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The Eagles welcome Surrey to The Cloudfm County Ground for their penultimate home match in this year’s Vitality Blast competition with the fixture set to start at 2pm.

The Eagles are the only side in the South Group yet to win a T20 match having now played half of their 10 matches. The 2019 titleholders have accrued just 2 points and prop up the South Group. Surrey meanwhile have won 2 of their 5 matches and are 2 points behind leaders Kent Spitfires.

McGrath’s View

Eagles Head coach Anthony McGrath gave an honest assessment of his side’s form in the first half of the T20 season.

He commented: “We just haven’t been on the game so far. The first game was rained off and then the next 2 games we thought we should have won, certainly the game at Chelmsford against Hampshire but in the games at Lord’s and The Oval, we were very poor.

“There will certainly be changes, some of those performances were not acceptable. Everyone is trying without doubt and obviously, we want to try and get to the latter stages but it’s going to be difficult now. We’ve put catches down, haven’t scored enough runs and on trickier wickets, we’ve not bowled as well as we should.

“We’ve got 5 games left and we saw what happened last year so I’m certainly not ruling anything out but we have to win on Friday, it’s as simple as that.”

Squad News

The Eagles have no injury worries ahead of the match and have a 17-man squad.

The Opposition

Former Essex wicket-keeper batsman Ben Foakes masterminded Surrey’s latest success in the competition when they beat Middlesex on Saturday.

He arrived at the crease with his side deep in trouble at 23-4, but played superbly and with authority to guide Surrey over the winning line with 60 not out.

Surrey Squad

Gareth Batty (C), Hashim Amla, Gus Atkinson, Scott Borthwick, Rory Burns, Matt Dunn, Laurie Evans, Ben Foakes (WK), Will Jacks, Daniel Moriarty, Jamie Overton, Reece Topley, Jamie Smith, Mark Stoneman.

Record Between The Sides

When the teams met a couple of weeks ago at The Kia Oval, the match ended in a tie. The Eagles posted 143-6 with Ryan ten Doeschate and Adam Wheater top-scoring with 35 and 32 not out respectively.

Surrey then lost 8 wickets in matching the Eagles total after losing 2 wickets to the final 2 deliveries as they desperately searched for the winning run.

The sides have clashed 30 times in T20 cricket, with Essex enjoying 17 successes and Surrey 10 whilst, apart from that tied game, 1 match was abandoned and another declared a no result after the weather again took a decisive hand.

Essex Cricket are pleased to announce that Felsted School have extended their partnership with the Club until at least the end of the 2021 campaign.

Darrell Fox, Commercial Manager at Essex Cricket, said: “We are delighted to announce the extension of our partnership with Felsted School. We have seen some exciting young cricketers come through the Essex Academy with Felsted links, including Will Buttleman, Grace Pool and Carla Rudd.

“We are looking forward to working with Chris, Jason, Sophy and team at Felsted School, and we really appreciate their support during these tricky times.”

Chris Townsend, Headmaster at Felsted School, said: “We are very proud to be working alongside the Double Champions and have been delighted with the feedback we have received from pupils, staff and parents who have made the trip to The Cloudfm County Ground.

“Hopefully, the next few years are filled with continued success both on and off the pitch and we can continue this fruitful partnership.”

About Felsted School:

Felsted School was founded in 1564, offering children aged four to eighteen a first-class all-round education, based on a safe, rural 80-acre village campus in stunning North Essex, only one hour from London and Cambridge. Felsted welcomes students from all over the world to appreciate a leading British boarding school education, plus offers day and a range of flexible boarding options to suit modern family life, with daily bus routes from across the region.

Felsted has a formidable reputation for boys’ & girls’ cricket; locally, regionally and nationally. Overseen by Felsted’s experienced Director of Cricket, Jason Gallian (ex-England, Essex & Notts) and Carla Rudd (current Super League player), Felsted offers both boys and girls a well-established cricket programme that develops as they progress through the school.

Several former Felstedians have gone on to become professionals for County and England teams, including Derek Pringle, John Stephenson, Nick Knight, Tim Phillips, Jordan Cox, Will Buttleman and Grace Poole.

Essex have confirmed a place in the Bob Willis Trophy Final and will reignite the red-ball rivalry with Somerset who secured their spot at Lord’s with a victory over Worcestershire in the Central Group.

The unbeaten record (4W and 1NR) in this year’s competition continued this week with the 9-wicket victory over Middlesex. However, with the win coming inside three days at Chelmsford, there was a short wait to find out our opposition as other games around the country headed into a fourth day.

Head Coach Anthony McGrath expressed his delight in reaching a Lord’s Final after play on Tuesday and is looking forward to another chance of silverware following the double success in 2019.

The match on 23 September is set to take place behind-closed-doors with broadcasting plans still to be confirmed. The match will have an added extra spice after Essex pipped Somerset to the County Championship on their own ground last season.

Further details will be announced in due course with the team now turning their attention to the Vitality Blast with five remaining in the competition. This next block of games starts with the visit of Surrey to The Cloudfm County Ground on Friday 11 September and is available on the Club’s live stream via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.

Essex County Cricket Club are delighted to announce that wicket-keeper batsman, Adam Wheater, has signed a contract extension that will keep him at The Cloudfm County Ground until at least the end of the 2022 season.

The 30-year-old rejoined Essex from Hampshire in 2016 and has played an integral role in the side’s recent success, with the Club claiming two Division One titles and a maiden T20 title in the last three years.

The Academy graduate has also been ever-present during the 2020 campaign, leading the batting averages for Essex with 50.20 in the Bob Willis Trophy, with his highest score of 83* coming against Middlesex earlier in the week.

Essex Head Coach, Anthony McGrath, commented: “Adam is an experienced campaigner and has consistently shown his quality both behind the stumps and with the bat.

“He’s a great influence in the dressing room and always wants what’s best for the team, so I’m really pleased that he’s extended his stay.”

You can now vote for your DeVines Player of the Month for August with four contenders nominated for the award. August saw the 2020 season finally get underway and some standout performances throughout in the Bob Willis Trophy.

Alastair Cook:

Alastair amassed 333 runs over the four red-ball matches in the month. This included the only century so far this season when he struck 129 at Arundel Castle against Hampshire.

The opener remains at the team’s leading scorer in the competition with an average of 45.00.

Simon Harmer:

Harmy once again leads the wicket-taking charts in the Bob Willis Trophy after taking 28 wickets over the four games in August. This included three 5-wicket hauls and 10-wickets in a match on one occasion to demolish opposition batting lineups.

These figures also saw him nominated for the August PCA Player of the Month award.

Jamie Porter:

Jamie’s 2020 season has seen him return with a real fire in his belly and his partnership with Simon Harmer has been instrumental in rolling sides over to keep an undefeated record in the four-day game.

He took 18 wickets in the month which included a 5’fer against Sussex at Hove in the third game of the competition.

Paul Walter:

The tall all-rounder has had an impressive campaign to date which saw him shine with the bat more than the ball during August.

After missing the opening game against Kent, Paul worked his way into the number 6 position and provided a string of solid batting performances. He totalled 182 runs at an average of 45.50, which culminated in him opening the batting against Hampshire alongside Alastair Cook.

Voting closes at 5pm on Wednesday 16 September with the winner announced during the match against Sussex Sharks in the Vitality Blast at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Essex v Middlesex

Bob Willis Trophy (South Group)

The Cloudfm County Ground, Sunday 06 – Wednesday 09 September

Team News:

Essex: Paul Walter, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Feroze Khushi, Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater (wk), Simon Harmer, Aaron Beard, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Middlesex: Sam Robson, Max Holden, Nick Gubbins, Steve Eskinazi (c), Robbie White, Martin Andersson, John Simpson (wk), Blake Cullen, James Harris, Thilan Walallawita, Tim Murtagh.

Match Details:

Umpires: Russell Warren & Paul Pollard
Match Referee: Peter Such
Toss: Middlesex, who elected to bat first
Result: Essex win by 9 wickets

Day Three Match Highlights:

Anthony McGrath’s Day Three reaction:

Day Three Close of Play Report:

Essex are through to the final of the Bob Willis Trophy. They made sure of their Lord’s date later this month by completing a 9-wicket triumph over Middlesex at The Cloudfm County Ground with a day and two sessions to spare and extended the Essex winning run in red-ball cricket at Chelmsford to 11 matches.

They needed only 14.5 overs to collect the remaining Middlesex wickets after they had resumed on 123 for 6 and knocked off the 53 required for victory in 13.5 overs for the loss of Alastair Cook.

Paceman Sam Cook struck with his second delivery by bowling James Harris without addition to the overnight score and followed it up by dismissing Blake Cullen as wicket-keeper Adam Wheater claimed his sixth catch of the match.

Thilan Walallawita then had his off-stump knocked out of the ground by Aaron Beard before Simon Harmer brought the innings to a close when he had Tim Murtagh stumped, leaving John Simpson stranded on 26 out of a total of 150 all out.

Beard finished with a career-best 4-21 from 10 overs while Cook’s 3-28 from 20 overs gave him a match haul of 7-55. Harmer, as accurate as ever, finished with 3-54 from 28.5 overs.

Essex were quickly into their stride when they set off for victory. Paul Walter found the ropes in the first over and Alastair Cook was soon finding the boundary either side of the wicket.

The introduction of Cullen into the attack was greeted by Walter who picked off three boundaries in one over, but it came as something of a surprise when Cook was castled by Murtagh for 21 with the score on 41 in the 11th over.

However, Walter and skipper Tom Westley reached the winning post as they finished on 20 not out and 10 not out respectively.

It all added up to an impressive team performance by Essex with Wheater leading the way. He has established himself as a very fine wicket-keeper, confirmed by claiming a total of seven victims in the match, but it was his batting that proved the defining factor after he arrived at the wicket with his side in serious trouble at 87 for 5.

Displaying caution and controlled aggression, Wheater battled throughout the remainder of the innings to finish with an unbeaten 83 and guide Essex to an all out total of 236 and a substantial first innings lead of 98.

Walter is probably the surprise package amongst the batsmen, having enhanced his reputation, first in the middle-order and again when he was promoted to open the innings. He has so far collected 245 runs in five completed innings full of discipline and determination.

On the bowling front, Harmer confirmed he is the best spinner in the country, his guile and variation earning him 34 wickets while the three-pronged pace attack of Jamie Porter, Sam Cook and Aaron Beard have proved themselves a potent force with a haul of 42 wickets between them.

Day Two Match Highlights:

Aaron Beard’s Day Two reaction:

Day Two Close of Play Report:

Essex were closing in on a victory against Middlesex at The Cloudfm County Ground that could take them to the final of the Bob Willis Trophy at Lord’s later this month.

After being bowled out for 236 to earn a first innings lead of 98, they had the visitors struggling at 123 for 6 at the close of the second day.

Their position of strength owed much to the efforts of Adam Wheater who followed up his five catches in the Middlesex first innings with a superb 83 not out.

The morning did not begin well for Essex after they had resumed on 108 for 5. With only 14 added, Ryan ten Doeschate was forced to leave the field with a back muscle spasm despite receiving lengthy treatment from physiotherapist Chris Clarke–Irons before retiring.

But his departure heralded the arrival of Simon Harmer to share with Wheater, what was to prove an invaluable liaison.

It yielded 72 runs in 16.3 overs to carry the total to 194 but then Harmer, who had struck six boundaries in his 32, fell leg before wicket to the medium-pace of Martin Andersson.

That was the start of a profitable spell by Andersson who got rid of Aaron Beard and Sam Cook with the score on 203 to pave the way for ten Doeschate to resume his innings after retiring on 31. With Dan Lawrence acting as a runner, ten Doeschate was to add another dozen runs before Andersson had him caught behind.

Soon afterwards, Tim Murtagh brought the innings to an end, again with John Simpson’s help, to leave Wheater stranded with a century in sight.

Wheater combined caution with several pugnacious pulls and well-timed strokes through the offside in a 142-ball effort the brought him 11 boundaries and further enhanced his reputation as a gutsy middle-order batsman.

Middlesex started their second innings on an encouraging foundation raising the 50 for only the loss of Sam Robson who was caught at slip by Harmer off Sam Cook for 6 to give the bowler his fifth wicket of the match.

Off-spinner Harmer then removed Nick Gubbins, leg before with the last ball before tea, taken with the visitors on 58 for 2.

And after the interval, Beard was to plunge Middlesex into deep trouble by capturing three wickets at a cost of four runs in 5.1 overs.

He started by bowling Steve Eskinazi for 5 before also breaching the defences of Max Holden, who had made 37, and then having Andersson edging to Harmer at second slip for 3.

That left the visitors on 84 for 5 but Simpson and Robbie White put together a gutsy stand of 34 to ensure the match went into a third day. The partnership was broken just before the close when Harmer returned for a second spell to trap White lbw for 23 leaving John Simpson 16 not out and James Harris 3 not out.

Both batsmen were able to survive until the close with a lead of just 25 and will return to the crease tomorrow morning with the score on 123-6.

However, it will take something bordering on the miraculous to deny Essex victory on Day Three.

Day One Match Highlights:

Sam Cook’s Day One reaction:

Day One Close of Play Report:

Paul Walter and Sam Cook shared the honours as Essex found themselves involved in an intriguing Bob Willis Trophy clash against Middlesex on a day when 15 wickets fell at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Cook enjoyed his best figures of the season returning 4 for 27 in 15 overs as the visitors, who won the toss, were bowled out for 138 before Walter held the Essex batting together whilst the rest of the top-order were blown away. By the close, the home side trailed by 30 runs with five wickets intact.

Walter struck the top-score of the match so far when making an impressive 43 to take his aggregate to 225 in the competition following six trips to the middle. And it was just as well the tall left-hander confirmed his growing reputation as a reliable performer.

Alastair Cook, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence and Feroze Khushi could only manage 15 runs between them as the home side slumped to 44 for 4 in 16 overs against a three-pronged pace attack.

After Cook edged a drive to Steve Eskinazi at first slip to provide Blake Cullen with success, Westley and Lawrence were both caught by wicket-keeper John Simpson to give Tim Murtagh a double success.

Khushi then became an lbw victim of James Harris, the four wickets going down in the space of 8 overs.

But Walter was to find a resolute partner in the evergreen Ryan ten Doeschate. He may be in his 41st year but he remains an integral part of the side, particularly when it comes to getting his teammates out of tricky situations.

Like Walter, he treated every ball on its merits and their partnership was worth 43 before Walter’s defences were breached by Harris after the opener had spent just over 2 hours at the crease. He had faced 79 deliveries sending six of them to the boundary land his departure left the home side 87 for 5.

Tendo was still breathing defiance at the close with 28 against his name from a total of 66 deliveries and he will resume a sixth-wicket partnership with Adam Wheater who has scored 18 of the 21 runs added spanning 46 balls.

Earlier the pinpoint accuracy and hostility of Sam Cook plus fine support from Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer combined with five catches for wicket-keeper Adam Wheater resulted in Middlesex’s demise.

They lost half their side for 50 with Cook and Porter sharing four wickets before Harmer claimed his first of the innings and the trio continued to cause problems a-plenty for the batsmen.

Only Harris with 34 managed to get beyond 20 but he fell leg before wicket to Cook and the guile and variation from off-spinner Harmer proved too much for the lower order.

The South African emerged with 3 for 34 in 18.3 overs to take his tally of wickets in the Bob Willis Trophy to 31 so far while Porter claimed his three wickets at a personal cost of 55 runs.

The return of the Bob Willis Trophy sees Middlesex visit Chelmsford in a must-win match to potentially secure a place in the Lord’s Final of the competition.

The poor weather which halted proceedings in the previous game against Hampshire at Arundel Castle is set to stay away over the four days against a side who were placed third in the table ahead of the fixture.

View the photo gallery courtesy of the Club’s official photographer, Nick Wood to bring you closer to the play against Middlesex.

Scroll through the images and hit the i for further information.

Photo Gallery:

© Unshaken Photography

Essex County Cricket Club are pleased to announce that promising young batsman, Feroze Khushi, has signed a contract extension running until the end of the 2021 campaign.

The 21-year-old made his first-class debut against Kent earlier in the year, and has averaged 31 with the bat with his highest score of 66 coming against Surrey at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Upon signing his extension, Khushi said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to sign a new deal with Essex.

“I’ve really been enjoying my cricket and I feel like 2020 has been a good year for me so far. I’ve managed to break into the First Team and score some runs and show people what I’m capable of.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to carry on doing so and learning from all the great coaches and players around me.”

Essex Head Coach, Anthony McGrath, added: “Feroze is an exceptionally talented player who has really benefitted from the truncated season.

“We’ve had to mix things up a bit with the lack of Overseas player this year but he’s come into the side and really performed, scoring some vital runs and helping us with some games of cricket.

“It’s great news that he’s signed an extension and we’re all excited to see how he carries on progressing and developing.”

Essex entertain Middlesex at The Cloudfm County Ground starting on Sunday (10:30am) in the final qualifying Bob Willis Trophy match.

The home side, who remain unbeaten after winning three of the four matches, currently lead the South Group with 70 points; six ahead of Kent.

However, only two of the three group winners will contest the final at Lord’s with the deciding factor being the pair with the highest points totals. Entering the final round of matches, there is fierce competition to make it through to the final at the home of cricket.

Kent host Hampshire at Canterbury in their concluding match and elsewhere Somerset, who head the Central Group with 76 points meet Worcestershire at New Road. Somerset start the match with 76 points, six ahead of the home side.

Meanwhile, Derbyshire lead the North Group with 71 points, five more than closest pursuers Yorkshire. Derbyshire face Lancashire at Liverpool in their last match, whilst Yorkshire take on Leicestershire at Headingley.

Westley looks ahead to Bob Willis Trophy decider:

Head Coach’s View:

Head Coach Anthony McGrath is hoping that victory over Middlesex will secure a place in the Lord’s Final.

“If we can get the win, then it should put us in a good position to achieving one of those two places,” he said.

“Hopefully, we can get some batting bonus points on the board with the bat and then our attack can do what it’s been doing regularly and take 20 wickets.

“I think we should have got more runs in both games at Chelmsford but it was much more like our true form at Arundel when we played Hampshire.

“The way that our openers Paul Walter and Alastair Cook played was fantastic to see and then followed by Alastair and Dan Lawrence helped us to get into a really good position and we were 249 for 3. If we’d batted out the 120 overs we would have got a lot more bonus points, so that was frustrating.

“But we will look to take that form we showed at Arundel into Sunday’s game.

“We have shown a very high level of consistency in our red-ball cricket over the past few years and as I have said on a number of occasions, I still think that we can improve further, particularly with the bat.

“And that’s a really exciting prospect.”

Squad News:

Essex can boast a clean bill of health ahead of the game and have named a 15-man squad.

Youngsters, Rishi Patel and Jack Plom are not available for this match after joining Leicestershire and Surrey, respectively for this final round of games.

21 Tom Westley (C)
65 Ben Allison
14 Aaron Beard
10 Nick Browne
26 Alastair Cook
16 Sam Cook
11 Simon Harmer
23 Feroze Khushi
28 Dan Lawrence
44 Jamie Porter
27 Ryan ten Doeschate
22 Paul Walter
31 Adam Wheater (WK)

The Opposition:

Middlesex come into the game placed in third position after a 5-wicket victory over Sussex during the last round of Bob Willis Trophy fixtures.

Middlesex Squad:

Stephen Eskinazi (c), Martin Andersson, Ethan Bamber, Miguel Cummins, Jack Davies, Nick Gubbins, James Harris, Max Holden, Tim Murtagh, Sam Robson, John Simpson (wk), Nathan Sowter, Robbie White, Thilan Walallawita.

Injury/Absentees News:

Toby Roland-Jones is an absentee for the visitors having been sidelined with a persistent shoulder problem that will rule him out of the remainder of the season.

Tom Helm is being rested for this match following the block of Vitality Blast matches so misses this clash.

Last Meeting:

Since the first meeting back in 1895, Essex have won only 38 of the clashes with Middlesex enjoying 55 victories.

The last time that the two teams clashed in red-ball action came back in June 2017, a season that saw Essex lift the County Championship title for the first time since 1992.

Playing with a pink ball in the experimental day/night game at The Cloudfm County Ground, Middlesex were dismissed for 246 with spin-king Harmer claiming 5 for 77. The Essex openers Nick Browne and Alastair Cook then set a new first-wicket partnership record for the county of 373 before being parted when Cook was dismissed for 193. Browne made 221 and then Varun Chopra struck a quickfire century allowing Essex to declare on 542 for three late into day three.

By tea on the final day, Middlesex appeared to have saved the game going to the interval on 211 for 4 and when the last hour commenced at 8pm, they were looking comfortable at 247 for 5.

However, magician Harmer continued to weave his magic striking twice in four balls to reduce the opposition to 261 for 8 and all Harmer victims. Dan Lawrence ended the South African’s hopes of going through the card with all ten wickets by claiming Toby Roland-Jones leg before but amidst great tension, Harmer had the final word when, with 8 balls of the match remaining, he trapped Steve Finn in front of his stumps.

The last four wickets had fallen in 27 balls and the phenomenal Harmer ended the game with second-innings figures of 9 for 95.

How To Watch:

Our Live Stream service will be available across all four days of this game from 10:30am, which also includes player stats, scorecard and clips throughout the day. Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone which is available – here.