Essex v Surrey | Notts Outlaws v Essex
Metro Bank One Day Cup
The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford | Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Friday 09 August, 2:00pm | Sunday 11 August, 11:00am
Having endured a tense defeat against Yorkshire Vikings in Scarborough earlier this week, a motivated Essex take on two further Metro Bank One Day Cup clashes with Surrey and Notts Outlaws in hope of improved fortunes.
Despite dominating for stretches of an intense arm-wrestle of a game with the White Rose, the Eagles came away with nothing to show for their efforts, as the hosts eked out a three-wicket win.
Luc Benkenstein and Robin Das both completed half-centuries, but the visitors’ total of 243-9 was overhauled in the penultimate over as James Wharton and Shan Masood also passed fifty.
Despite Shane Snater taking 3/32, passing 50 List A wickets in the process, Dom Bess’s unbeaten 53 from 55 balls guided the Vikings over the line with 11 balls to spare.
In a bid to end the competition strongly, Anthony McGrath’s side will now face off against one of their biggest rivals on the domestic circuit in a day/night meeting at The Cloud County Ground on Friday.
The Eagles will then travel to the East Midlands and one of English cricket’s more famed stadia as they take on Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
Squad
Director of Cricket McGrath has named a 12-strong squad.
Charlie Allison drops out as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain, while Jamie Porter returns after missing the first five games with an abdominal muscle injury.
The Opposition: Surrey
Although their historical success has mostly come in the red-ball arena, with 21 County Championship titles, Surrey have not been particularly shy at collecting List A trophies through the years either.
The Brown Caps’ most recent silverware in the format came in 2011, when they defeated Somerset by five wickets in a rain-affected Clydesdale Bank 40 final at Lord’s.
Before that, they had emerged victorious on two occasions in the preceding NatWest Pro40 League in 1996 and 2003, as well as lifting one Friends Provident Trophy, in 1982.
Their most successful List A competition, however, was the B&H Cup, which they won on three occasions, including against Leicestershire in 1974 for their first-ever limited-overs trophy success.
Recent years have seen slimmer pickings, with Surrey not having qualified for the knockout stages of this competition since 2021.
Amidst another tough campaign this time around, the Oval side sit eighth in Group B, with Dom Sibley their leading run scorer on 333, and Cameron Steel and Conor McKerr each having taken 12 wickets.
Surrey squad: TBC
The Opposition: Notts Outlaws
Nottinghamshire have somewhat spread their success in List A cricket around the various trophies on offer, winning one edition each of five different competitions.
Their first piece of silverware came in 1987, when, under the captaincy of Clive Rice, they lifted the 1987 NatWest Trophy, before following it up in 1989 with the B&H Cup.
A first Sunday League title followed in 1991, before supporters were made to wait until 2013 for the next triumph, a Yorkshire Bank 40 win.
Having renamed themselves the Outlaws in that interim 22-year period, the team went on to lift the 2017 One Day Cup, their most recent success in List A competition.
This year, the Trent Bridge outfit have had a bright start, winning three of their first five games to occupy third place in Group B.
Ben Slater is the Outlaws’ leading run-scorer in this year’s competition, with 296 at an average of 74.00, while Brett Hutton’s seven wickets at 15.57 apiece mark him out as the premier Notts bowler.
Notts Outlaws squad: TBC
Last Time We Met: Surrey
An engrossing arm-wrestle played out at The Cloud County Ground last August the last time the two sides met in List A cricket, though the Eagles came out on the wrong end of a two-wicket loss.
Put in after losing the toss, Essex posted 259-9 from their 50 overs, with Beau Webster notching 69 to top-score, while Noah Thain was only just behind in hitting 63.
Jamal Richards added some late gloss to the score with an unbeaten 31 from 24 balls, as the hosts resisted Conor McKerr’s figures of 4/55 to post a competitive score.
When Dom Sibley fell for a first-ball duck, hopes were raised that the Eagles could complete a group stage-ending win, but it was the opener at the other end who proved the biggest barrier to that.
Ryan Patel made 117, and found confident support from Krish Patel and Josh Blake, who chipped in with valuable scores in spite of Ben Allison, Aron Nijjar, and Webster all taking two scalps apiece.
By the time Patel was dismissed, the Brown Caps were – despite being seven down – only 27 short, and a final flourish from Luke Griffiths, who made an unbeaten 15, pulled them over the line.
Last Time We Met: Notts Outlaws
The Eagles will be out for revenge after falling to a 168-run defeat on the last occasion they met Notts Outlaws in List A cricket, at The Cloud County Ground last August.
After Essex opted to chase, visiting openers Ben Slater and Ben Martindale racked up a century partnership and had moved the score to 107 before Aaron Beard struck to take the first wicket.
Beard went on to be the lynchpin of an attack that pulled the contest back into the balance, claiming figures of 4/32 from 7.5 overs as the Outlaws were dismissed for 237 in just short of 46 overs.
However, the hosts found batting extremely difficult, and they were dismissed for 69 in 25.1 overs, with only Beau Webster, Charlie Allison, and Will Buttleman making double figures.
The latter’s 19 was the innings’ top score, with South African international Dane Paterson taking 4/30 from nine overs and Brett Hutton following up with 3/17 from eight.
Essex never recovered from being 11-3 inside the first six overs, and despite some middle-order resistance, the match was over when Calvin Harrison took the final wicket with his first ball.
Group B Table
Correct prior to the start of matches on Thursday 08 August.
How To Watch
If you are not able to make it to The Cloud County Ground in person, the match will be live-streamed on the EssexCricketTV YouTube channel and will be available to watch through the Essex Cricket Matchzone.
A report will be published on the Club website at the conclusion of the game, while live updates and highlights will be provided on the Essex Cricket social media channels.
Tickets
As ever, Essex Members are able to access this fixture on presentation of a valid card, and blocks 1-11, as well as the Doug Insole Pavilion benches, are reserved for their use only.
Spectators with general admission tickets, which are still available for this game and when bought in advance are priced at just £18 for adults, £12 for 18-25-year-olds, and £6 for under-18s, are free to sit anywhere in the remainder of the ground.
To secure your seats for Friday, visit the link below:
For any Eagles fans that are making the journey to Trent Bridge, tickets are still available from the Nottinghamshire website.
Sunday’s hosts have designated the match as their Family Fun Day, and accordingly, ticket prices have been reduced to £6 for adults and £1 for juniors under the age of 16.
To buy your tickets for Sunday, visit the link below:
School’s out, cricket’s in: 50-over cricket in Chelmsford this summer
White-ball action at The Cloud County Ground continues into August as the Metro Bank One Day Cup group stage reaches a climax.
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.
Taking place during the school summer holidays, the Eagles’ final home group-stage fixture makes a perfect family day out in the heart of Chelmsford.
Friday 09 August, 2:00pm: Essex v Surrey – buy here
Wednesday 14 August, 11:00am: Essex Women v Sussex – buy here
