Essex v Surrey
Vitality County Championship
The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Thursday 26 – Sunday 29 September 2024 | 10:30am start
Team News
Essex: Dean Elgar, Robin Das, Tom Westley*, Matt Critchley, Luc Benkenstein, Paul Walter, Adam Rossington+, Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.
Surrey: Rory Burns*, Dom Sibley, Ryan Patel, Ben Geddes, Dan Lawrence, Josh Blake+, Ollie Sykes, Tom Lawes, Yousef Majid, James Taylor, Kemar Roach.
Match Details
Umpires: Rob Bailey & Ian Blackwell
Match Referee: Mike Smith
Scorers: Paul Parkinson & Debbie Beesley
Toss: Essex won the toss and chose to bat first
Result: Match Drawn
Scorecard: View here
Day Four Reaction: Tom Westley
Day Four Report
Simon Harmer claimed three wickets but the final day of Essex’s 2024 season petered out into a draw with already-crowned county champions Surrey.
Harmer returned figures of 3/88 as the Brown Caps, who were last week confirmed as title winners for the third year in a row, batted through the final day to finish on 267-7.
Dom Sibley top-scored with 125 from 189 balls, underpinning the innings, but any hope of a positive result had been rendered improbable after rain meant the first two days saw just 28.3 overs in total.
Consequently, there was a low-key feel to the final day, which began with Surrey resuming on 30-1, and although wickets did fall with regularity, the draw was always inevitable.
Day Three Reaction: Matt Critchley
Day Three Highlights
Day Three Report
Essex batters Dean Elgar, Tom Westley, and Matt Critchley all scored centuries as Surrey, the Vitality County Champions, suffered a post-title-winning slump at Chelmsford. Former South African captain Elgar, batting with a calf injury, led the charge with a remarkable 182, his highest of four centuries for Essex this season. His innings spanned 102 overs across three days, as the first two days were heavily disrupted by rain.
Elgar and Westley set a record 253-run partnership for the second wicket in 59 overs, surpassing the previous best of 206 for Essex against Surrey, a record that had stood for 95 years. Elgar then combined with Critchley for a further 168 runs for the third wicket. Critchley scored a fluent 112 from 171 balls before Essex declared at 508-8.
Westley was in blistering form, with 106 of his 135 runs coming from boundaries (25 fours and a six). He dominated the bowling, particularly targeting James Taylor and Yousef Majid, racing to his century from 141 balls.
Surrey’s bowlers struggled throughout, and fielding errors compounded their woes. The situation for Surrey worsened when captain Rory Burns was dismissed for 30, caught at point off Simon Harmer as Surrey ended the penultimate day at 30-1.
Elgar’s injury became apparent early on the third morning when he tweaked his left calf but soldiered on, selectively taking singles while Westley took charge, racing to his own century with a series of boundaries.
Westley’s explosive innings came to an end when he found Tom Lawes on the long-leg boundary, giving debutant Yousef Majid his first first-class wicket. However, the subdued celebrations reflected Surrey’s low energy in the field.
Critchley was the third centurion, reaching his ton by pulling Ollie Sykes to square leg. He was eventually dismissed, along with Shane Snater, just before Essex declared.
Surrey’s challenge is to survive the final day with Essex needing 17 points to secure third place ahead of Somerset, having already earned maximum batting points and now requiring to bowl Surrey out twice.
Day Two Report
No play was possible on Day Two of the Vitality County Championship clash between Essex and Surrey, as a saturated outfield caused play to be called off shortly after 1pm.
Umpires Rob Bailey and Ian Blackwell made the decision to call play off early to allow the ground the best chance of drying out in time for Days Three and Four, when better weather is forecast.
Day One Highlights
Day One Report
Dean Elgar marked the milestone of 1,000 Vitality County Championship runs in 2024 by hitting a fifty, but the opening day of Essex’s season-ending clash with Surrey was heavily curtailed by rain.
Elgar, who has now totalled 1,016 First-Class runs at an average of 53.47 since signing for the Eagles in January, advanced to an unbeaten 54, as the Eagles posted 116-1 before rain swept in at lunch.
Tom Westley also made 52 not out, sharing in an unbroken partnership of 112 with Elgar, as Essex overcame the early loss of Robin Das, who had been caught behind by Josh Blake off Tom Lawes.
That was the only joy for a much-changed Surrey, however, as Elgar and Westley dominated the visiting bowling attack for most of the morning.
Elgar reached his landmark with a cut for four off Dan Lawrence, and although there was time for both players to go to fifty, a shower just before 12:30pm gave way to heavier rain.
With no let-up for much of the rest of the afternoon, that ensured the day ended early, with only 28.3 overs bowled.
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.
