ground at the height of summer inches closer.
Essex have been placed in Group B of this season’s Metro Bank One Day Cup, with a testing line-up that includes three of last season’s four semi-finalists lying in wait.
Read on for a team-by-team preview of each of the Group B contenders.
Essex
Captain: Tom Westley
2023 finish: 9th in group
2023 leading run-scorer: Beau Webster (260)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Beau Webster (14)
Domestic List A titles: 13 (most recent in 2008)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Matt Critchley, Michael Pepper, Adam Rossington (London Spirit), Paul Walter (Manchester Originals), Jordan Cox (Oval Invincibles), Sam Cook (Trent Rockets)
The big question: Can Essex improve upon last year’s showing? The 2023 edition of this tournament was a chastising time for the Eagles, winning just one game on the way to a ninth-place group stage finish. Anthony McGrath’s side will be determined to give a better account of themselves this time around.
Key players: The absence of Beau Webster, who was the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker last time, is an opportunity for someone to step up. Young trio Charlie Allison, Noah Thain, and Luc Benkenstein are all a year older, cover many bases, and now have England Under-19 World Cup experience too.
Glamorgan
Captain: Kiran Carlson
2023 finish: 4th in group
2023 leading run-scorer: Eddie Byrom (352)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Ben Kellaway (13)
Domestic List A titles: 4 (most recent in 2021)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Chris Cooke, Mason Crane (Welsh Fire)
The big question: Can Glamorgan get over the line and into the knockout stages? A strong finish to the 2023 group stage that included three wins from their last four was not enough for the Welsh outfit to overcome a poor start of just one victory in their first four, and they fell just short of the quarter-finals.
Key players: The 2021 champions will have to make the most of being one of the counties less affected by The Hundred, as Welsh Fire take just two of their players. Eddie Byrom enjoyed a prolific season last year, scoring 352 runs at an average of 50.28, while off-spinner Ben Kellaway took 13 wickets at 22.92 apiece.
Gloucestershire
Captain: James Bracey
2023 finish: Semi-finalists
2023 leading run-scorer: Ollie Price (575)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Paul van Meekeren (17)
Domestic List A titles: 10 (most recent in 2015)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Marchant de Lange (Oval Invincibles), David Payne (Welsh Fire), Matt Taylor (London Spirit)
The big question: Could Gloucestershire be genuine contenders to win the competition? The West Country side fell at the penultimate hurdle last season, suffering a six-wicket loss to eventual champions Leicestershire. They will only lose three players to The Hundred, and could realistically hope to improve on last year.
Key players: In Ollie Price, Gloucestershire possess last season’s third-highest run-scorer in the entire competition, and their entire batting stocks are unaffected by The Hundred. There is much hope that Price, as well as wicketkeeper-batter James Bracey, could again enjoy prolific seasons.
Leicestershire Foxes
Captain: Lewis Hill
2023 finish: Winners
2023 leading run-scorer: Peter Handscomb (401)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Chris Wright (18)
Domestic List A titles: 6 (most recent in 2023)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Rishi Patel, Louis Kimber (Birmingham Phoenix), Josh Hull (Manchester Originals), Rehan Ahmed (Southern Brave)
The big question: How likely are Leicestershire to defend their 2023 title? The man who was key to last year’s triumph, breakout fast bowler Josh Hull, has been called up to Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. Someone will have to step up with the ball if Leicestershire are to have a chance of mounting a strong defence.
Key players: Veteran seamer Chris Wright feels the most likely to fill the gap left by Hull, but off-field issues have left him short of match practice. With the bat, Wiaan Mulder is back after an impressive 2023, while the Foxes’ other overseas man, Australian Peter Handscomb, will aim to build on his 401 runs at 57.28.
Notts Outlaws
Captain: Haseeb Hameed
2023 finish: 5th in group
2023 leading run-scorer: Matthew Montgomery (286)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Brett Hutton/Dane Paterson (both 11)
Domestic List A titles: 5 (most recent in 2017)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Ben Duckett (Birmingham Phoenix), Olly Stone (London Spirit), Dillon Pennington (Northern Superchargers), Alex Hales, Calvin Harrison (Trent Rockets), Joe Clarke (Welsh Fire)
The big question: Will the prospect of a home final spur on Notts? The Outlaws are the only county that know they will have home advantage should they reach the showpiece. If they can tidy up the poor finish to the group stage that affected them last year, the East Midlands outfit should be in with a shout.
Key players: Matt Montgomery had a fine individual 2023, scoring 286 runs, and remains a quality player, having deputised for England’s Ben Duckett in a full-strength Nottinghamshire team on several occasions in recent years. Young all-rounder Lyndon James is also still highly regarded at Trent Bridge.
Surrey
Captain: Rory Burns
2023 finish: 8th in group
2023 leading run-scorer: Ryan Patel (330)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Cameron Steel (10)
Domestic List A titles: 7 (most recent in 2011)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Jamie Smith (Birmingham Phoenix), Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Dan Worrall (London Spirit), Jamie Overton (Manchester Originals), Jordan Clark, Tom Lawes, Jason Roy, Reece Topley (Northern Superchargers), Gus Atkinson, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Will Jacks (Oval Invincibles), Laurie Evans, Chris Jordan (Southern Brave)
The big question: How do Surrey overcome the loss of so many players? The South London side will lose a staggering 15 players to The Hundred, severely testing their depth. They struggled to adapt to a similarly-huge personnel change in 2023, finishing eighth, so the challenge will be to make the transition smoother.
Key players: Even in losing an entire starting XI and more, Surrey can still select former England Test players Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, and Ben Foakes. If those three set an example to what is likely to be a young group, and Cameron Steel carries on his Championship bowling form, the Brown Caps might just be OK.
Sussex Sharks
Captain: Tom Haines
2023 finish: 9th in group
2023 leading run-scorer: Cheteshwar Pujara (384)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Jack Carson (12)
Domestic List A titles: 8 (most recent in 2009)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Jofra Archer, James Coles, Tymal Mills (Southern Brave), Tom Alsop, Ollie Robinson (Trent Rockets)
The big question: What can Sussex do to improve? The Sharks suffered a dreadful campaign last year, losing seven of eight matches. However, their T20 fortunes have turned around in style this season after a couple of indifferent campaigns, and now their challenge will be to do the same in the 50-over format.
Key players: The form of Sussex’s batters in the aforementioned Blast, with Harrison Ward and captain John Simpson seeing the ball especially well in the shortest format, should give reason to hope. Last season’s leading wicket-taker Jack Carson will also hope to improve upon his 12 wickets in 2023.
Warwickshire
Captain: Ed Barnard
2023 finish: Semi-finalists
2023 leading run-scorer: Ed Barnard (616)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Oliver Hannon-Dalby (24)
Domestic List A titles: 12 (most recent in 2016)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Moeen Ali, Jacob Bethell, Dan Mousley, Chris Woakes (Birmingham Phoenix), Richard Gleeson (London Spirit), Danny Briggs, Alex Davies, George Garton (Southern Brave), Sam Hain (Trent Rockets)
The big question: Might Warwickshire’s big names put them in trophy contention? In Ed Barnard, the Bears possess arguably the premier all-round talent not poached by The Hundred, and his status as last year’s competition leading run-scorer backs that up. The West Midlands outfit should be firmly in the mix.
Key players: Not only do Warwickshire have Barnard, but they also have the 2023 leading wicket-taker too in Olly Hannon-Dalby, who took 24 scalps. The issue last year was finding anyone who could back that duo up, but the likes of Will Rhodes, Rob Yates, and spinner Jake Lintott have the talent to impress this year.
Yorkshire Vikings
Captain: Shan Masood
2023 finish: 6th in group
2023 leading run-scorer: Shan Masood (217)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Matthew Revis (10)
Domestic List A titles: 5 (most recent in 2002)
Absentees due to The Hundred: Harry Brook, Adil Rashid (Northern Superchargers), Dawid Malan (Oval Invincibles), Adam Lyth, Joe Root, Jordan Thompson (Trent Rockets), Jonny Bairstow (Welsh Fire)
The big question: Can Yorkshire improve their consistency? Three successive heavy defeats to end the 2023 season derailed any hopes of making the knockout stages. The White Rose will hope to finish more strongly as they bid for a first trophy of any sort in almost a decade.
Key players: Captain Shan Masood is the sort of elder statesman who could reasonably be expected to profit in this competition’s current format, as he did last season. Wicketkeeper Harry Duke, formerly of Essex earlier this year, also maintains a very healthy List A average, while Matt Revis took 10 wickets last year.
School’s out, cricket’s in: 50-over cricket in Chelmsford this summer
White-ball action at The Cloud County Ground continues into July and August as the Metro Bank One-Day Cup gets underway.
The competition has not only recently proven itself to be wide open and highly competitive, but also a breeding ground for the next generation of elite cricketers.
With all four matches set to take place during the school summer holidays, each fixture makes a perfect family day out in the heart of Chelmsford.
Wednesday 24 July, 11:00am: Essex v Warwickshire – buy here
Wednesday 31 July, 11:00am: Essex v Leicestershire Foxes – buy here
Sunday 04 August, 11:00am: Essex v Glamorgan – buy here
Friday 09 August, 2:00pm: Essex v Surrey – buy here
Alongside the offering of men’s Metro Bank One Day Cup action, The Cloud County Ground will also host two Women’s London Championship matches during the summer holidays.
Friday 26 July, 11:00am: Essex Women v Kent – buy here
Wednesday 14 August, 11:00am: Essex Women v Sussex – buy here
