Essex Men’s wicket-keeper batter Michael Pepper has been awarded his Essex County Cap.
Pepper, 27, is the 171st Essex player to receive this prestigious honour and was presented with the cap during the lunch break on Day One of the home Rothesay County Championship fixture against Warwickshire.
Michael Pepper joined the Club in 2017 following strong performances for the Second XI, before making his First XI debut a year later in the County Championship against Somerset.
The 27-year-old was Essex’s leading run-scorer in the 2024 Vitality Blast and has found himself a predominant member of the red-ball squad too, taking the responsibility as the designated wicket-keeper.
Following his stellar 2024 campaign with the bat in the Blast, Pepper was rewarded with an England ODI call-up for their tour of the West Indies during that winter.
In 55 first-class innings, Pepper has scored 1687 runs at an average of 33 with a high-score of 140. The right-handed batter has shone throughout the Blast campaigns over the years for the Eagles and boasts a record of 2109 runs at an average of 32 in 76 innings, with a high-score of 120* in an incredible match winning knock at Sussex in 2024.
Pepper joins a distinguished group of county-capped players and follows the recently capped Dean Elgar and Jordan Cox who were both awarded with their caps on Day One of this season’s home fixture against Hampshire.
Michael Pepper with his parents during his cap presentation at the lunch interval on Day 2 between Essex and Warwickshire in the County Championship, 30 July 2025.
