Director of Cricket Anthony McGrath has expressed his confidence in the Essex squad that will take to the field for this month’s Metro Bank One Day Cup and emphasised their motivation to put on a show.
While McGrath gave an update on the members of the squad who will not feature in the 50-over format, he underlined his belief in the players who will wear the Essex badge over the next three weeks.
“Excitement is the main feeling in the team,” said McGrath. “I do feel as though the players we’re going to be able to put on the field are determined, they’re excited about the chance.
“We really want to go into this competition and not just take part, we really want to compete and put up a good performance.
“We’ve got a good mixture of youth and experience. We’ll have a good squad, and hopefully everyone gets behind us and we can repay that with some really good performances.”
A thoughtful McGrath reflected on Essex’s campaign in this competition last season, when the Eagles suffered a tough time on their way to missing out on the quarter-finals.
“I think everyone was really disappointed last year,” said the 48-year-old. We’ve seen the last couple of years, the standard is high, and we’re going to have to be better than we’ve been in previous years.
“This is a competition where you can look for excuses and say ‘we’ve lost so-and-so’ but it’s about the squad.
“We talk about squad depth, and while we haven’t got maybe the numbers of other teams, we certainly have quality, and whichever XI we put out, I expect us to win, absolutely.”
McGrath went on to discuss the availability of some members of his squad, and offered explanations as to the potential absence of some faces.
“Jamie Porter is injured. He broke his finger and did an abdominal muscle in the Surrey game. His finger’s fine but the ab muscle will just take a while.
“Hopefully he’ll be back at some point, but we still have the Championship to go so we have to be really careful with him.
“Simon Harmer has had some ongoing back problems, so we feel this is a really good time to get a second opinion on that and give him some rest.
“If it needs treatment, then again, hopefully he’ll be fit for the remainder of the Championship.
“Dean Elgar won’t feature. A little bit like we managed Alastair Cook, the amount of cricket he’s played, internationally, and he’s played every game this year in Championship and T20.
“We need him to have a little break to refresh for the end of the season, but more so, the bigger picture is that we want him to be here for a number of years.
“We’ve seen the success he’s had already, and we just want to make sure he’s fresh and we’re looking after him.
“Apart from that, everyone else will be available. We’ve got a good mixture of youth and experience.
“We’ll have a good squad, and hopefully everyone gets behind us and we can repay that with some really good performances!”
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
