Essex v Nottinghamshire
Vitality County Championship
The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Monday 09 – Thursday 12 September 2024 | 10:30am start
For only the second time this season, Essex take on back-to-back home Vitality County Championship games when Nottinghamshire visit The Cloud County Ground from Monday.
With the campaign now in its final month, play on each day, as with the two other matches still to come in September, will begin at the slightly earlier time of 10:30am.
For the Eagles, a second match in Chelmsford in the space of eight days will be an opportunity to bounce back after suffering a 43-run defeat against Worcestershire last time out.
In spite of Jamie Porter’s day one heroics that saw him claim the 19th five-wicket haul of his first-class career, Essex fell short of chasing down a fourth-innings target on day four against the Pears.
Visitors Nottinghamshire held Surrey to a run-soaked draw at Trent Bridge last time out, and are scrapping to avoid relegation from the top flight.
Now, Anthony McGrath’s side will go in search of a fifth Championship victory of the season as the 2024 campaign enters its final stretch.
Squad
Director of Cricket McGrath has named an unchanged 13-strong squad to take on the visitors from the East Midlands.
The Inside Line: Sam Cook
The Opposition
In spite of some eye-catching additions in the lead-up to 2024, Nottinghamshire have found themselves fighting at the wrong end of Division One for much of the campaign.
Seamers Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington, and batter Jack Haynes all made the move to Trent Bridge from Worcestershire in the winter with great promise.
Although injuries have meant the former is yet to debut for the Green and Golds, the latter pair have been as-yet-unable to inspire an especially memorable season.
Peter Moores’ side head into the final three matches of the season in eighth, having won just one match this year – against Lancashire in May – and just ten points above the drop zone.
Captain Haseeb Hameed has been a bright spot in an otherwise difficult season, hitting 909 runs at an average of 53.47 to lead the run-scoring charts ahead of Joe Clarke, on 807, and Ben Slater’s 714.
Pennington, to his credit, is the side’s leading wicket-taker with 31 at 23.80 apiece, while all-rounder Lyndon James is second with 23 and Dane Paterson rounds out the top three with 20.
Nottinghamshire squad:TBC
Last Time We Met
Essex sealed a memorable 254-run victory at Trent Bridge in April, in the first match of the 2024 season, on the last occasion of the two sides meeting in first-class cricket.
Sam Cook demonstrated a mastery of the Kookaburra ball that no other bowler in the country could match as he claimed a hat-trick in the first innings and finished with match figures of 10/73.
That included an electrifying 6/14 in the second innings as the hosts, chasing 335, crumbled to 80 all out midway through the fourth afternoon.
The target had been set after a nip-and-tuck first two days that saw debutants Dean Elgar and Jordan Cox both hit half-centuries as Essex, batting first after being inserted, post a first innings 253 all out.
Notts responded with 293, underpinned by Joe Clarke’s century, but their score was somewhat derailed, in no small part by Cook’s hat-trick, from the 259-4 they had earlier stood at.
Matt Critchley and Paul Walter then combined in the Eagles’ second innings with a stand of 132 to hoist the visitors from a tricky 129-5, setting up Cook to rattle through Notts and start 2024 with a win.
Division One Table
How To Watch
If you are not able to make it to The Cloud County Ground in person, the game will be streamed live on the EssexCricketTV YouTube channel and available to watch via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.
A report and reaction will be published on the Club website after each day’s play via the Club website, while live updates and daily highlights will be provided on the Club’s social media channels.
Tickets
Members of both counties are free to sit in any available and vacant seat, though the Doug Insole Pavilion benches and blocks 1-14 and 27-31 are reserved specifically for their use.
Meanwhile, general admission advance tickets are priced at £16 for adults, while young adults aged between 18 and 25 can buy at any time for £12 and under-18 tickets cost just £6.
A family ticket, covering two adults and two children, costs just £35, while a four-day ticket covering the entire match can be purchased over the phone for £44.
Please note that these two types of ticket are only available in advance of the fixture, and that individual adult tickets will rise in price to £20 if bought on the day.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 01245 254010 or by visiting the link below:
Enter the ballot for international tickets
The 2025 international fixture list has been revealed, with Chelmsford braced for high-octane action as England Women take on West Indies Women on Monday 26 May at 2:30pm.
In what’s set to be an unmissable afternoon of IT20 cricket, some of the world’s best T20 cricketers will go head to head in a T20 set in the heart of Essex.
What’s more, the game will be played on the Spring Bank Holiday making it the perfect day out with friends and family.
Demand for tickets will be high, so make sure to enter the ticket ballot and share with family and friends for the best chance to get your hands on tickets before public sale.
You’ll also have the chance to earn an extra entry to the ballot by sharing with the person you’d like to bring with you.
The ballot will close at midnight on Monday 04 November and ballot winners will be contacted with a unique link to purchase tickets on Tuesday 05 November.
