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The County Champions are currently dominating the PCA’s Most Valuable Player Rankings following this week’s set of results, but the chasing pack aren’t far behind as we move towards round four of the Bob Willis Trophy.

Essex and Somerset each have two representatives inside the top four of the BWT MVP, and the bowlers are dominating as Simon Harmer, Jamie Porter and the Overton brothers (Jamie & Craig) leading the way in terms of individual performances in domestic cricket in 2020.

Harmer maintains his hold at the top of the MVP table having produced another match-winning performance during Essex’s thrilling three-wicket win at Sussex. The remarkably prolific off-spinner took his third five-wicket haul (5-54) of the season to claim 45.15 MVP points as the key performer at Hove.

Despite his huge 36-point lead at the top, the South African will be feeling the pressure from Somerset man Jamie Overton, who smashed a scintillating 120 from number 10 at Edgbaston to be named MVP of the Match in their fixture against Warwickshire with 30.9 points.

Below Jamie sits his brother Craig, who has enjoyed a remarkable start to the season with the ball, whilst Porter has shot up to fourth position thanks to his match figures of 8-88 claimed in tandem with Harmer.

Hampshire’s Ian Holland completes the top five at the conclusion of the third round of Bob Willis Trophy fixtures, having had a match to remember in victory against Surrey as he claimed a maiden first-class five-fer with career best figures of 6-60. Holland now has 84.5 MVP points for the season.

The MVP algorithm is used to identify the match-winners and key influencers in any given fixture by taking into account important contributions such as scoring a high proportion of your team’s runs, claiming top-order wickets and taking catches in the field.

When each individual player’s total points are aggregated at the end of the season, three domestic MVPs will be named for 2020: one for the Bob Willis Trophy, one for the Vitality Blast and a third cross-format Overall MVP.

Essex’s Harmer is the current holder of the Overall MVP title after he beat off the competition to win with 609 MVP points in 2019 – 67 clear of the nearest challenger which was Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott.

The number one performer this week in terms of MVP points scored was Yorkshire new boy Dawid Malan.

Despite the on/off rain at Headingley, Malan struck his maiden first-class double ton against Derbyshire, finishing with 219 scored at a remarkable strike rate of 90. Having made 55% of his team’s runs in the weather-affected fixture, Malan accumulated 48.74 MVP points, moving him up to ninth in the standings.

Though he will take his good form into England’s bio-secure bubble at the Ageas Bowl ahead of the T20Is against Pakistan, Malan could be caught in the domestic Rankings as he will miss the next round of Bob Willis Trophy fixtures.

The remainder of the players inside the current top ten had quiet weeks by their standards, with Tim Bresnan (6th position), Oliver Hannon-Dalby (7th), Ryan Higgins (8th) and Chris Cooke (10th) occupying those spots for the moment.

Nottinghamshire’s Ben Slater will feel as if he can break into the top positions before long. The left-hander backed up his 172 in the opening fixture with 142 more against Lancashire at Trent Bridge – he was duly named the MVP for that game with 29 points and currently sits 13th in the table, just eight points outside the top 10.

He, ninth-placed Malan and tenth-placed Cooke will have a job on their hands if they are to move up, though, as this year’s MVP crown looks set to be won by a bowler as they currently occupy each of the top eight positions in the Rankings.

Essex will be looking to make it three wins out of three in the Bob Willis Trophy when they face Sussex at The 1st Central County Ground in a four-day match starting on Saturday at 11am.

Essex currently sit first in the South Group thanks to their 100% record in the competition. The side have amassed 42 points so far from their 2 matches, 11 ahead of nearest challengers Kent whilst Sussex occupy fifth place, with 22 points from their two fixtures.

Earlier this week, Essex beat Surrey by 169 runs with Simon Harmer returning match figures of 14/131 following his magnificent 8/64 in the visitors’ second innings. Earlier in the match, Feroze Khushi scored 66, his maiden first-class half-century, whilst Adam Wheater hit 52 as he celebrated being awarded his County Cap (along with Sam Cook).

However, it was Harmer’s magic with the ball that sealed Surrey’s fate. The 31-year-old’s performance took his tally of wickets to 20 in just 2 matches and saw Essex claim their 10th successive red-ball victory at Chelmsford.

Harmer on Surrey:

Reflecting on his latest stunning performance, Harmer said: “I’m very happy with the way the ball is coming out at the moment but cricket is a funny game and so is spin bowling.

“You can’t take anything for granted but touch wood, may the form continue.”

He was also quick to acknowledge the performance of a fellow member of the Essex attack.

“I thought Ports (Jamie Porter) bowled superbly in the Surrey second innings on the last morning. He had the batsmen playing and missing so often and he was extremely unlucky not to pick up some wickets,” he stated.

“It was the best we’ve seen him bowl in a while, but he didn’t get the rewards. But that’s cricket, he might go down to Hove and not bowl as well and pick up six or seven.

“So it was my day against Surrey, I’ll take it with both hands and hopefully other boys will reap the rewards in the game to come.”

Meanwhile, Head Coach Anthony McGrath believes that Essex can improve on their two performances so far.

He admitted: “I thought we played against Surrey than we did against Kent but there are areas where we can get better.

“For example, we need to be a bit more clinical with the bat and push on towards the 400 mark.”

Squad News:

The only injury doubt surrounds Ryan ten Doeschate who was missing from the side that beat Surrey due to a quad strain. However, he is named in a 14-man squad although he will have a fitness test on the morning of the match.

Essex welcome back Dan Lawrence for his first match of the season. The talented batsman had been with the England squad for their two summer Test series, but recently left the international set-up due to a family bereavement.

Head coach Anthony McGrath said, “Although it’s not a good time for him at the moment, Dan feels that he wants to play some cricket and be back amongst some familiar friends. There have been long discussions between England, ourselves and Dan and it’s been agreed that he should play if he wants.”

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

The Opposition:

After opening their Bob Willis Trophy season with a victory over Hampshire on their own turf, Sussex then travelled to Canterbury, where Kent inflicted defeat. Sussex posted 332, but then Kent scored 530 for the loss of one wicket before dismissing their opponents for 173 to complete victory with more than a day to spare.

Reflecting on his side’s heavy defeat before looking ahead to the clash with Essex, Sussex Head Coach Jason Gillespie said, “We were certainly very disappointed with our performance against Kent, we know we can play better than that for sure but credit to Kent I thought they played the game very well.

“This is going to be a very tough match against Essex who are the County champions. They are a very good side. We need to make sure that we have learned the lessons from that experience at Canterbury so that we can take those improvements into this match.”

Sussex Squad:

Ben Brown (c) (wk), Jack Carson, Tom Clark, Mitchell Claydon, Henry Crocombe, Harry Finch, George Garton, Tom Haines, Stuart Meaker, Delray Rawlins, Phil Salt, Will Sheffield, Aaron Thomason.

Injury/Absentees News:

Popular all-rounder Ravi Bopara left Essex at the end of last season to link with Sussex but is expected to only appear in white-ball cricket for the Sharks. Meanwhile, neither Ollie Robinson or Jofra Archer are available having been called into the England Test squad for the second Test with Pakistan although neither made the starting XI.

Last Match:

The last time that the two teams clashed in red-ball cricket at Hove was in a drawn match in 2016. The home side posted 360, Essex responded with 320, with Tom Westley striking 86 whilst Ryan ten Doeschate and Jesse Ryder both contributed 51. Sussex were then dismissed for 288 with Jamie Porter returning 5/82 (his first 5-fer in first-class cricket) and Graham Napier 5/92. Left 329 for victory, Essex were indebted to Alastair Cook who masterminded the draw batting throughout a second innings spanning 358 minutes to contribute an unbeaten 127 out of 266-7.

How To Watch:

Our Live Stream service will be available across all four days of this game from 11am, which also includes player stats, scorecard and clips throughout the day. Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone which is available here – here.

Standing up to the stumps, Adam Wheater has a unique insight into the mysteries of Simon Harmer’s prolific wicket-taking prowess.

Harmer took another 14-wicket haul in Essex’s Bob Willis Trophy victory against Surrey this week with Wheater contributing a smart stumping to underpin the off-spinner’s figures.

“At the start, when Harmy first arrived, I found it incredibly tough keeping to him and it was a big learning curve. It’s not easy, believe me. I’m a foot away from the batsmen and they’re having trouble,” says Wheater ahead of tomorrow’s visit to Hove to take on Sussex.

“You’ve certainly got to embrace wicketkeeping to Harmy because it’s hard work, but it’s challenging and rewarding. You’ve got to understand that there’s going to be some good days and there’s going to be some bad days. He’s certainly making me strive to be a better keeper to make sure all those chances are taken.

“Luckily, he’s not a mystery spinner in terms of the googly, the slider, a toppy or whatnot. So you know what’s coming down. Whether I can predict the exact bounce or the amount of spin is hard to tell. It depends on the wicket we’re playing on. But, yeah, I can pick him, but whether I can catch every ball off him is another question.”

From his close-range position Wheater can almost sense the nervousness of the batsmen. “Sometimes you think, ‘Oh no, he’s working Harmy out’, and then he’ll have a rush of blood and play a rash shot and he’s out. Other times you think, ‘This guy won’t last long’, especially if he’s a tail-ender, and he’ll play him quite well. I think we know with his lines and lengths that there are rarely bad balls, and that can bring on that rush of blood.

“Wicketkeeping is one of those things where you’d prefer to get nought [when batting] than you would drop a catch because of how it can affect the team. You’ve certainly got to make sure you take the chances when they come or you’re going to have an unhappy dressing room.”

In addition to his glove-work, Wheater has started the season with greater reliability and responsibility with the bat. In his four Bob Willis Trophy innings to date he has accumulated 148 runs, including a half-century against Surrey, a tally only just short of his Specsavers County Championship aggregate for the whole of last year.

“I had a particularly poor season with the bat,” he admits of 2019. He spent the winter pin-pointing and correcting the problems with Batting Coaches, Tom Huggins and Barry Hyam. There was mitigation for the downturn, though: “I suffered a really bad broken thumb at the start of last year,” he says. “I had no power in my bottom hand and no trust in my thumb, which is quite a key point. You rely on your bottom hand for strength and I just felt like I had no strength at all and I couldn’t bat the way I wanted to bat. Then it becomes a mental game.

“But I was pleased with the way my wicketkeeping went last season, which is strange because you’d think the injury would have had more of an impact on that. So there was a silver lining of sorts.”

The effects of lockdown, coupled with “the huge honour” of receiving his Essex cap a week ago and the imminent arrival of his first child with wife Lauren have given the 30-year-old Wheater a new perspective on life.

“Lockdown solidified that I wanted to play cricket for a long time and I had to work out how best to go about that. So while I was at home twiddling my thumbs it gave me a chance to rejig my mental side. It gave me clarity to see how lucky we are as players and how it’s important to appreciate that and enjoy every day.

“The arrival of the baby is just four weeks away now and that’s certainly changed things. You don’t want to be out of work and unable to provide for your family. It’s certainly changed my thought process as far as looking forward and making plans for the future. When the day does come that I am no longer playing cricket, there are things in place which will make the transition slightly easier.”

Essex Cricket are pleased to announce a new partnership with foreign exchange and international payments specialist, moneycorp.

The partnership will provide expert support for the Club’s international payment needs, plus a range of other services including greater protection against volatile currency fluctuations and competitive foreign exchange rates.

The 2020 season will see moneycorp become the official coin toss sponsor and a greater presence at The Cloudfm County Ground through branding and digital presence.

Essex Cricket fans will also be able to take advantage of competitive rates when exchanging currency, whether for their business international payments or for personal reasons such as sending money to friends and family abroad.

Lee McDarby, Managing Director of corporate foreign exchange and international payments at moneycorp, said:

“We’re pleased to announce our partnership with Essex Cricket. With an international presence and local expertise, we strive to put our customers’ needs at the heart of everything we do.

“Like Essex Cricket, with their motto of ‘one team, one dream’, we understand the value of community and always put our customers first, which is why we are delighted to share our expertise with a first-class Club.

“With the pandemic having put sport on hold across the UK, we’re really looking to embarking on this partnership with Essex Cricket at a time when cricket has made its long-awaited return.

“Prior to Covid-19, Essex Cricket had an incredible season in 2019, becoming double champions of the County Championship and Vitality Blast, alongside the women’s team’s determination securing them a podium spot.

“Now as the season picks up where it left off, we’re passionate about creating a level playing field for women in sport, and so are excited to work with such inspirational teams, being there for every match and every step of their journey.”

Greg Larkin, Commercial Sales Executive at Essex Cricket added:

“As we begin a new decade of county cricket, we’re excited to welcome moneycorp to the family of official Club Partners, demonstrating the ever-expanding international appeal of Essex Cricket.

“As we continue to grow commercially, this partnership allows us to reach new audiences and markets. We look forward to working together in the future.”

About moneycorp:

Established in 1979, the moneycorp group serves the growing foreign exchange and payments needs of global businesses, importers and exporters, online sellers and personal clients. Headquartered in London, with a worldwide presence, moneycorp pride themselves on providing exceptional customer service. A global company with local expertise.

For the 2020 season, Essex Cricket are proud to display Platinum Club Partner Woodland Group on the leading arm of the Bob Willis Trophy playing shirt.

As a key partner to our Club and shirt sponsor of the Royal London One Day Club, Woodland Group have continued to support our players, staff and local communities through challenging times and we are delighted to be able to show our appreciation to them for their continued support during this difficult time.

The last few months have been a true testament to the strength of our partnership and we look forward to working with them in the years to come.

Darrell Fox, Essex Cricket Commercial Manager: “Woodland Group have been loyal partners of the Club for almost 10 years.

“The team at Woodland Group has been incredible and they have gone over and above this season with their support of our Club’s community outreach work. This included their help in delivering over 6,000 hot meals to NHS hospitals during the peak of the pandemic.

“I am incredibly proud of our partnership with Woodland Group who are a global brand with a strong focus on their local community. We look forward to welcoming all the team from Woodland Group back to The Cloudfm County Ground when safe to do so.”

Our next fixture in the Bob Willis Trophy begins on Saturday for a trip to face Sussex in Hove. Full coverage of the game, including a live stream of the match and commentary courtesy of BBC Essex, will be available via the Essex Cricket Matchzone from 11am on each of the four days.

Feroze Khushi marked a memorable First-Class debut for the Club by hitting 45 on the fourth and final day of the opening Bob Willis Trophy match against Kent.

The knock came off 87 deliveries and included a partnership of 86 alongside Alastair Cook. This turned out to be Essex’s highest pairing of the match and ultimately set up the two-wicket victory.

Feroze spoke to Essex Cricket TV after play to reflect on his innings and feelings playing alongside Cooky during a pivotal time of the match.

Essex now head into a second home match in the Bob Willis Trophy starting on Saturday against Surrey. This match will be available to watch on via the Essex Cricket Matchzone Live Stream for all four days of the game.

Our matchdays this season will be behind-closed-doors but Members and supporters can still be part of the action at The Cloudfm County Ground via the Essex Cricket Matchzone across all home and away fixtures.

We apologise for the technical issues faced throughout Day One with the Live Stream, which was initially caused by an extremely high number of accessing the site.

Following continued work on our Live Stream service after play and ahead of Day Two, we’re confident that these issues have been resolved. We thank everyone who logged on Saturday for their patience and have been able to join us again today.

We must stress that our games in 2020 are behind-closed-doors and spectators are not currently able to watch these games live in person at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Visit the Essex Cricket Matchzone now to enjoy live coverage of the game which is free to Members and supporters.

This weekend saw the start of the new County Cricket campaign up and down the country but the recreational game has been enjoying its return over the last few weeks.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement at the beginning of July regarding cricket’s return, Club sides have pulled on their whites once again with a number of new safety precautions in operation, such as restrictions on changing facilities and the use of spit to shine the ball.

The return has also seen a renaming of the Shepherd Neame Essex League divisions to former Essex County Cricket Club Captains, such as Gooch, ten Doeschate and Fletcher.

This weekend has seen a number of the Essex First Team players feature for their respective club sides in the region to get some valuable match practice since lockdown.

Walter Shines For Billericay against Shenfield

Billericay 296-2 (40.0 overs)
Shenfield 216-4 (40.0vers)
Billericay won by 80 runs

Paul Walter provided the fireworks, hitting an unbeaten 166 off 122 balls carrying Billericay out of sight against Shenfield in a high-scoring Gooch Division encounter at Blunts Wall Road.

The Essex man struck no less than 24 boundaries and five 6’s as Billericay posted a sizable total just shy of 300.

Skipper, Darren Ironside, was also amongst the runs, reaching fifty on what proved to be a difficult day for the bowlers.

Having lost George Ballington early, the Shenfield response grew but ultimately didn’t gather enough momentum to trouble the home side. Tom Ballington continued in-form batsmen theme finishing on 94*, while Ollie Ekers fell two short of his half-century – Ironside taking 2/44.

Paul Walter came up against his Essex teammate, Jack Plom who ended with figures of 8-0-44-1.

Buttleman Century Helps Brentwood

Brentwood 321-6 (40.overs)
Colchester and East Essex 244 (39.3 overs)
Brentwood won by 77 runs

Essex wicket-keeper/batsman, Will Buttleman, hit a century while Ben Allison was also heavily amongst the runs as Brentwood roared to a ‘Gooch Division’ victory over Colchester and East Essex at the Old County Ground.

Buttleman hit 109 off 93 balls before falling to Charlie Watts, while skipper Allison remained unbeaten on 82 as Brentwood – offered the opportunity to bat – posted a huge 321.

The chase was always going to be a tall order for Colchester. Charlie Fernandes top-scored with 41 – Jack Levy the pick of the Brentwood attack with 4/40.

Elsewhere

Academy player, Robin Das struck 72 not out for Wanstead & Snarebrook as they defeated Harold Wood by 8 wickets.

Match summaries courtesy of Brian Jeeves – Yellow Advertiser (www.yellowad.co.uk/category/sport)

Kent and Essex players decided that before the match began today, both sets of players would take a knee in solidarity with anti-racism movements in the UK and around the world and not for any political organisation. There is no room for racism in cricket, sport or the wider community.

The players also held a minute’s silence before the game for COVID-19 victims and a minute’s applause in support of the NHS and key workers.