Essex v Hampshire
Rothesay County Championship
Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford
Sunday 22 – Wednesday 25 June 2025 | 11am start
Team News
Essex: Dean Elgar, Paul Walter, Tom Westley (c), Jordan Cox, Matt Critchley, Charlie Allison, Michael Pepper (wk), Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Sam Cook, Makenzie Jones.
Hampshire: Fletcha Middleton, Ali Orr, Nick Gubbins, Ben Brown (c & wk), Tilak Varma, Tom Prest, Liam Dawson, Felix Organ, James Fuller, Kyle Abbott, Eddie Jack.
Match Details
Umpires: Rob Bailey & James Middlebrook
Match Referee: Peter Such
Scorers: Paul Parkinson & Fiona Newnham
Toss: Essex won the toss and chose to bat first
Result: Match Drawn
Day Four Reaction:
Day Four Highlights
Day Four Report
Tom Westley and Michael Pepper combined for a 215-run sixth-wicket partnership that frustrated Hampshire and ultimately saved Essex from suffering their third Rothesay County Championship defeat of the season.
The pair came together at 131-5, still 26 runs short of making Hampshire bat again, and were not parted for nearly three-and-a-half hours. Slowly but surely they took the game out of the visitors’ grip that had looked strong after gaining a first-innings lead of 157. Pepper was the hare to Westley’s tortoise, but both batsmen clocked up contrasting centuries, Westley his 30th in red-ball cricket and Pepper his highest first-class score.
When handskakes were exchanged to signal the draw at 4.50pm, the Essex captain had batted for all but 12 overs of the 119 Essex faced in their second innings. He had struggled for runs this summer but his unbeaten 322-ball 130, with 12 boundaries, showed a high level of self-discipline and application.
While Westley had dug in doggedly, Pepper changed the tempo of the innings with some big-hitting before he was eventually dismissed for 140 from 154 balls, including 20 fours and a six. Pepper had also played a similar key role in partnership with Matt Critchley to help Essex secure an equally unlikely draw against Yorkshire last month.
Hampshire spinner Liam Dawson added two early wickets in the morning to the pair he had in the bag overnight, but while whirling away for a marathon stint of 41 overs could not improve on figures of 4-82.
Essex had started the day requiring 49 more runs to make Hampshire bat again – or remain all day at the crease to hang on for the draw with seven wickets in hand.
Hampshire hopes were high when overnight batsman Critchley was undone by a delivery from Dawson that turned and caught him on the instep of his front leg. He had dug in for an hour and a half for his 19, and had earlier set the tone for the opening exchanges by finally claiming the first run of the day from the 29th ball.
Westley was particularly watchful, adding just a single to his overnight 50 in the opening 51 minutes and 35 balls before he went on the backfoot and drive Eddie Jack for a boundary. His concentrations was such that he added just 20 runs from 65 balls in the morning session.
First-innings centurion Charlie Allison was slightly more expansive with two fours in 31 balls before he pulled Dawson to short midwicket. That wicket fell at 11.59am; the next came at 4.30pm.
A sweep off Dawson for four by Pepper eased the Essex total into the black. It was at that point Pepper put his foot on the gas. He took 15 from an over by James Fuller, including a big yahoo for six.
Pepper then cut Jack for another boundary that brought up the fifty partnership with Westley in 11 overs, of which the wicketkeeper-batsman contributed 42. Pepper’s own half-century, reached with his eighth four, driven to long leg, took just 43 balls. The pair took another 13 overs to pass three-figures together.
Westley’s strike-rate increased in the hour after lunch when he added the 30 runs he required to reach his century, realised with a lofted drive off Dawson for his 11th boundary.
Pepper was not long in following suit, a thick edge off Jack racing away to the third-man boundary took him to second century of the season. It also brought up 150 runs scored between the pair in 40 overs.
A contrast in the pace at which the two batsmen had scored was shown starkly when Pepper caught up with Westley when both had 108; Pepper had got there in 152 balls fewer.
However, Pepper’s knock came to an end when he attempted to launch Tom Prest out of the ground but only found Kyle Abbott on the long-leg boundary.
Day Three Reaction: Tom Huggins
Day Three Highlights
Day Three Report
Liam Dawson enjoyed the sort of day all-rounders dream of with a resilient century followed by two key Essex wickets as Hampshire took a firm grip on their Rothesay County Championship match at Chelmsford.
The England white-ball international’s 139 from 235 balls, and a fifth-wicket partnership of 133 with fellow centurion Tilak Varma, underpinned Hampshire’s first-innings 453. It left Essex requiring 157 just to make their opponents bat again, or survive four-and-a-half sessions to prevent a third Championship defeat of the season.
But Dawson quickly upset Essex plans by dismissing both openers inside the first 16 of 46 overs faced either side of tea on the third day. With Eddie Jack removing a subdued Jordan Cox, Essex were teetering on 108-3 at the close, still 49 runs behind.
If there was any consolation on a miserable day for Essex it was that Simon Harmer collected the 500th first-class wicket of his nine seasons at the club. At the other end of the scale, 19-year-old pace-bowling debutant Mackenzie Jones chalked up his first.
There were two milestones pending from overnight and they were completed in the opening 13 balls of the day. First, a flick of the wrists sent the ball for the two runs that took Tilak to the sixth first-class century of his nascent career. Then, at the start of the day’s third over, Harmer induced a mistimed drive from the Indian left-hander and the edge looped up into Cox’s hands at slip. Tilak’s 100 embraced 241 balls and included 11 fours and three sixes.
Dawson followed Tilak to three-figures for the 18th time in his career when he turned Sam Cook off his hip for two runs from an over that also contained two boundaries as he raced through the nineties.
Once they moved into the lead, Hampshire’s ambition was to accumulate a horde of batting points that had proved scarce this season. Dawson and Prest added 74 in 17 overs to ease them to 371-5 by the cut-off of 110 overs and increase their season’s points haul with the bat from six to nine.
All told, the sixth-wicket pair put on 98 in 28 overs before they were parted. Prest went to launch Critchley over midwicket and instead sliced the ball to backward point.
Felix Organ skied Critchley to extra cover and was quickly followed by the demise of Dawson. He became the maiden wicket for Jones, taken spectacularly one-handed low to his right by wicketkeeper Michael Pepper. But not before Dawson had contributed 14 fours and three sixes to the Hampshire cause.
Pepper was on the scorecard twice more, first to end Abbott’s cameo and provide Critchley with a fourth wicket (at a personal cost of 102), and then finish the innings by providing Cook with a belated third wicket.
Dawson’s memorable day continued apace when he got a delivery to jump out of the foot-holes and take the edge of Dean Elgar’s bat before ending Paul Walter’s uncomfortable hour at the crease.
Cox, meanwhile, had just survived a confident lbw appeal from Jack but was not so fortunate three balls later when the same bowler rapped him on his front pad and this time the shout was upheld.
Essex captain Tom Westley dug in to lead the fightback and reached his second half-century of the campaign with his fifth boundary. It had taken him 99 balls. He was kept company to stumps by Critchley, who defended even more resolutely
Day Two Reaction: Sam Cook
Day Two Highlights
Day Two Report
Liam Dawson enjoyed the sort of day all-rounders dream of with a resilient century followed by two key Essex wickets as Hampshire took a firm grip on their Rothesay County Championship match at Chelmsford.
The England white-ball international’s 139 from 235 balls, and a fifth-wicket partnership of 133 with fellow centurion Tilak Varma, underpinned Hampshire’s first-innings 453. It left Essex requiring 157 just to make their opponents bat again, or survive four-and-a-half sessions to prevent a third Championship defeat of the season.
But Dawson quickly upset Essex plans by dismissing both openers inside the first 16 of 46 overs faced either side of tea on the third day. With Eddie Jack removing a subdued Jordan Cox, Essex were teetering on 108-3 at the close, still 49 runs behind.
If there was any consolation on a miserable day for Essex it was that Simon Harmer collected the 500th first-class wicket of his nine seasons at the club. At the other end of the scale, 19-year-old pace-bowling debutant Mackenzie Jones chalked up his first.
There were two milestones pending from overnight and they were completed in the opening 13 balls of the day. First, a flick of the wrists sent the ball for the two runs that took Tilak to the sixth first-class century of his nascent career. Then, at the start of the day’s third over, Harmer induced a mistimed drive from the Indian left-hander and the edge looped up into Cox’s hands at slip. Tilak’s 100 embraced 241 balls and included 11 fours and three sixes.
Dawson followed Tilak to three-figures for the 18th time in his career when he turned Sam Cook off his hip for two runs from an over that also contained two boundaries as he raced through the nineties.
Once they moved into the lead, Hampshire’s ambition was to accumulate a horde of batting points that had proved scarce this season. Dawson and Prest added 74 in 17 overs to ease them to 371-5 by the cut-off of 110 overs and increase their season’s points haul with the bat from six to nine.
All told, the sixth-wicket pair put on 98 in 28 overs before they were parted. Prest went to launch Critchley over midwicket and instead sliced the ball to backward point.
Felix Organ skied Critchley to extra cover and was quickly followed by the demise of Dawson. He became the maiden wicket for Jones, taken spectacularly one-handed low to his right by wicketkeeper Michael Pepper. But not before Dawson had contributed 14 fours and three sixes to the Hampshire cause.
Pepper was on the scorecard twice more, first to end Abbott’s cameo and provide Critchley with a fourth wicket (at a personal cost of 102), and then finish the innings by providing Cook with a belated third wicket.
Dawson’s memorable day continued apace when he got a delivery to jump out of the foot-holes and take the edge of Dean Elgar’s bat before ending Paul Walter’s uncomfortable hour at the crease.
Cox, meanwhile, had just survived a confident lbw appeal from Jack but was not so fortunate three balls later when the same bowler rapped him on his front pad and this time the shout was upheld.
Essex captain Tom Westley dug in to lead the fightback and reached his second half-century of the campaign with his fifth boundary. It had taken him 99 balls. He was kept company to stumps by Critchley, who defended even more resolutely.
Day One Reaction: Charlie Allison
Day One Highlights
Day One Report
Charlie Allison made it back-to-back centuries as he steered Essex into commanding position on the first day of the Rothesay County Championship match against Hampshire at Chelmsford.
Before his 140 against Surrey last month, Allison’s highest first-class score was 28. But the 20-year-old right-hander followed up his Oval heroics with 101 when the Championship resumed after its break for the Vitality Blast.
He was the senior partner in a 107-run seventh-wicket stand with Simon Harmer, 16 years older, that carried Essex towards 292-8 at the close after they chose to bat. He also put on 66 for the fifth wicket with Matt Critchley, whose 71 came from 104 balls and included nine fours and a six.
Kyle Abbott took his season’s tally to 35 wickets with three Essex scalps, but Hampshire let slip their morning advantage as a blustery, overcast day gave way to bright evening sunshine.
Initially, it looked as if Essex’s travails of late – one win across both formats this summer – were being lain bare on a green wicket that gave encouragement to Hampshire’s seam attack.
By mid-day Essex had lost three of their top four. Paul Walter mistimed a flick off his legs low to a diving square leg, Dean Elgar was beaten for pace by John Fuller and Jordan Cox ducked into a short ball from Eddie Jack and spliced the ball high to third slip.
The premature departures did not preclude Essex handing county caps to the latter pair during the lunch interval. Former captain Graham Gooch handed one to Elgar while Cox received his from Jason Gallian, previously his cricket master at Felsted School, now chairman of the cricket committee.
Back in the middle, Critchley was putting behind him his struggles with the bat in the Vitality Blast. He contributed 38 of the 53-run fourth-wicket stand with Tom Westley that included a six over long leg off Liam Dawson and a well-timed sweep for four, also off the England white-ball spinner.
Westley was more circumspect, though the four fours in his 77-ball 28 were venomous in their execution and included one from his first ball through midwicket off Abbott and an imperious pull against Fuller. However, he departed lbw to one from Abbott that might otherwise have just clipped the top of the stumps.
Under gathering grey clouds, Critchley reached his half-century from 84 balls amid a flurry of boundaries, the milestone four pulled through midwicket off Felix Organ. Another time he went in tiptoes to late-cut Jack to the third-man rope.
Charlie Allison kept pace with Critchley and he launched Dawson effortlessly over extra cover for a six that brought up the fifty partnership in 13 overs. Later he hit another straight over the same bowler’s head. However, the stand was worth 66 when the wily Dawson had Critchley playing over a shorter-pitched delivery that looked as if it might have missed leg-stump.
Abbott had figures of 3-12 from 13 overs when he had Michael Pepper edging to the wicketkeeper. But that just brought together Allison and Harmer for a patient partnership that steadied Essex and ultimately gave them a measure of control.
Harmer brought up the hundred partnership in 33 overs when he swatted Jack to the midwicket boundary. But with Allison on 99, he turned the ball to sauare leg, the pair hesitated and Harmer sacrificed his wicket as Jack’s throw went to the bowler’s end.
Allison duly reached his century from 188 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, but one run later he dragged on to Organ and was bowled off the last ball of the day.
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