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The Club’s new Bowling Coach, Mick Lewis spoke with Essex Cricket TV to discuss his first week in the role. He spoke about his career to date, why he decided to move over to England and what was so appealing about the job at Chelmsford.

Lewis joins Anthony McGrath’s coaching staff after the departure of Andre Nel last season and joined up with his new colleagues in Abu Dhabi before heading to the UK for the start of the new season.

Watch: Mick Lewis chats to Essex Cricket TV

Keep an eye on our social media channels over the next week for further coverage of Essex’s pre-season tour in Abu Dhabi.

Essex take on Somerset in a T20 double-header tomorrow at The Zayed Cricket Stadium, in what will be the first competitive outing of 2022 for Anthony McGrath’s players.

The first game is due to start at 2:30pm local time (10:30am GMT) for those wanting to follow along at home. The second fixture will start at 6:30pm local time (2:30pm GMT) and will be available to watch via the Abu Dhabi Cricket live streaming service. Click here or watch below from 2:30pm GMT on Friday 11 March to watch live.

Mick Lewis also sat down with Essex Cricket TV to discuss his first week as the new Bowling Coach. He spoke about his career to date, why he decided to move over to England and what was so appealing about the job at Chelmsford.

Watch: Mick Lewis chats to Essex Cricket TV

Keep an eye on our social media channels over the next week for all the coverage of the side whilst on pre-season in Abu Dhabi.

Tickets are now on general sale online following the ‘Over & Out!’ e-news priority period.

Secure tickets now to see the Eagles in action in this year’s Vitality Blast and Royal London Cup. You can also book to see the Team as they return to Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship, beginning with Kent on 07 April.

With the return to full crowds, the demand for tickets is higher than ever.

Click the pictures below to purchase tickets for your desired format:

Tickets are also available for 26 – 29 May, when The Cloud County Ground will host Kane Williamson’s world-beating New Zealand side.

The ICC World Test Champions will play a four-day game against a First-Class Counties Select XI in preparation for their Test Series against England, which starts the following week.

The Essex First Team landed in Abu Dhabi last night for two weeks of warm-weather training to prepare for the 2022 season.

Red and white-ball fixtures against Somerset have been pencilled in, as well as intra-squad fixtures and a variety of intense training programmes.

A light training session on Day One ended with a game of football, and you can view the best photos from the first day below.

Cricket lost two icons this week after the passing of Australians, Rod Marsh and Shane Warne.

Graham Gooch faced both players during his playing career and pays his tribute to his two friends in the game with some special memories.

It is a real tragedy for not only Australian cricket, but for cricket lovers all around the world.

I used to enjoy my time on the field with Rod. He sits alongside the likes of the Chappell brothers, Lillee and Thomson as the iconic players you remember from that era in the Australian team and will be missed by many.

Graham faced many battles with Shane Warne during his time with Essex and England and holds many fond memories of a special cricketer.

The passing of Shane has been another unbelievable shock. A truly remarkable player who was a great man on and off the field.

We didn’t know much about Shane when I captained England against him for the first time in 1993. There were very few analytical opportunities in those days and all we had seen was a little bit of footage on VHS of him bowling as he had only played a handful of games at that time.

My former Essex teammate and Australian captain at that time, Allan Border believed in him and of course, that first ball he sent down in Test cricket was the ‘ball of the century’ at Old Trafford. I was fortunate to be at the non-striker’s end that day and that moment will be remembered by cricket fans forever.

Shane was brilliant on the field and a very positive cricketer who always wanted to win every match. His outlook on the game was always looking to risk losing the game in favour of securing the win, which I admired as it was how I was brought up at Essex under the captaincy of Keith Fletcher.

He was the best spinner I ever played against as he was so consistent.

I categorise Shane in two ways. Firstly, you have the leg-spin bowler who was able to use a combination of sidespin and overspin, along with his renowned flipper before his shoulder issues later on in his career. He had all the skills and control to test the best batsman, and his way of applying the pressure through length and line was second to none.

The other side to him was the man. He created a legendary status for himself and became an icon for many cricket fans around the world.

As a batsman, you had to try and play the ball and not the legend when facing him, which was easy to say and less easy to do with Shane. He had that competitive character alongside the bowling skills, so it was a winning combination.

Above all else, through the 90s and 00s, he elevated spin bowling to the highest level, making it attractive again and inspiring a whole generation of spin bowlers.

We’re all shocked following the news and it’s hard to put into words what he meant to cricket and the way he entertained.

As a player, it’s important that you are able to entertain, make people happy and excite those watching cricket. Shane was certainly someone who did that in abundance.

My thoughts are with the family and friends of Rod and Shane at this sad time and cricket has lost two greats of the game.>

Everyone associated with Essex County Cricket Club and cricket across the globe are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Shane Warne.

Widely renowned as one of the greatest players to grace the game, Warne is the second-highest wicket-taker in Test history with 708 wickets in 145 matches.

Essex Cricket Chief Executive, John Stephenson worked alongside Shane Warne as the General Manager of the London Spirit in 2021 and paid tribute to a cricketing legend.

“I’m finding it difficult to comprehend the devastating news about Shane Warne. Warney was a cricket legend and a loyal and steadfast friend. I will miss him terribly.

”All this in the footsteps of the sad news of Rod Marsh. Rod was a true great as a cricketer and human being.

”My thoughts are with the families of both Shane and Rod at what is an incredibly difficult time for world cricket.”

John Stephenson & Shane Warne pictures alongside Ed Sheeran during The Hundred

Warne made his debut against Essex on April 19, 2000 when Hampshire, whom he played for between 2000 and 2007, visited Chelmsford in a B&H Cup South Group fixture.

Taking to the field alongside now Essex Cricket CEO, John Stephenson and against current Academy Director Barry Hyam, Warne went wicketless as Hampshire won by 5 wickets thanks to fifties from Adrian Aymes and Robin Smith.

When Essex visited Southampton three months later Warne’s immense talent shone through as he spun Hampshire to victory. He took 4/32 including the prize wicket of Nasser Hussain and earned himself the Player of the Match award.

Warne played a further eight games against Essex, appearing at Chelmsford for the final time in April 2007, nearly seven years to the day after the Essex faithful had their first glimpse of the greatest spin bowler of all time.

One man who needs no reminder of Warne’s abilities is Essex and England legend Graham Gooch, who he played against and faced during his stint as Head Coach of Essex in the early 2000s.

Gooch played in the game where Warne bowled the ‘ball of the century’ to remove Mike Gatting and famously remarked that Gatting “looked as though someone had just nicked his lunch”.

Warne’s impact in the game stretched far and wide. After retiring from International cricket at the end of the 2007 season he turned his hand to punditry where he struck up a partnership with former Essex and England captain Nasser Hussain as part of Sky Sport’s cricket coverage.

Warne went on to coach Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and London Spirit in the Hundred. At London Spirit he coached Dan Lawrence, as well former Eagles, Ravi Bopara and Mohammad Amir.

On Wednesday morning, the players were put through a rigorous multistage fitness test at Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre as preparations for the 2022 season ramp up.

The session, led by Head of Athlete Development Chris Clarke-Irons and Strength and Conditioning Coach Harry McQueen, put the players’ cardiovascular fitness and stamina to the test ahead of their pre-season tour in Abu Dhabi.

Chris Clarke-Irons said: “Sessions like this are really important to gauge where the players are ahead of the season.

“We do a huge amount of work keeping fitness levels high throughout winter, but now the focus is on getting them match-ready.

“We leave for Abu Dhabi on Friday, where the batters will be practising on grass wickets and the bowlers will get some crucial overs into their legs. By the time we’re back, the players will be ready for cricket on home soil.

“There are a few tired legs today, but the fitness of this squad is second to none and gruelling sessions like this ensure that we maintain those high standards.”

Essex County Cricket Club are delighted to confirm that Australian bowler, Mark Steketee, has joined the Club for the first six games of the 2022 LV= Insurance County Championship campaign.

The 28-year-old plays for Queensland in Australia and is the current leading wicket-taker in the 2021/22 Sheffield Shield, with 32 victims in six matches at an impressive average of just 17.93. His best figures in an innings this season stand at 7/44, whilst his best match figures are 10/92.

His performances haven’t gone unnoticed, with the Steketee named in the Australia Test squad for the upcoming tour of Pakistan, which begins in early March.

The seamer made his first-class debut for Queensland back in February 2015, and in his career to date, he’s made 52 first-class appearances, taking 185 wickets at an average of 25.80. His efforts with the ball have helped Queensland to two Sheffield Shield titles in the last four seasons.

On his move to Chelmsford, Steketee said: “I’m really pleased to be joining up with Essex for the first half of the LV= Insurance County Championship campaign.

“I’ve always wanted to get over to England to play some County cricket. A lot of my teammates in Australia have had the opportunity to play in the County Championship and all of them only have positive things to say.

“I’ve got big shoes to fill, as I know how much Sids [Peter Siddle] enjoyed playing here and the energy he brought to the team. Hopefully I’ll be able to match that and help Essex get off to a strong start in 2022.”

Head Coach, Anthony McGrath, commented: “I’m thrilled we’ve managed to secure Mark’s services for the first half of the LV= Insurance County Championship campaign, starting with the fixture against Kent on 07 April.

“He’s someone we identified quite a while ago and his numbers for Queensland this year are phenomenal.

“We were keen to bring in another seam bowler to complement our bowling attack and I’ve got no doubt he’ll be a great addition.”

Essex Cricket Chief Executive & Interim Chair, John Stephenson, added: “I’m delighted we’ve managed to get this deal over the line and add Mark to the squad for the first half of the upcoming campaign.

“It’s important that we add quality players to our team that enable us to challenge for the top honours, and we feel Mark will give us the extra flair and depth needed to push for the Championship title.”

Dan Lawrence laid down a marker to the England hierarchy ahead of the first Test with an impressive display in the warm-up match against a Cricket West Indies President’s XI.

The 24-year-old batted at number four in Antigua and displayed positive batting from the off alongside Alex Lees, after resuming Day Two’s play on 45 not out.

Lawrence brought up his half-century with a glorious 6 over the square leg boundary. He was eventually out for 83, which came off 121 balls after being caught at first slip.

The day’s play ended with the CWI President’s XI on 48-2 after England declared on 466-6, which also included an unbeaten 106* from Jonny Bairstow.

On the day that Southend-on-Sea was afforded City status, it is an opportunity to look back at first-class cricket staged at the two venues in the south of the county. For the purpose of this feature, the Chalkwell Park ground in Westcliff has not been included.

First-class cricket was first played at Southchurch Park in 1906 and regular cricket festivals, usually in July, continued to be staged there until 2004. Sadly increasing vandalism and difficulties with security forced Essex to look elsewhere in the locality and the following year, Garon Park took over hosting the county cricket festival.

The cricket week at Southchurch Park with its quaintly named Duck Pond End and two Pavilions was always eagerly awaited. A total of 130 first-class matches were staged there will Essex triumphant on 45 occasions.

The ground was barely half a mile from the seafront and the relaxed setting attracted many memorable performances and probably the most notable is a Tourist match against Australia in front of a 16,000 crowd!

The match took place in 1948, with the visitors scoring 721 runs, thanks to 187 from the great, Don Bradman. The next day, Essex were bowled out twice losing by an innings and 451 runs.

Don Bradman batting at Southchurch Park.

In 1924, England and Yorkshire opener Herbert Sutcliffe scored an unbeaten 255, which was the highest individual score at Southchurch Park and a record that was still standing when the venue ended its association with first-class cricket.

In 1930, the great Kent bowler, Tich Freeman had match figures of 16/94 including all 10 in an innings as his side crushed Essex by 244 runs.

Essex too were able to celebrate some wonderful individual performances by their own players. In 1933, fast bowler Ken Farnes took 7/21 as Surrey were dismissed in the second innings for 57 and capitulated to defeat by 345 runs.

Farnes was also the destroyer-in-chief when Yorkshire were beaten by an innings the following year, taking 11/131.

In 1936, Morris Nicholls scored 205 in a drawn affair with Hampshire that remained a ground record for a home player.

In 1958, England all-rounder Trevor Bailey, who lived in Westcliff, returned match figures of 12/75 against Derbyshire, which remained the best figures by an Essex player on the ground.

The county took revenge for the mauling by the Australians when they beat their opponents from Down Under by 6 wickets. Gordon Barker, who also played football for Southend United between 1954-59, and Keith Fletcher each posted centuries and spinner Paddy Phelan took 10 wickets in the match.

Southchurch Park was treated to their first one-day match at the venue in 1977. It proved to be a thriller with Essex beating Middlesex by one run.

Six years later, the Southend crowd were lauding a magnificent innings of 176 by Graham Gooch in a one-day clash with Glamorgan. It proved to be one of five centuries in 15 one-day matches at Southchurch for the Essex legend.

Controversially, in 1989 Essex were docked 25 points by the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) after beating Yorkshire, with the decision ultimately cost Essex the County Championship title.

Members and supporters will have their own host of Southchurch Park memories. They would surely include some wonderful exhibitions of batting by the afore-mentioned Gooch and Fletcher, together with Overseas gems, Mark Waugh and Stuart Law.

Bowlers too also provided fond reminiscences with the exploits headed by the irrepressible John Lever who combined a series of successes in the longer form of the game with a haul of 29 one-day wickets.

The last victory by Essex on the ground in four-day cricket came in 1999 when a score of 99 by Nasser Hussain underpinned a win over Middlesex.

A general view of Garon Park in 2010.

The switch to Garon Park, which was further inland and with its very large playing area, proved to be short-lived.

The new era started in early August 2005 with a win for Essex against Durham.

After Andy Flower had steadied the ship with an unbeaten 132, steering Essex to a two-wicket success.

In their first innings, a young 20-year-old opener named Alastair Cook scored 107 before adding another 44 in the second innings that took his tally for the season at that stage to 999 Championship runs.

The landmark next run soon followed as did a plethora of runs over the ensuing years for this outstanding batter who continues to grace Essex Cricket.