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Following a historic and unprecedented double with Essex in 2019, Head Coach Anthony McGrath was named the ECB Coaches Association Coach Of The Year at Lord’s last Thursday.

McGrath led the side to a maiden T20 title in late September following a change in fortunes which saw the Eagles win three of their final four South Group games and go on a run which ended with a dramatic victory on the final ball against Worcestershire Rapids at Edgbaston.

Following the celebrations in Birmingham, the team headed down to Taunton to take on Somerset in the Championship decider, and McGrath’s side once again came out victorious. Following four rain-affected days, Essex skipper Ryan ten Doeschate lifted the trophy for the second time in three years to write history, as Essex became the first side to complete the T20 and Championship double in the same season.

McGrath was presented with his award by Essex Club Ambassador Graham Gooch at the annual Lord’s Long Room Christmas Lunch, and he said: “It’s a real honour to be named the ECB Coaches Association Coach of the Year.

“It’s been a great year for everyone at Essex, and this award represents the hard work everyone at the Club has done as a collective group. Everyone from the players and coaches to the commercial and community staff played their part last season and without that effort, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we did.”

Members of the Essex First Team and Ability squad visited Broomfield Hospital earlier today to spread festive cheer ahead of the Christmas period.

Essex players such as Jamie Porter, Nick Browne, Sam Cook and Aaron Beard were all in attendance, as well as Head Coach Anthony McGrath, whilst Ricky Clutterbuck and Andy Catherell visited on behalf of the Ability team.

The players played the role of Father Christmas for the afternoon, giving out Essex Cricket goody bags and gifts whilst also posing for photos with both the Vitality Blast and County Championship trophies.

Essex Head Coach Anthony McGrath was more than happy to make the trip and said: “It’s really rewarding to be here visiting the patients at Broomfield Hospital.

“We spoke to some families who are unfortunately going to be in the hospital over the Christmas period, which is truly heart-breaking. All we can hope is that we’ve come down and put a smile on their faces at a time they need it most.”

Essex bowler Sam Cook also added: “Me and the lads are in a very privileged position and are extremely lucky to be professional cricketers.

“It’s really important that we give back to the local community and it’s something that we try to do as often as possible. Hopefully the presents and laughs we shared with the children and their families will bring them some joy during a tough time.”

The squad will be heading to Sri Lanka in March for the Champion County match against the MCC at the famous Galle International Cricket Stadium. The match takes place on 24-27 March 2020 and scheduled to start the day after England’s 1st Test match against Sri Lanka finishes at the same ground. Ahead of the trip to Sri Lanka, the team will be building up to the new campaign with warm-up games in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

CricTours, in association with Sporta Tours, are pleased to offer luxury, fully escorted supporters’ tours to the season opener and/or the 1st Test in Galle, plus warm-up games in Abu Dhabi.

Follow the County Champions overseas by joining this amazing trip, which includes a host of other events and sights.

The Club have been handed home advantage to start the defence of both the County Championship and Vitality Blast titles following the release of next summer’s fixtures today.

Essex fans can view the fixtures now via the link below with the chance to also download them straight to your mobile phone and digital device calendar.

Essex make an early start to the season with the traditional curtain-raiser against the MCC, which will be played at Galle in Sri Lanka (March 24).

Two notable fixtures early on in the year include a home Championship opener against Yorkshire (April 19, along with Ravi Bopara’s return to Chelmsford with Sussex Sharks for the Vitality Blast (June 24).

The Club’s first six home Championship matches will be played on at least one day of the weekend, giving fans more opportunity to watch the likes of Sir Alastair Cook and Simon Harmer in action, while six of the seven Blast matches at The Cloudfm County Ground are in prime slots on either a Friday night or Sunday.

The newly named 50-over competition, Royal London Cup, will once again be a group competition however no longer with the North/South divide. The group games will be played in the height of the summer, from July 19 to August 09, with The Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford also hosting two matches of The Hundred – Women’s Competition to ensure a bumper summer of cricket awaits for all fans.

After beginning the Championship season at home to Yorkshire, Essex face the three newly-promoted clubs in successive matches with trips to Northamptonshire and Lancashire before hosting Gloucestershire.

The first re-match of last summer’s title decider against Somerset will be at home on Sunday 05 July, with the conclusion of the campaign taking place at Edgbaston to face Warwickshire from September 22.

After the memorable victory over Worcestershire Rapids on Finals Day last summer the Eagles begin the Vitality Blast with three home matches – against Glamorgan (Friday 29 May), Somerset (Sunday 31 May) before the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ against Kent Spitfires (Friday 05 June).

Kent Spitfires will also be at The Cloudfm County Ground for the start of the Royal London Cup on Sunday 19 July with the likes of Alastair Cook, Tom Westley, Jamie Porter, Aaron Beard and Rishi Patel set to lead the push for more silverware.

The county will get its first taste of the new The Hundred tournament with England Women’s skipper Heather Knight set to lead London Spirit in two matches at Chelmsford.

Spirit will meet Southern Brave at The Cloudfm County Ground on Sunday 26 July before Trent Rockets are the visitors on Tuesday 11 August.

You can be part of the new and exciting season ahead by becoming a Member in 2020. Packages are on sale now and Members have an opportunity to catch Essex in action, with entry or discounted ticket pricing available. Early Bird savings are also available on all Membership packages (except Eagles Club Membership) when purchasing before 31 December.

 

Dan Lawrence is one of five batsmen heading to Mumbai later this month for a specialist batting camp run by The ECB to support England and England Lions players.

The Essex batsman will be joined by Will Jacks, James Bracey, Keaton Jennings and Sam Hain out in India, where they will work with Surrey Assistant Head Coach Vikram Solanki.

The camp is part of the ECB’s Individualised Programmes – a new approach that provides bespoke programmes for a targeted group of players, allowing them to focus on specific areas of improvement, as agreed with their counties and the players themselves.

ECB Performance Director Mo Bobat said: “The Individualised Programmes are a great opportunity for some of our best young cricketers to focus on specific areas of their game in unfamiliar and challenging conditions around the world. It’s a great example of how a strong and joined up pathway and county system can support Ed Smith’s succession planning whilst delivering better prepared players to Chris Silverwood and England.

“While these two camps have overall themes of pace and spin, each player in attendance will have a uniquely tailored training programme. Some of the players involved are in England’s immediate plans, while others will be working on areas that will benefit the national team’s medium and long-term needs.

“We’re fortunate to be working with a number of high-quality coaches and support staff to help deliver this fresh approach to our programming, which is testament to the strong links we have with the counties.”