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The Essex Eagles are now unable to qualify for the knockout stages of this season’s Vitality Blast, following the defeat on Friday.

The Eagles lost by 4 wickets to the Kent Spitfires at Canterbury to leave them with just pride to play for when they meet Sussex Sharks at The Cloudfm County Ground on Sunday, with the match starting at 1pm.

When the teams clashed less than a week ago at Hove, the Eagles won by 12 runs in a match when Dan Lawrence took the plaudits.

He scored 81 from 44 balls that included 6 sixes and 6 other boundaries in the Eagles score of 197-5, before claiming the top two Sharks scorers, Aaron Thomason and Delray Rawlins at a personal cost of 3 runs in his only over. The home side ended on 185-8 from their 20 overs with Sam Cook taking 2 wickets in 3 balls towards the close of the innings.

McGrath’s View

Reflecting on the Eagles T20 campaign, Head Coach Anthony McGrath said: “Overall, we lacked the consistency you need in this format. At times there were some good batting performances, at times some good bowling performances, but we didn’t manage to combine the two in the same match.

“After last year’s success in the competition, we are naturally bitterly disappointed because we feel that we are a better side than the group table shows.

“It was only in the second half of the group matches that any of our batsmen managed to score a half-century, so that made things difficult.

“There were a couple of plus points we can take, some of the younger players came in and did well for us, players like Aron Nijjar, Jack Plom and Michael Pepper and they showed they can be a key part of our squad moving forward.

“Now we face Sussex Sharks who we beat recently so it would be nice to complete the double over them before we turn our attention back to red-ball cricket and the Bob Willis Trophy Final.”

Squad News

The Eagles will select their starting XI from a 14-man squad that includes Feroze Khushi, Ben Allison, and Will Buttleman, as well as 19-year-old Josh Rymell and 18-year-old Robin Das.

The Opposition

The match will see the return of Ravi Bopara to the Club that he served so well since making his debut back in 2002, until leaving at the end of last season.

During his time at Chelmsford, he scored 19,620 runs and took 503 wickets across all formats. He also made 13 Test appearances for England, plus 120 ODI appearances and also played in 38 T20I matches.

Sussex also include anther one-time Essex player, Tymal Mills, in their party although the bowler missed Friday’s win against Middlesex with a sore back.

Sussex all-rounder George Garton turned in a stunning display to help the Sharks overcome Middlesex last Friday and keep their hopes of a place in the last eight of the competition alive.

He took 4 wickets and then struck 24 from 9 balls to see his side to victory.

Garton said: “When I came in to bat it was a sticky situation so I tried to take the pressure off and have some fun. We knew we only needed one good over and fortunately, I had a swing and it came off.

“It was nice to get some wickets as well. I know what my role in the side is now, which is to try and bowl aggressively in the powerplay and today it paid off.

“We probably need to get something against Essex on Sunday to finish second but we won’t worry about the permutations. We will just go out there and back ourselves to win the game.”

Sussex Sharks Squad

Salt (WK), Wright (C), Rawlins, Wiese, Bopara, MacLeod, Thomason, Garton, Robinson, Briggs, Claydon, Brown, Carson, Meaker, Mills.

Record between the two sides

The sides have met 27 times in T20 fixtures, of which Sussex Sharks have won 14 contests and the Eagles 13.

Essex Academy players, Robin Das and Eshun Kalley have been picked for the England Young Lions squad of players.

A number of potential England Young Lions players have arrived in Loughborough to take part in the first of two Best v Best matchdays.

Twenty-six players have been split into two squads – North and South – to compete in a three-day red-ball match.

The same number of players will return to Loughborough on the weekend of September 26/27 for two white-ball fixtures.

Off the back of a summer in which several First-Class County coaches have played a huge role in assisting the preparation of senior England Men’s players, that theme is continued with eight Academy Directors involved.

Richard Damms (Yorkshire), John Windows (Durham), Ali Maiden (Leicestershire) and Daryn Smit (Derbyshire) will assist with the North; Gareth Townsend (Surrey) and Charlie Freeston (Hampshire), Steve Snell (Somerset) and Rich Halsall (Sussex) will support the South.

In total 19 players have been selected for both sets of matches – with two sets of seven players respectively picked for either the red-ball or the white-ball.

Three-day red-ball match. Friday September 18-Sunday September 20

Rehan Ahmed Leicestershire
Jamie Atkins Sussex
Sonny Baker Somerset/Devon
Finlay Bean Yorkshire
George Bell Lancashire
Ed Booth Yorkshire
Jonathan Bushnell Durham
James Coles Sussex/Oxfordshire
Henry Crocombe Sussex
James Cronie Northamptonshire
Blake Cullen Middlesex
Robin Das Essex
Josh De Caires Middlesex
Luke Doneath Durham
Harry Duke Yorkshire
JJ Fielding Lancashire
Brodie Glendenning Durham
Alex Horton Glamorgan
Sean Hunt Surrey
Ned Leonard Somerset
Fletcha Middleton Hampshire
Nick Potts Derbyshire
Tom Prest Hampshire
Harry Sullivan Yorkshire

Two white-ball matches. Saturday September 26 & Sunday September 27

Rehan Ahmed Leicestershire
Sonny Baker Somerset/Devon
Amrit Basra Northamptonshire
George Bell Lancashire
Jacob Bethell Warwickshire
Ed Booth Yorkshire
Jonathan Bushnell Durham
James Coles Sussex/Oxfordshire
Henry Crocombe Sussex
James Cronie Northamptonshire
Blake Cullen Middlesex
Robin Das Essex
Josh De Caires Middlesex
Luke Doneathy Durham
Harry Duke Yorkshire
JJ Fielding Lancashire
Freddie Heldreich Northamptonshire
Alex Horton Glamorgan
Eshun Kalley Essex
Ned Leonard Somerset
Fletcha Middleton Hampshire
Will Naish Gloucestershire
Nick Potts Derbyshire
Tom Prest Hampshire
Matt Revis Yorkshire
Sam Wisniewski Yorkshire

Kent Spitfires v Essex Eagles

Vitality Blast (South Group)

The Spitfire Ground, Friday 18 September

Team News:

Kent Spitfires: Zak Crawley, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Joe Denly, Heino Kuhn, Sam Billings (c & wk), Alex Blake, Jack Leaning, Grant Stewart, Matt Milnes, Imran Qayyum, Fred Klaassen.

Essex Eagles: Cameron Delport, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper (wk), Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (c), Matt Quinn, Jack Plom, Aron Nijjar, Sam Cook.

Match Details:

Umpires: Martin Saggers & Nigel Llong
Match Referee: Steve Davis
Toss: Essex Eagles who elected to bat
Result: Kent Spitfire win by 4 wickets

Match Report:

Title-holders Essex Eagles are out of the Vitality Blast competition after Kent Spitfires won the clash at Canterbury by 4 wickets with two balls to spare after the Eagles had set their opponents a target of 168.

The match was in the balance when the home side reached 137 for 5 with three overs remaining but Jack Leaning grabbed the initiative, moving to a 30-ball half century to guide the Spitfires over the line.

But it was Grant Stewart that concluded the match in style when sending a full toss from up and coming fast bowler Jack Plom over the ropes to ensure Kent’s place in the quarter-finals.

Plom had earlier claimed three wickets including internationals Zak Crawley and Sam Billings and also that of the prolific Daniel Bell-Drummond to add to his impressive list of victims that started with Hampshire’s James Vince 48 hours earlier. However, Plom would end on the losing side and was to taste the disappointment of conceding the 9 runs that Kent still required when the last over began.

The Eagles, having won the toss and playing the same eleven that beat Hampshire, were indebted to Ryan ten Doeschate who oversaw the addition of 92 runs whilst he was at the crease.

The 40 year-old, yet again, was forced to hold the innings together as others around him perished cheaply. He posted his highest Vitality Blast score of the season but despite a promising start, the Eagles innings faltered and the visitors missed the opportunity of setting a demanding target.

In one productive sequence spanning 13 balls before the end of the third over, Tom Westley hammered six boundaries and Cameron Delport one as the score raced to 35 and Westley continued the onslaught when he cleared the ropes against Stewart to raise a half-century opening partnership stand from just 29 balls, but Westley departed to the next delivery when he picked out Crawley and the innings lost momentum.

Dan Lawrence and Michael Pepper went in the next two overs and when Delport was run out for 28 having faced 25 balls, the Eagles had lost 4 wickets for 24 runs in 21 balls to undo the excellent work at the top of the innings.

At 78 for 4, it was left to Ryan ten Doeschate to find some substance to the Eagles innings. He started this game as the highest Essex run scorer in the competition this year with 203 runs @ 50.75 and improved those figures with a 33-ball contribution of 52 which included 2 sixes and three fours.

Paul Walter struck 19 out of 28 before he was caught at cover while Simon Harmer accompanied ten Doeschate in a partnership worth 41 in 4.1 overs before both batsmen were dismissed within seven balls to leave the Eagles 161 for 7.

Pace man, Fred Klaassen, picked up two of the outstanding wickets to finish with 3 for 36 leaving the visitors to reflect on what could have been.

Kent, who included Sam Billings and Joe Denly following the conclusion of England’s international fixtures, reached the halfway stage of their reply on 78 for 3, having lost Crawley for 9 to Plom’s first delivery. Joe Denly had also fallen for 23 off the bowling of Simon Harmer and Heino Kuhn was dismissed for 3 when he was stumped by Michael Pepper against Aron Nijjar.

Two wickets fell to Plom in three balls to reduce the Spitfires to 80 for 5 as the 21 year-old removed Bell-Drummond, caught by Harmer for 25, and Billings who top-edged to Pepper for 18.

The Eagles were sensing victory and a potential opportunity to qualify for the latter stages of the competition but those hopes were dashed by a partnership worth 67 in 7.2 overs courtesy of Jack Leaning and Alex Blake.

With 21 runs still required Blake was caught at mid-wicket off Matt Quinn for 29 with the first ball of the penultimate over, however, Leaning continued to flourish, guiding his side to victory whilst ending with an unbeaten 55. Leaning was at the non-strikers end when he had the pleasure of watching Grant Stewart thump a full toss over the ropes to conclude the game in style, Stewart ending 8 not out.

The Eagles are looking to continue their current run of success in the Vitality Blast when they travel to The Spitfire Ground to face Kent Spitfires on Friday.

The Eagles have enjoyed back-to-back wins this week after beating Sussex Sharks at Hove on Monday and Hampshire at The Ageas Bowl on Wednesday.

With all teams having just 2 matches to play, Kent Spitfires start the match in second position in the South Group on 10 points and victory would guarantee their place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Meanwhile, the Eagles start the match with 6 points, 3 fewer than Sussex Sharks who currently occupy third place.

The top two in each of the three regional groups will be joined by the two highest third-placed points scorers.

The Eagles therefore need to win both of their remaining two matches (they meet Sussex Sharks on Sunday at The Cloudfm County Ground) and hope that other results are in their favour.

Plom’s View

Aron Nijjar and Jack Plom made the headlines with the ball on Wednesday with slow left-armer Nijjar returning career-best figures of 3 for 22 whilst Plom removed England batsman James Vince with the first delivery of his 4 over spell. It was his maiden senior wicket for the Club amongst personal figures of 2 for 18.

Basildon born Plom, who is the latest player to make the First Team from the Essex Academy admits that the win kept the Eagles hopes of making the quarter-finals alive.

He said: “It was a bit of a slow start to the tournament but we still have a slim chance thanks to the boost of back-to-back wins.

“A couple of the boys said it (the pitch) was a bit slow and sticky early on but the batters did their job and the bowlers followed it up.

“We had our plans and we stuck to them, Harmy trusted us bowlers and that is what we like.

“We got wickets early after he talked about attacking the stump, we did that and it came off, and then we kept the pressure on in the middle overs and the wickets kept coming our way.

“We are very happy for Aron [Nijjar]. He bowled his 4 overs straight which some people don’t deal well with. The skipper had faith in him and he bowled really well.”

Squad News

Essex will select their starting XI from a 14-man squad with Michael Pepper continuing to deputise behind the stumps for Adam Wheater who is unavailable due to family reasons.

Record between the two sides

The teams have met on 33 previous occasions in the competition with the Spitfires enjoying 17 successes and Essex 15 whilst 1 match was declared a no result.

Essex Women’s player, Mady Villiers has named in England Women’s 16-strong squad for the five-match Vitality IT20 Series against West Indies at Incora County Ground, Derby.

Villiers has recently been part of the Sunrisers team who played their home games at The Cloudfm County Ground for this year’s women’s domestic 50-over competition, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

Sophia Dunkley and Katie George come in to join the 15 which took part in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, with Georgia Elwiss absent through a back injury.

England squad for Vitality IT20 Series:
Heather Knight (Western Storm) (captain)
Tammy Beaumont (Lightning)
Katherine Brunt (Northern Diamonds)
Kate Cross (Thunder)
Freya Davies (South East Stars)
Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
Sophie Ecclestone (Thunder)
Katie George (Western Storm)
Sarah Glenn (Central Sparks)
Amy Jones (Central Sparks)
Nat Sciver (Northern Diamonds)
Anya Shrubsole (Western Storm)
Mady Villiers (Sunrisers)
Fran Wilson (Sunrisers)
Lauren Winfield-Hill (Northern Diamonds)
Danni Wyatt (Southern Vipers)

England Women Head Coach Lisa Keightley said: “It’s been a challenging summer for everyone and we are privileged to be in a position to play an international series and to get the chance to showcase the women’s game.

“We have worked hard since the group came back together in preparation for this series and we’re in a great place going into the Vitality IT20s against West Indies.”

South East Stars all-rounder Bryony Smith and Northern Diamonds spinner Linsey Smith are both on standby.

Those players not picked for the final group of 16 are available for their regions in the final round of Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches and the final, should their team progress.

Vitality IT20 Series fixtures:
Monday 21 September: 1st Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports, 6pm)
Wednesday 23 September: 2nd Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports, 6pm)
Saturday 26 September: 3rd Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports, BBC, 1pm)
Monday 28 September: 4th Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports, 6pm)
Wednesday 30 September: 5th Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports, 6pm)

Aron Nijjar helped the Eagles to a comprehensive 54-run victory over Hampshire to record back-to-back wins in the Vitality Blast for the first time this season.

After Tom Westley (51) and Dan Lawrence (49*) led with the bat to set Hampshire a target of 169 to win, the bowler got to work.

It take long as Nijjar picked up the first of three wickets as George Munsey was out to a fantastic catch by Sam Cook off the forth delivery of his opening over in the powerplay.

The 25-year-old ended with figures of 3-22 after taking the wickets of Joe Weatherley and Lewis McManus in his final allotted over.

Aron spoke to Essex Cricket TV after play to reflect on his performance, which also saw his named as Seven Investment Management Player of the Match.

Hampshire v Essex Eagles

Vitality Blast (South Group)

The Ageas Bowl, Wednesday 16 September

Team News:

Hampshire: James Vince (c), George Munsey, Sam Northeast, Joe Weatherley, James Fuller, Lewis McManus (wk), Ian Holland, Chris Wood, Ryan Stevenson, Mason Crane, Shaheen Afridi.

Essex Eagles: Cameron Delport, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper (wk), Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (c), Matt Quinn, Jack Plom, Aron Nijjar, Sam Cook.

Match Details:

Umpires: Billy Taylor & Ben Debenham
Match Referee: Peter Such
Toss: Essex Eagles who elected to bat
Result: Essex Eagles won by 54 runs

Match Highlights:

Match Reaction: Jack Plom:

Match Report:

Aron Nijjar produced a superb spell of slow left-arm bowling to support solid batting contributions with the bat by Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence assisting the Eagles to a 54 runs victory against Hampshire in their Vitality Blast contest at The Ageas Bowl.

The 25-year-old Nijjar bowled his four permitted overs straight off from the Pavilion End that included the first three during the powerplay when he only conceded 21 runs and took two wickets as the visitors defended a total of 168 for three.

And when he sent down his final over, Nijjar grabbed a third wicket and conceded just a single to cap an excellent performance as Hampshire found themselves 38 for 6 after seven overs and their hopes in tatters.

Jack Plom, Matt Quinn and Sam Cook had also taken a wicket apiece at that stage and the Eagles continued to retain their grip as the home side limped to a sorry 114 for 9 at the conclusion of their 20 overs.

Having won the toss, the Eagles openers Cameron Delport and Westley reached 57 in 6.5 overs before Delport was caught in the deep for 31 to pave the way for Lawrence to join Westley in a stand worth 38 in little more than five overs.

During that partnership, Westley recorded his best score of the season with 51, his half-century arriving from 35 balls with 6 boundaries before edging a ball from Ryan Stevenson behind the wicket.

Monday’s hero Lawrence was again impressive although somewhat more reserved than down at Hove. Although he lost Michael Pepper for 5, he and Ryan ten Doeschate raised the tempo posting a 50-run stand in 29 balls.

Lawrence again struck the ball sweetly and powerfully for an unbeaten 49 from 34 balls whilst ten Doeschate was 29 not out from 20 balls when the Eagles innings closed.

Nijjar struck his first blow with the fourth ball of the Hampshire innings when George Muncey’s reverse sweep was brilliantly caught one-handed by Sam Cook.

Three balls later, Plom strangled James Vince down the leg side to claim his first senior wicket for Essex and the 21-year-old fast bowler later picked up another to finish with a very satisfactory 2 for 18 from 4 overs.

From 4 for 2 after seven balls, Hampshire continued to suffer against the Eagles incisive attack reeling to 38 for 6 in the seventh over.

The highest partnership of the innings (25) was created by Chris Wood and James Fuller before the latter was caught in the deep off Paul Walter who also sent down maiden over when Wood swiped at five successive deliveries missing each one before finally laying bat on ball without reward.

Walter ended with figures of 1 for 21 from his allotted spell.

Stevenson and Wood added 22 before Harmer chipped in with a wicket and when Plom had Stevenson caught for 17, Hampshire were 94 for 9 and still one run short of equalling their lowest score in T20 cricket against Essex.

Mason Crane and Shaheen Afridi avoided that ignominy in an unbroken liaison of 20 for the final wicket but the Eagles took the honours with a comprehensive win to keep faint hopes of qualification alive.

The Essex Eagles travel to the 1st Central County Ground on Monday to face Sussex Sharks in the Vitality Blast, with the fixture set to commence at 2pm.

The Eagles were left still seeking their first win in the competition after they suffered defeat to Surrey by 4 wickets at The Cloudfm County Ground on Friday night.

Cameron Delport and Adam Wheater became the first players to post half-centuries in the competition for the Eagles this season combining for a first wicket partnership of 105 to lay the foundations of a total of 195-8 in a thrilling clash.

However, Surrey responded to the challenging target despite losing South African Test player Hashim Amla to the first ball of the innings and then finding themselves 59-3 just before the end of their powerplay. But Laurie Evans, with 88 not out, and Gus Atkinson, who struck the winning runs off the final scheduled delivery of the match, saw Surrey to victory.

Delport’s View

Cameron Delport top-scored for the Eagles hitting 64 from 32 balls with 3 sixes and 8 fours and admitted that it was frustrating to end on the losing side.

He said: “We are very disappointed with the result and the boys are hurting in the changing room. I think unfortunately we were about 20 runs short and we lost a few quick wickets at one stage.

“Personally, it was nice for me to get some runs, it’s been coming for a while so that was good.

“We’ve got to bounce back, we’ve got some big games coming up next week but it’s obviously getting tougher and tougher for us to qualify for the next stage, but it is what it is.”

Squad News

The Eagles have no new injury concerns and will select their starting XI from a 16-man squad that includes 21-year-old fast bowler Jack Plom and 22-year-old batsman Michael Pepper.

Plom made his T20 debut for the Eagles on Friday whilst Pepper made his first appearance in the format since 2018.

The Opposition

The Sharks beat Kent Spitfires by 8 wickets on Saturday to go top of the South Group with 9 points, 1 more than Surrey and Kent Spitfires, who dropped to third place.

Their squad includes two former Essex players, all-rounder Ravi Bopara and fast bowler Tymal Mills. Mills has made 5 T20 International appearances and also represented England Lions, and is one of the fastest bowlers to play for Essex. He joined Sussex in 2014 but following the diagnosis of a degenerative back problem, he now concentrates on T20 cricket.

Bopara became a cult figure at Essex and, after making his debut in 2002, recorded 19,620 runs and 503 wickets for the Club across all formats until leaving at the end of last season. He has 13 Test caps for England, made 120 ODI appearances and played in 38 T20I matches.

Although Sussex and Essex are at opposite ends of the table, Sharks skipper Luke Wright is not under-estimating the threat the Eagles pose.

He commented: “They are one of those teams where things have not quite gone their way in T20 this season.

“I think they’ve had a tie and a couple of games that have gone down to the wire and they have lost off the last ball, so they have not been far away.

“They are certainly not a team to be taken lightly, they won it last year so there are a lot of good cricketers in there but at the moment, they’ve just got the wrong side of results.”

Sussex Sharks Squad

Luke Wright (C), Will Beer, Ravi Bopara, Danny Briggs, Ben Brown (WK), George Garton, Calum MacLeod, Stuart Meaker, Tymal Mills, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Aaron Thomason, David Wiese.

Record Between The Sides

The two teams have met 26 times in T20 fixtures of which The Sharks have won 14 contests and The Eagles 12.