Middlesex Men v Essex Men | Essex Men v Kent Spitfires Men
Vitality Blast
Lord’s, London | Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford
Thursday 19 June 2025, 6:15pm | Friday 20 June 2025, 7pm
Six days on from the abandoned Friday night clash at Sussex, Essex Men go back-to-back against Middlesex and Kent this Thursday and Friday.
Victory slipped through Essex’s fingers in Hove last Friday, as rain forced the match against Sussex Sharks to be abandoned – just eleven balls short of a result. Despite dominating with both bat and ball, Essex are still searching for their first Vitality Blast win of the campaign.
The Essex Men face two fixtures in quick succession at the end of this week, beginning with a trip to Lord’s to take on Middlesex, followed by the Battle of the Bridge on Friday night against Kent Spitfires at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground.
The Inside Line: Paul Walter
Squad
Director of Cricket Chris Silverwood has named a 13-player squad for the back-to-back matches against Middlesex at Lord’s followed by Kent Spitfires at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground.
Sam Cook is omitted from the squad due to joining up with the England Men’s Test squad, whilst Tom Westley returns to the white-ball squad for the first time this campaign.
The Opposition: Middlesex
Captain: Steve Eskinazi
Overseas Players: Kane Williamson (New Zealand, full competition) and Josh Little (Ireland, full competition)
Finals Day Appearances: One (2008)
Titles: One (2008)
2024 Finish: Eighth (South Group)
2024 Leading Run-Scorer: Martin Andersson (282)
2024 Leading Wicket-Taker: Luke Hollman (23)
Last Time We Met: Middlesex
Stephen Eskinazi led Middlesex to their first Men’s Vitality Blast win of the season with a superb 72, supported by Ben Geddes’ 30 off 11 balls, securing victory over Essex with 15 balls to spare.
Essex, after a strong start with Adam Rossington’s 31, collapsed, losing six wickets in 29 balls. Despite Simon Harmer’s T20-best 41, they only managed 156. Middlesex’s Tom Helm starred with 4-32.
In the chase, Eskinazi and Kane Williamson (97-run partnership) gave Middlesex a solid start. A brief wobble saw three wickets fall in nine balls, but Geddes’ big hitting ended Essex’s hopes of victory.
The Opposition: Kent
Captain: Sam Billings
Overseas Players: Wes Agar (Australia, all group matches) Tom Rogers (Australia, all group matches)
Finals Day Appearances: Four (2007, 2008, 2009, 2021)
Titles: Two (2007, 2021)
2024 Finish: Ninth (South Group)
2024 Leading Run-Scorer: Sam Billings (411)
2024 Leading Wicket-Taker: Matt Parkinson (16)
Last Time We Met: Kent Spitfires
A superb death-bowling performance from the returning Sam Cook and Paul Walter helped Essex secure a 22-run Vitality Blast victory over rivals Kent at The Cloud County Ground.
Despite the Spitfires cruising in their chase at halfway, Cook conceded just 21 runs from his four overs and Walter 29 as the Eagles ultimately comfortably defended their 187-3.
Walter top-scored for the hosts in that innings with an unbeaten 46 off 27 balls that included three sixes, even in spite of Matt Parkinson’s restrictive 2/29 in the middle overs.
In response, Tawanda Muyeye made 73, but the tight bowling at the end of the chase kept Kent at arm’s length and ultimately had them end on 165-5.
South Group Preview
Click here for Part 1 of the team-by-team preview of each of this year’s South Group contenders.
Click here for Part 2 of the team-by-team preview of each of this year’s South Group contenders.
How To Watch
If you are not accompanying the Eagles at Lord’s for the face off against Middlesex or at Chelmsford for a franticly fun Friday night, both matches will be live-streamed on the hosts’ 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.
Purchase your England v India tickets!
The England Men under 19s are playing in a four day Test match at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground this summer!
They will face India Men under 19s, including 14-year old IPL superstar Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who became the youngest player bought in an IPL auction after being selected by Rajasthan Royals. He is also the youngest player to score a century in IPL history!
Day one will begin on July 20 with the final day concluding on July 23.
Tickets are still available via our Ticket Site, so have a browse and get yourself down to CM2 to watch the next generation of international cricketers.
