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Cast your vote for the DeVines Player of the Month for June. There are four contenders nominated for the award during a period that saw the team record four victories in the Vitality Blast.

Sam Cook has consistently impressed with the ball in this year’s Vitality Blast campaign. His 13 wickets make him the Eagles’ joint leading wicket taker alongside Simon Harmer, and his economy rate of 7.4 makes him the most economical. He played a starring role in the crunching victory against Surrey with career-best 20 over figures of 4/15.

Simon Harmer yet again features amongst the top performers of the month. His figures of 4/71 in the LV=Insurance County Championship tie against Nottinghamshire were ultimately in vain as first the weather and then the Nottinghamshire batsman kept him at bay. He has since taken 13 wickets at an average of 19.46 in the Vitality Blast campaign. However, Harmer’s most memorable moment has to be his dramatic 4 from the final ball of the Middlesex fixture clinching a much-needed victory for the Eagles.

Aron Nijjar has been an ever-present in the Vitality Blast team this season. He has bowled the most overs of any Eagles bowler, which speaks volumes for the trust Harmer has in him. He has a knack of taking crucial wickets with his wicket of Hashim Amla from the first ball of the Surrey game setting the tone for a brilliant team performance. His 7 wickets have come at an economy rate of just 7.42.

Michael Pepper has been the Club’s standout batsman of the 2021 Vitality Blast campaign. He has scored the most runs (206) of any Eagles batsman as well as boasting the highest average (29.42), all whilst scoring at a strike rate of 135.52. His performances have been recognised with two Woodland Group Player of the Match trophies and his 55 not out against Somerset was a match-winning knock.

Vote now:

Voting closes on Friday 16 July.

Simon Harmer took the honours in the DeVines Player of the Month for May, winning the majority of the fans votes. His 13 LV=Insurance County Championship wickets coming at a shade over 26 represented another astonishing month for the left-arm spinner.

The highlight was undoubtedly his career-best figures of 9/80 against Derbyshire in a match where we went on to take 12/202 and Essex claimed a crucial victory despite the weather trying its best to deny them.

DeVines, who have recently moved into their new offices in Chelmsford, are long time sponsors of our Player of the Month award. Click here to find out more about the chartered accountants.

Essex Eagles continue their endeavours in the Vitality Blast when they entertain Glamorgan on Thursday night at The Cloudfm County Ground.

The home side are seeking revenge for a 7 wicket defeat at the hands of Glamorgan earlier in the competition. The Eagles mustered 153-6 led by young guns Will Buttleman and Michael Pepper who contributed 36 and 29 respectively but in reply, the Welsh County cruised to victory with an over to spare. Nick Selman scored 65 and Marnus Labuchagne 59, with the duo combining for a partnership worth 110, taking their side to within 23 runs of winning before they were parted.

Glamorgan arrive at Chelmsford in good spirits after a Colin Ingram half-century helped beat Surrey by 1 run at The Kia Oval on Tuesday night.

The Eagles also come into the game in good heart having beaten Somerset by 6 wickets under the DLS method on the same night. A maiden T20 half-century from Michael Pepper supported by 49 from Adam Wheater took the hosts to victory after Somerset were dismissed for 153 with Simon Harmer spinning his way to 4/24 whilst paceman Jack Plom returned his career-best T20 figures of 3/31.

Squad:

Pepper’s View:

Michael Pepper currently heads the list of Eagles runs scorers with 206 runs from 9 innings, followed by Jimmy Neesham with 157 runs from 8 innings, Adam Wheater with 154 for 6 innings and Will Buttleman with 152 from 8 trips to the middle.

Pepper’s influential unbeaten innings of 55 on Tuesday night secured only the fourth home victory since the start of 2018 in the competition for Essex Eagles.

He said: “It’s a proud moment to get my first 50 and I’m really thrilled.

“It is special and it’s always much better when it’s for a winning cause.

“The win is up there with our best performances of the season especially after Somerset got off to a decent start. We pulled it back and were very good in the field again and saved a few runs out there.

“We know that we have got ourselves in a position where we have to win most or maybe all of our remaining games so that was a very important win.

“It’s also good that we’ve got another game on Thursday so that we can take the momentum from that win on Tuesday into that and hopefully add another win to keep our interest alive in the tournament.”

Together with Adam Wheater, 80 runs were added in under 8 overs for the third wicket, a defining contributory factor towards the win as the pair superbly paced the run-chase.

“We tried to run them ragged basically, we were always trying to turn ones into twos and generally keeping on top.

“So that was definitely our aim and we communicated well with each other and knew where our boundary options were.

“It’s good batting with Adam, we keep a clear mind and we’re able to run other teams hard and it’s quite relaxed.”

Injury/Absentees News:

The Eagles have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the fixture with Glamorgan.

Opposition:

Coach: Matthew Maynard
Captain: Chris Cooke
Last Year’s Performance: 5th (Central Group)
2020 Leading Runscorer: Andy Balbirnie (255 @ 36.42)
2020 Leading Wicket Taker: Timm van der Gugten (14 @ 14.92)
Overseas players: Colin Ingram (South Africa), Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) & Michael Neser (Australia)

Key man: Colin Ingram

In the last completed game between the two sides, at Cardiff in 2018, Colin Ingram blasted 89 to underpin a six run victory for his side. The hard-hitting batsman had scored a brilliant 114 at Chelmsford the previous year and to date, the South African has scored 426 runs in seven innings with his tally also including an unbeaten 101 at Chelmsford.

Flies under the radar: Timm van der Gugten

The Netherlands international has been Glamorgan’s leading wicket-taker in his past two Blast campaigns for the club.

Blast expectations:

Glamorgan have endured a tough time since reaching Finals Day four years ago, but there is reason for optimism as they aim to get back to the knockout stages. Glamorgan won three of their final four games last summer and their batting is boosted by the return of Colin Ingram. David Lloyd is back to full fitness, Marnus Labuschagne is set to be available for the entire group stage and young gun Kiran Carlson has shown signs he is ready to take the next steps in his career.

Head-to-Head:

Results in recent years between the two teams at Chelmsford are as follows:

23 May, 2014 – Essex won by 4 wickets
19 June, 2015 – Essex won by 16 runs
29 July, 2016 – No Result
16 July, 2017 – Glamorgan won by 5 wickets
13 July, 2018 – Glamorgan won by 2 wickets
16 Aug, 2019 – Match Abandoned

Amongst the memorable performances on the ground was the victory achieved by the visitors in 2018 when they capitulated to 110-8 in pursuit of a 168 target. But Chris Cooke and Timm van der Gugten added 61 in 26 balls to clinch an astonishing win by 2 wickets.

The previous year, Varun Chopra contributed an unbeaten 103 out of 219-4 before Colin Ingram responded with 114 before being run out, but Craig Meschede ensured the South African’s efforts were not in vain when he struck the last ball of the match high over the backward point boundary to seal a dramatic 5 wicket victory. Ingram had also compiled a 56-ball century the previous year only for the match to be abandoned because of rain.

In July 2011, Tim Southee turned in a memorable and devastating performance for Essex Eagles when he recorded the best individual figures in Eagles history with the ball. The New Zealand international took 6/16 that included a hat-trick before Owais Shah posted 60 as the home side secured a win by 5 wickets.

The Eagles have locked horns with Glamorgan on 15 occasions and hold bragging rights with 8 victories and 5 defeats, whilst 2 matches have ended as with no result.

How To Watch:

There will be a Live Stream service from The Cloudfm County Ground, which will be broadcasting ahead of play from 6:30pm via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.

Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.

The Cloudfm County Ground is set to host Essex Eagles v Glamorgan on Friday evening for the next Vitality Blast match. The Eagles will begin the clash against our Welsh counterparts at 7pm and the ground continues to operate under COVID-19 protocols which are outlined below.

We are looking forward to welcoming supporters once again to Chelmsford although we advise keeping up to date across our social media channels and prospect of play phone line (01245 254049) should there be wet weather forecast during the build-up to the match.

We want to make sure supporters are all set ahead of visiting and we advise following the information below carefully.

If you have any COVID-19 related symptoms then please do not travel to the ground and follow the Government guidelines.

View our checklist to make sure you have everything ready:

• Your ticket is a QR code that has been sent to you via email. If you choose to print it out please ensure that the match details (including name and seat details) are included as per the image below. Make sure you have your match ticket available on your phone or printed out so it is easily accessible for ticket scanning on arrival. Please do not take a ‘screen grab’ of your QR code as that will not be read by the scanners.

• Pack adequate clothing and sun protection if required so you are prepared for all eventualities.

• Most seated areas are uncovered so we advise bringing a compact foldable umbrella should rain be forecast for the day. Should it rain on the day of the game, we advise not attending and keeping up to date with the prospect of play via the Club’s social media channels.

• Read and understand the COVID-19 Spectator Code of Conduct – view here.

• Spectators can bring food and drink with them however there is strictly no glass or sharp objects permitted. Please note that we are currently unable to offer hot food options at our refreshment kiosks.

• The importation of alcohol is prohibited for Vitality Blast matches.

• Locate a public car park in the proximity of the ground as there is no parking available on-site at The Cloudfm County Ground. Meteor Way will be open for this match from 4:30pm and free of charge for Members on a first-come, first-served basis.

The seating zones for this fixture are located in the River End (Areas 1-18) and Hayes Close End (Areas 24-31).

Please arrive as per the block details displayed on your ticket and view your designated entry/exit times below.

The designated ground entry times are:

• Entry is only via the designated gate stated.

• Face masks must be worn on entry and arrival into the ground.

• Before you can enter the ground you will be greeted by an initial ticket check, followed by the mandatory bag check. Please do not bring large bags as these will hold up others in the queue.

• Please follow the directional signage and guidance on your way into the ground as you make your way down to the entry gate.

• Please have your match ticket ready and you will be required to scan the QR code to enter.

We want to make your experience as safe and enjoyable as possible with the guidelines and protocols currently in place.

• Face masks must be worn when moving around the ground and can be removed once positioned in your allocated seat.

• Your ticket includes a block, row, and seat number. This is your sole designated seat for the day and you are not able to change seat unless authorised by a Steward or member of staff.

• Snack and drink bars are open to spectators and alcohol will be on sale.

• The Cloudfm County Ground is cashless this season and purchases can only be made using a debit/credit card.

• Please remain seated throughout the game and during breaks unless visiting the food/drink areas or using the toilet facilities. You will not be permitted to walk to other areas of the ground during your visit.

• Please refrain from moving in and out of your seat during overs.

• The Club Store and Membership & Ticketing Office will be closed for the duration of your visit, however, you can make an order online at www.essexcricketshop.co.uk or contact [email protected].

At the conclusion of the day’s play, spectators will be required to exit the ground as below and stewards will be on hand to direct you safely out of the ground;

You can find other important information regarding visiting The Cloudfm County Ground under Stage Three guidelines via the Club’s COVID-19 Code of Conduct.

We hope you have an enjoyable return to The Cloudfm County Ground and further information regarding the match, including squad announcements and a full match preview will be sent to Members before the match by email.

Get in touch with us by email if you have any further questions at [email protected] or via the Club’s official Twitter and Facebook channels.

Essex Eagles welcome Somerset to The Cloudfm County Ground on Tuesday as they continue their Vitality Blast campaign.

The Eagles have the opportunity of completing their first double of the season having beaten Somerset in their opening fixture.

On that occasion, the West Country outfit posted 185-7 with James Hildreth and Ben Green leading the scoring with 49 and 43 not out respectively. But it was the bowling of Sam Cook that was particularly impressive with the paceman returning figures of 3/14 from his 4 overs.

The visitors lost their openers with just 15 runs on the board but overseas all-rounder Jimmy Neesham supported by Paul Walter led the recovery. Kiwi Neesham posted 53 and Walter 45 whist Ryan ten Doeschate contributed 26 as the Eagles eased home with 3 wickets and 7 balls to spare.

Squad:

Harmers’s View:

Rain and the close proximity of lightning brought Friday’s match with Kent Spitfires at Chelmsford to an early conclusion with the visitors winning by 28 runs under the DLS method. The Spitfires posted 167-9 and with the weather already threatening to curtail the match, the Eagles made a tame response as they lost 4 wickets for 34 in 5 overs when further play was aborted.

Eagles captain Simon Harmer was not happy with the officials’ decision, saying: “I think it was a bit disappointing the way the game ended.

“I’ve just spoken to the match referee to air my grievances but it is part of cricket. There are always going to be a party which is happy and a party which is unhappy and we got ourselves into a situation where we almost lost the right to have an opinion because we were so far away from the game and therefore any opinion against the grain could be seen as sour grapes.

“We just have to take it on the chin and move on.

“We had an amazing opportunity there where we only needed 32 off the powerplay if we didn’t lose any wickets, so in hindsight, it is very disappointing after I thought we did extremely well to get ourselves back into the game given the way the Spitfires openers started.

“But it wasn’t to be our night, we didn’t play very smart cricket and it’s hurt us.”

Injury/Absentees News:

The Eagles have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the fixture with Somerset.

Opposition:

Coach: Jason Kerr
Captain: Lewis Gregory
Last Year’s Performance: 4th (Central Group)
2020 Leading Runscorer: Tom Abell (227 @ 32.42)
2020 Leading Wicket Taker: Ollie Sale (13 @ 23.15)

Overseas players: Marchant de Lange (South Africa – whole tournament), Devon Conway (New Zealand – nine Group Stage games)

Key man: Lewis Gregory – Somerset’s T20 skipper is capable of blasting quick runs at the end of an innings and taking key wickets, both as an opening bowler and at the death.

Flies under the radar: Max Waller – Having developed into a specialist T20 bowler, the economical leg-spinner often opens the attack and can pin batsmen down with his variety of delivery and subtle changes of pace.

Young Gun: Tom Banton – The 22-year-old batsman’s vast array of punishing shots have already earned him nine T20 appearances for England and six one-day international appearances. Banton can also keep wicket as an alternative to Steve Davies.

Blast expectations: Director of cricket Andy Hurry and Head Coach Jason Kerr make no secret of expecting to win every competition their team enter. This season’s Blast is no exception. But Somerset have won only ten of 24 group matches over the past two seasons, failing to reach Finals Day since 2018, and will need a much greater degree of consistency to stand any chance of lifting the trophy.

Only Tom Abell and Babar Azam scored more than 200 runs in last season’s group stage and Somerset will be looking to some of their young guns in Tom Banton, Tom Lammonby, Lewis Goldsworthy and Will Smeed. Skipper Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton will be their pick of the bowlers, aided by Max Waller, while Roelof van der Merwe’s all-round skills, including those in the field, will again be important to their plans.

Head-to-Head:

On the previous occasion that the teams clashed in the competition at Chelmsford n 2019, The Eagles suffered a crushing 114 run defeat.

Pakistan star Babar Azam struck 56 supported by 40’s from Tom Abell and Ed Byrom as the visitors scored a challenging 225-6 assisted by 69 runs from the final 4 over of the innings.

The Eagles made steady progress initially losing their third wicket with 75 on the board in the 8th over but then they collapsed losing 7 wickets in 30 balls for just 36 runs.

Spinner Roelof van der Merwe returned 5/32 from 3 overs whilst Dan Lawrence proved the top-scorer for the home side with 24 who were dismissed in only 12.5 overs.

Of the 12 matches thus far between the two teams in the competition, the Eagles have won 5 matches and lost 7.

How To Watch:

There will be a Live Stream service from The Cloudfm County Ground, which will be broadcasting ahead of play from 6:30pm via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.

Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.

Essex Eagles v Kent Spitfires

Vitality Blast

The Cloudfm County Ground

Team News:

Essex Eagles: Will Buttleman, Adam Wheater (wk), Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper, Jimmy Neesham, Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (c), Aron Nijjar, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Kent Spitfires: Daniel Bell-Drummond (c), Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Jack Leaning, Jordan Cox (wk), Alex Blake, Darren Stevens, Grant Stewart, Qais Ahmad, Matt Milnes, Fred Klaassen.

Match Details:

Umpires: Robert Bailey & Robert White
Toss: Essex Eagles who elected to field
Result: Kent Spitfires win by 28 runs (DLS Method)

Match Highlights:

Match Report:

Daniel Bell-Drummond hammered 50 off 29 balls as Kent Spitfires beat Essex Eagles by 28 runs on DLS – after lightning and then rain brought an early end to the Vitality Blast match.

Bell-Drummond clubbed his third fifty of the competition during an 89-run stand for the first wicket with Zak Crawley.

The Spitfires endured two collapses to slump to 167 for nine as Simon Harmer claimed four for 26, including his 50th Blast wicket for Essex, and Dan Lawrence a county T20 record of four catches in the innings.

But 31 for four, including two scalps for Matt Milnes, in five overs meant the Eagles were short of the DLS target of 59 – handing Kent their sixth victory of the campaign.

Bell-Drummond and Crawley got the Spitfires off to a flier having been stuck in by Harmer on a used hybrid track.

Crawley received two lives, dropped on one and 14, as Bell-Drummond slapped Jamie Porter for two sixes – the visitors pummelling 82 off the Powerplay.

But after two miserly overs, Kent collapsed in sensational style with five wickets lost for 22 runs in 25 balls, as spin took over.

Nijjar, who eventually took one for 13 in an ungenerous spell, celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic ‘Sii’ leap after bowling Crawley for 43, before Joe Denly was caught by Lawrence at deep midwicket trying to replicate the six he had struck the previous ball and Jack Leaning was stumped off Harmer.

Lawrence turned snarer when Bell Drummond – who had reached a 28 ball half-century – spliced to a sprawling Harmer and Alex Blake was caught behind.

Newly contracted Darren Stevens and Jordan Cox resuscitated the innings with a 44-run stand, with Stevens clubbing a pair of sixes, but another wicket furry ended the innings – this time four wickets falling in 16 balls.

Stevens, Cox and Qais Ahmed were all caught by Lawrence and Matt Milnes was bowled by Jimmy Neesham with the last ball.

Unlike the Spitfires, the Eagles did not pump runs early on.

Will Buttleman was beaten by Milnes’ pace and bounce to be caught behind and Adam Wheater was leg-before attempting to sweep Joe Denly.

Michael Pepper chipped a Milnes slower ball to mid-off and former Spitfire Jimmy Neesham edged Fred Klaassen thickly to gully.

With lightning striking behind the Hayes Close End and then rain the game was called off after the fifth over – the minimum needed to create a result.

Essex Women’s Skipper, Kelly Castle has been announced as the Sunrisers T20 Captain for the upcoming Charlotte Edwards Cup campaign.

Kelly, who has captained Essex since 2018, brings a wealth of leadership experience to the role. Her passion for the game, and for developing others, has also seen her achieve her Level 3 coaching qualification and work with young county age-group cricketers.

Kelly is also currently completing her Masters in Sport and Exercise Science, with a focus on parent influences in female youth cricket.

As one of Sunrisers five full-time professional cricketers Kelly has made her mark on the field this season, in the 50 over format. Taking 3 for 40 in the opening game of the season against South East Stars, registering her maiden half-century with 52 against Lightning and taking 2 wickets in an MVP performance.

Commenting on the captaincy, Kelly shared her excitement for the coming competition:

“I’m really excited to be given the opportunity to captain this team in a new format. I’m looking forward to the challenge and for the team to showcase their skills in a completely new competition.”

Head Coach Trevor Griffin explained the thinking behind a change in captaincy and the influence that Kelly can have on the side:

“At the start of a brand new competition, I’m delighted to announce Kelly as Sunrisers’ T20 captain for the 2021 campaign. Kelly is a dedicated, passionate player who has a great connection with everyone in the squad and as Captain, she now has a great opportunity to lead from the front and inspire confidence to help the team perform at their best.

She has grown hugely as a person and a player in the past twelve months and I’m really looking forward to helping her develop her leadership skills and all that the role encompasses.”

Sunrisers start their T20, Charlotte Edwards Cup, campaign on Saturday 26 June with a trip to Western Storm, played at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. You can watch all the action online from 2:30pm via the Sunrisers YouTube channel.

Kelly’s first home match as captain takes place on Friday 2 July with Northern Diamonds visiting her home ground, The Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford, for a floodlit encounter. Play begins at 6:30pm and tickets are available now via the following link, priced at £10 Adults and £5 Juniors & Teens.

The Graham Gooch Scholarship, part of the Essex Cricket Foundation, has donated £3,300 to the Professional Cricketers’ Trust in order to fund a motorised scooter and stairlift for former Kent and England man Alan ‘Iggy’ Igglesden.

The generous donation was funded by the Chelmsford-based Graham Gooch Scholarship which was founded by legendary former England captain Gooch, who was both a teammate and adversary of Igglesden during his playing career.

Rivalries have been set aside ahead of the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ in the Vitality Blast on Friday evening, as charity from Essex has shown its support for a character who is loved and respected across the game in Iggy.

Iggy and wife Liz revealed their family’s heartbreaking yet inspirational story to the Professional Cricketers’ Trust at the beginning of May, which led to an outpouring of support from the entire cricket family.

Iggy, whose 305 professional appearances between 1986-98 included seven for his country, has lived with an inoperable brain tumour for over 22 years, and his health problems were compounded when he suffered two major strokes in 2018 and 2020.

The 56-year-old is therefore reliant on a scooter and chairlift to enable movement both within and outside of his home in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

The £3,300 donation from the Graham Gooch Scholarship adds to the over £20,000 raised from the #5ferIggy campaign, which was a part of the national 5k May challenge.

The money raised will go towards the Professional Cricketers’ Trust, which supports PCA members and their immediate families when they have fallen on hard times, just like Iggy.

Graham Gooch commented: “The Graham Gooch Scholarship and Essex Cricket Foundation are pleased to be able to donate to help out Alan Igglesden, a great servant of Kent and England cricket.

“Essex v Kent is always a big rivalry in cricket, and I had many great tussles with Alan, but in his hour of need, we are really happy to be of some small assistance to him.”

Liz Igglesden, said: “We are so overwhelmed by the help, donations and messages. Iggy’s life is now literally powered by the love and loyalty of the cricket family. The donation from the Graham Gooch Scholarship is so generous, we are lost for words. We raised a glass to him on Father’s Day when Iggy had an outing on the scooter. I can’t begin to explain the power of these two simple machines on our lives; all three of us.”

Professional Cricketers’ Trust President, David Graveney, said: “Iggy’s story touched hearts across the cricket family, so a huge thanks to all of those who have donated, including the Graham Gooch Scholarship and Essex Cricket Foundation whose significant contribution has made a big difference.

“Fundraising for the Professional Cricketers’ Trust has been challenging in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the money raised is much-needed for what is a small charity.”

Essex Eagles have the opportunity of avenging a recent comprehensive defeat by Kent Spitfires when the two teams clash in the next chapter in the Battle of the Bridge.

In the Vitality Blast fixture at Canterbury last Sunday, the Spitfires took the honours with a 67 run victory, the winning margin underlining their all-round superiority on the day. Now back under the lights at The Cloudfm County Ground, the Eagles will be on a mission to turn the tables on their old adversaries.

Since that meeting at the St.Lawrence Ground six days ago, the Eagles have beaten both Surrey and Middlesex to move into fifth place in the South Group with 7 points from their 8 matches so far in the competition.

The Spitfires meanwhile boast 10 points from 7 matches and sit in second place in the group on run-rate behind Gloucestershire who have played a game more.

Squad:

Lawrences’s View:

When Dan Lawrence posted 59 against Middlesex on Thursday having combined with Jimmy Neesham in a partnership worth 57, the Eagles were on the cusp of victory requiring a further 14 runs with 7 wickets and 12 balls remaining.

But then 5 wickets went down in 10 balls for 9 runs including those of Lawrence and Neesham before skipper Simon Harmer struck a boundary off the final delivery to see the Eagles across the line.

Lawrence said: “It was a pretty nerve-wracking final over, I guess it wouldn’t be an Essex game if it didn’t go down to the final over.

“Harmy (Simon Harmer) writes his own scripts. I always have a weird feeling that when he’s in the game, something seems to happen. It was obviously a little bit fortuitous, but we’ll certainly take it and it’s a couple of more points in the bag.

“I think their score was about par and our bowlers bowled better than their figures suggested. There was a very short boundary, so we were comfortable chasing 180-200.

“But things can happen very quickly in T20 and the game can get away from you in a few balls. I was gutted not to take us over the line because that was the aim but it was still nice to contribute to a match-winning total.

“Kent will be a tough challenge, we’ve got a bit of a score to settle with them because they beat us quite comfortably in the last game. It’s really important that we get on a roll and knowing Essex and the way we work, we know that once we get on a run and start winning games. we can become very tough to beat.”

Injury/Absentees News:

The Eagles have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the fixture with Kent Spitfires.

Opposition:

Coach: Matt Walker
Captain: Daniel Bell-Drummond
Last Year’s Performance: Quarter-finalists
2020 Leading Runscorer: Daniel Bell-Drummond (423 @ 42.3)
2020 Leading Wicket Taker: Fred Klaassen (13 @ 28.76)
Overseas players: Qais Ahmed

Key Man: Fred Klaassen

English-born Dutch international Fred Klaassen has been amongst the wickets this year in T20 cricket. The left arm medium-fast bowler has 9 victims thus far @ 16.55 and an economy rate of 7.84.

Flies under the radar: Jack Leaning

The third-highest scorer last time out, he took 4/16 in a second XI warm-up against the Eagles and after a tough start seems to be improving with every week.

Blast Expectations:

The switch to the white-ball will come as a relief for a side bottom of their LV= Insurance County Championship group, despite Walker’s pre-season statement that this was the most excited he’d been about a group of players for a long time.

The 45-year-old Darren Stevens hasn’t played T20 for two years, but brings the kind of experience that might just see the Spitfires over the line, having hit the winning runs when Kent Spitfires won the tournament in 2007 – the last time they lifted the trophy.

Head-to-Head:

The teams met at The Oval in this fixture last year, despite the match being billed as a home match for the Eagles.

The match was covered by Sky Sports as part of a double-header initiative but the change of home venue proved not to the Eagles liking as they were beaten by 29 runs.

Daniel Bell-Drummond made 81 whilst Adam Blake contributed an unbeaten 52 as the Spitfires posted 192-6 which proved too demanding for their opponents.

Openers Varun Chopra and Cameron Delport launched the reply with a partnership of 41 in 4 overs before being parted. Chopra made 41 and Delport 28 but the middle-order apart from Ryan ten Doeschate was squeezed by the Kent bowlers.

Tendo hit 42 from 24 balls and figured in a stand of 39 with Adam Wheater but the Spitfires attack retained their discipline to see their side to a comfortable victory.

The last meeting of the teams in the competition at Chelmsford provided a success for the Eagles who ended their 20 overs on 189-6 thanks to 64 by Cameron Delport and 47 by Ravi Bopara.

The visitors were dismissed for 179, with the last wicket falling to the final delivery of their 20 overs allocation.

Zak Crawley struck 89 and Jamie Porter was the pick of the Eagles bowlers with 3/28, supported by Mohammad Amir, Adam Zampa and Bopara who shared 6 wickets.

In 35 matches so far in the competition, the Eagles have won 15 matches, Kent Spitfires 19 and there has been 1 no result.

How To Watch:

There will be a Live Stream service from The Cloudfm County Ground, which will be broadcasting ahead of play from 6:30pm via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.

Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.

Middlesex v Essex Eagles

Vitality Blast

Lord’s

Team News:

Middlesex: Stevie Eskinazi, Joe Cracknell, Nick Gubbins, Daryl Mitchell, John Simpson (wk), Luke Hollman, Chris Green, Nathan Sowter, Tom Helm, Blake Cullen, Steven Finn (c).

Essex Eagles: Will Buttleman, Adam Wheater (wk), Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper, Jimmy Neesham, Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (c), Aron Nijjar, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Match Details:

Umpires: Ian Gould & Paul Baldwin.
Toss: Essex Eagles who elected to field.
Result: Essex Eagles won by 2 wickets

Match Highlights:

Match Reaction: Dan Lawrence

Match Report:

Simon Harmer saw Essex Eagles to victory by 2 wickets in a dramatic conclusion to the Vitality Blast match with Middlesex at Lord’s.

Chasing a Middlesex score of 183-2, The Eagles appeared on course for a comfortable win after Dan Lawrence featured in half-century partnerships with Michael Pepper and Jimmy Neesham.

But when Lawrence’s fine innings of 59 ended when he was caught in the deep off Tom Helm, the innings went into rapid decline.

Lawrence and Pepper had combined for a stand of 67 for the third wicket before Pepper departed for 43 made from 32 balls and then Lawrence and Neesham took the total onto 170 with a 57 runs liaison but the dismissal of Lawrence, who had faced 37 balls and struck 4 boundaries including 2 sixes saw the wheels start to come off.

Five wickets fell in 10 balls for 9 runs.

Nesham followed Lawrence back to the dug-out in the same Helm over but the next over, sent down by Daryl Mitchell was even more dramatic. He took 3 wickets in 4 balls as Paul Walter (1), Ryan ten Doeschate (0) and Aron Nijjar (4) perished to leave the Eagles 179-8 with 2 balls of the match remaining and 5 runs wanted.

Sam Cook collected a single leaving Harmer to face his first ball and the last of the game. Harmer, no stranger to tense situations (remember the 2019 T20 Final), carved the ball down to the vacant third man boundary to see the Eagles home.

The Eagles made one enforced change from the side that beat Surrey on Monday night with Jamie Porter replacing Shane Snater who was suffering with a back spasm.

Put into bat in front of a 6,500 crowd, the Middlesex innings was dominated by opener Steve Eskinazi who carried his bat for a maiden T20 century. It was a chanceless knock containing 2 sixes and 11 fours from the 61 balls he faced as he ended on 102 not out.

He and fellow opening batsman Joe Cracknell got the innings off to a fine start putting on 80 in 8.5 overs and exploiting the short boundary on the Tavern side before Cracknell, on 29, missed an attempted sweep to Nijjar and departed leg before wicket.

New Zealand international Mitchell joined Eskinazi but initially, they struggled to impose themselves on the Eagles attack who at one stage, sent down 30 successive deliveries without conceding a boundary before Mitchell ended the sequence in the middle of the 14th over.

They gradually upped the tempo but stand was worth 64 in 7 overs with Mitchell having contributed 29 before Neesham had his fellow Kiwi caught in the deep by Pepper.

Eskinazi though was closing in on his century and it duly arrived in the final over of the home side’s innings when he collected a couple of runs with a lofted shot behind square on the leg side.

But it was all in vain as Harmer was to have the last word and earn the Eagles their second win in four days.

It was 13 years ago this week when Graham Naper re-wrote the record books.

When 5,500 fans packed into the Chelmsford ground on a balmy evening on June 24th, 2008 to watch Essex meet Sussex in the Twenty20 Cup, they could not have imagined that they would be about to witness a spectacular world-breaking salvo of sixes from the bat of Graham Napier.

It was a life-changing innings for a game-changer. As the popular Essex Eagles all-rounder strode to the crease, neither would he have any idea of what was about to occur.

“It was the launch pad of my career at a time when I didn’t really know where my cricket was going,” he readily admitted. “It set me on track to where I wanted to be.”

Batting at number 3, he scored 152 not out from just 58 balls during which he set new world record figures by launching 16 sixes, many like Exocet missiles, whilst his innings was the highest-ever score in domestic T20 cricket. It was also the most runs (136) scored in boundaries in an individual T20 innings.

“I remember that I started off a bit scratchy, I got off the mark with a couple of runs and then I saw an early opportunity to chance my arm and the ball went out of the ground for six,” he recalled. “At that point, I remember thinking, ‘Let’s go for it.’

“There were a couple of overs when the bowlers lost it a bit and I was just seeing how far I could hit the ball,” he continued. “When you are batting at the Hayes Close End, you’ve always got the river to aim for! It was brutal innings and you make the best of those times.”

His century arrived from 44 balls and 15 balls later, he was celebrating his hundred. The next 50 runs came at even greater pace with just 13 more deliveries required to reach his to 150, achieved with the 16th six of his spectacular innings that also included 10 fours.

His assault allowed the Eagles to reach 252 for 3 at the close of their innings before dismissing the Sharks for 114.

And Napier’s blitzkrieg innings brought the offer of an IPL (Indian Premier League) contract with Mumbai Indians. It was a commitment that was to change his life.
The 152 opened the door for me,” he acknowledged. “It got me into world headlines and led to opportunities to play in the IPL and other places.
He fondly recalls two of the particular maximum blows of that mind-blowing assault.

“My third six, a straight drive off Dwayne Smith was my favourite shot of the innings,” he said. “I was beginning to get my eye in and with a fine leg up and deep square-leg in front of square, I knew he couldn’t bowl too short. I aimed straight and the ball soared over the ropes. This six took the least effort but it was the best-timed.

“Then the final six, a pull shot off James Kirtley to reach my 150. At this point, I felt I had climbed Everest; I was on top of the world.”

The compelling cricketer, who made his senior debut for Essex in 1997, was an effective and fine exponent of the game across all three formats. He played 172 first-class matches for Essex and accumulated 5,225 runs and took 468 wickets. His 219 List A appearances for the county brought 251 wickets and almost 2,400 runs whilst 109 T20 matches produced 123 wickets and 995 runs but at the end of the 2016 season, the Colchester-born player took the decision to retire.

“I wanted to go out when I was still turning in acceptable performances,” he insisted.

Now his time is spent as a cricket coach at RHS School in Ipswich but he hopes that his master classes for Essex on the cricket field will be fondly appreciated by all who saw him play.

“I’d like people to remember me as someone that played with a smile, enjoyed the game, and entertained,” he concluded.
He certainly did that!