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You can now vote for your DeVines Player of the Month for July with five contenders nominated for the award. Essex rose to the summit of the Specsavers County Championship table at the start of the month, before getting stuck into a rigorous Vitality Blast schedule.
 
Nick Browne:
 
Nick Browne demonstrated his skill and patience at the top of the order in the first game of the month against a strong Nottinghamshire attack at Trent Bridge. Tasked with establishing a lead after the bowlers had removed the home team for just 213, Nick alongside Ravi did just that as the opener scored 163 in a mammoth total of 519/9 declared, that set up Essex nicely to win by an innings and 123 runs. Browne’s total came from 370 balls and included 27 boundaries.
 
Cameron Delport:
 
A phenomenal performance against Surrey at the Cloudfm County Ground was always going to secure the South African opener a spot in this line-up. On an evening where the Eagles scored 226 runs from just 15 overs, Delport reached his century from just 38 balls as no Surrey bowler was safe from his deluge of boundaries that included 14 maximums.
 
Ryan ten Doeschate:
 
The Club Captain scored an important 70* during the first innings of the County Championship fixture against Yorkshire, which set the tone for the remainder of the game as Essex went on to win by 8 wickets. In the Vitality Blast, he hit a quickfire 74* from 46 balls against Middlesex at Lord’s and followed that up with 58* against Kent Spitfires at The Spitfire Ground. Now batting at four for the Eagles, he’ll be looking to score plenty more runs before the competition reaches it conclusion.
 
Simon Harmer:
 
Before going into his new role as T20 captain, Simon Harmer was busy taking important wickets that helped see the Club sit top of the County Championship table. 6 wickets in the second innings against Warwickshire were particularly pertinent as the South African spun through the defences of the Warwickshire line-up. In the Vitality Blast, Harmer has also been successful taking 4 wickets so far in the tournament.
 
Matt Quinn:
 
Our leading wicket-taker in the Vitality Blast, Matt Quinn has been dangerous throughout the innings taking wickets upfront and at the death. Quinn currently has an impressive tally of 6 wickets and will hope to take more as the tournament continues.

Voting closes at 5PM on Wednesday 14 August with the presentation taking place on Friday 16 August during the Vitality Blast fixture with Glamorgan at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Essex Cricket supports Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign to make sport everyone’s game.

The Club have joined the Rainbow Laces campaign to celebrate lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) players and fans at every level of cricket. The Essex Eagles players will be showing their support during Friday’s match against Glamorgan at Cardiff by wearing the rainbow laces.

The ECB has joined forces with LGBT equity charity Stonewall to bring Rainbow Laces to the Vitality Blast and Kia Super League for the next round of matches. The campaign will see thousands of players and fans lace up their Rainbow Laces on 09 – 12 August, to show that cricket is everyone’s game and that LGBT people are welcome and included at every level.

We know that most fans welcome and accept LGBT people in sport. However, we can’t let a minority of fans spoil the game and make LGBT fans feel unwelcome watching or playing cricket.

By supporting Rainbow Laces we are stepping up to show that offensive chants, language and behaviour have no place in our game.

Join us and Stonewall to make sport everyone’s game – www.stonewall.org.uk/sport

Essex Eagles face Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens on Friday night, with Simon Harmer’s side seeking a much-need victory after last night’s devastating defeat to Somerset.

The Welsh side are bottom of the South Group and are still looking for the first victory of their Vitality Blast campaign, having lost five of their seven matches with a tie and a no result accounting for their two points in the competition so far.

Defeat at The Cloudfm County Ground on Wednesday night left the Eagles with just two wins in the competition and Head Coach Anthony McGrath expressed his disappointment, saying: “We haven’t done well in T20 cricket for a couple of years now and we have tried to try different combinations but it boils down to the players taking responsibility and putting in performances.

“We did some poor stuff in the field and we dropped some important catches and didn’t get our plans right at the beginning or the death.
“When we win, we win very well and when we’ve lost, we’ve lost very badly. We have talked about putting two or three results on the board and we just can’t do that.

“We really must do the basics a lot better. We are trying to get things sorted, we are using different players, but we need to get some consistency as a team in our white-ball cricket, not just batters on one night and bowlers on another.”

Essex Eagles squad to face Somerset:

Simon Harmer (11) (Captain)
Mohammad Amir (5)
Aaron Beard (14)
Ravi Bopara (25)
Sam Cook (16)
Cameron Delport (89)
Ryan ten Doeschate (27)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Jamie Porter (44)
Shane Snater (29)
Paul Walter (22)
Tom Westley (21)
Adam Wheater (31) (Wicket-keeper)
Adam Zampa (88)

Get down to East Bergholt Cricket Club this bank holiday weekend to join a selection of the 1979 County Championship winners including Captain Keith Fletcher, one of the game’s greatest entertainer’s in Ray East, fast bowler JK Lever, along with opening batsman Brian Hardie and all-rounder Stuart Turner.

There will be a Q & A session hosted by ICC commentator and broadcaster Jonny Barran as well as a four-course lunch available. Food options include salmon, duo of lamb, fruit posset, cheeseboard and coffee for just £29 (including the Q & A).

For more information, contact Nathan Philpot at [email protected], call 07947 878871 or visit www.cricketweek.org.uk.

LOOKING FORWARD: The Eagles travel to Cardiff to face Glamorgan later this week before returning to Chelmsford to play Middlesex next wednesday.

ALL OUT: Essex are all out for 111, falling 114 runs short of the target.

WICKET: AMIR, BOWLED WALLER, STUMPED BANTON.

OVER 12: Essex take 16 from the over.

5-FER: ROELOF VAN DER MERWE.

WICKET: BEARD, BOWLED VAN DER MERWE, CAUGHT OVERTON.

OVER 11: With Captain Harmer departing the task is left to Beard and Zampa. Essex sit on 93-8.

WICKET: HARMER, BOWLED WALLER, CAUGHT ABELL.

OVER 10: Roelof Van Der Merwe has blown the middle order apart with 3 wickets in 4 balls. A serious uphill battle awaits the Eagles.

WICKET: WALTER, LBW VAN DER MERWE.

WICKET BOPARA, BOWLED VAN DER MERWE, CAUGHT BANTON.

WICKET: TEN DOESCHATE, BOWLED VAN DER MERWE, CAUGHT ABELL.

OVER 9: The experienced heads of Ravi and Tendo are at the crease with Essex on 87-4.

WICKET: LAWRENCE, BOWLED WALLER, CAUGHT OVERTON

OVER 8: The Eagles had began to tuck into Roelof Van Der Merwe’s bowling, however the spinner struck in the penultimate ball of his over.

WICKET: WHEATER, BOWLED VAN DER MERWE, CAUGHT HILDRETH.

OVER 7: Some excellent running between Wheater and Lawrence sees Essex get to 61-2.

OVER 6: The fifty is up for the Eagles who are battling hard against an efficient Somerset outfit.

OVER 5: Essex Eagles are on 43-2. Wheater and Lawrence at the crease.

WICKET: WESTLEY, BOWLED OVERTON, CAUGHT WALLER.

OVER 4: The Eagles had made a strong start before the important wicket of Delport was taken with the final ball.

WICKET: DELPORT, BOWLED GROENEWALD, CAUGHT ABELL

OVER 3: The eagles take 10 from Craig Overton’s first over.

OVER 2: The openers take a watchful approach to Taylor’s first few balls before hitting 3 boundaries off the final 3 balls. Essex Eagles 20-0 after 2.

OVER 1: A decent start for the Eagles who take 8 from the opening over.

THE OPENERS: Westley and Delport stride out, looking to make the most of the important power play period.

INNINGS: Somerset post a commanding 225-6. Essex will need to bat well to secure back-to-back victories.

OVER 19: Somerset bring up their 200. The west-country outfit are 205-6.

WICKET: VAN DER MERWE, BOWLED AMIR, CAUGHT WHEATER.

OVER 18: Byrom had teed off aggressively scoring a very quick 44 before Zampa removed the Somerset youngster. Somerset are on 192-5 with just 12 balls left.

WICKET: BYROM, BOWLED ZAMPA, CAUGHT BOPARA

OVER 17: Amir returns but Somerset continue to accelerate. Score sits at 174-4.

OVER 16: Ravi finishes his excellent spell with figures of 18-3 from his 4 overs.

WICKET: AZAM, BOWLED BOPARA, CAUGHT HARMER.

OVER 15: Harmer changes ends, but unfortunately Somerset don’t change their approach as they take 10 from the over.

FIFTY: BABAR AZAM, 37 BALLS

OVER 14: Dan Lawrence has his first bowl since the the Blast game at Lord’s, his first over going for 7.

OVER 13: Zampa strikes, removing the dangerous Tom Abell. Somerset remain well poised however on a score of 132-3.

WICKET: ABELL, BOWLED ZAMPA, STUMPED WHEATER.

OVER 12: Harmer comes back into the attack, but the change does not have the desired affect for the Eagles. The over going for 24, largely down to some clean striking from Somerset’s captain Tom Abell.

OVER 11: Ravi continues to plough away, Somerset remain resolute however. The score is 104-2.

OVER 10: Beard bowls the over that takes us to the half-way mark. Somerset accelerating well and getting to 97-2.

OVER 9: The crowd are delighted to see Ravi come back into the attack, and with good reason as his second over goes for 4 giving him impressive figures of 5-2 thus far.

OVER 8: Captain Harmer is into the attack, Somerset still have the dangerous Babar Azam at the crease and his wicket will be key to this contest.

OVER 7: Zampa comes back into the attack, conceding 9 runs.

OVER 6: Amir bowls his second over. Somerset sit on 60-2.

OVER 5: Ravi comes into the attack and gives the Eagles just what they need, taking 2 wickets and conceding just one run. First Banton went, playing one too many shots, before Hildreth was caught by a superb catch from Paul Walter.

WICKET: HILDRETH, BOWLED BOPARA, CAUGHT WALTER

WICKET: BANTON, BOWLED BOPARA, CAUGHT ZAMPA

OVER 4: Essex continue to mix and match their bowlers, Paul Walter bowling the 4th over. Somerset are relentless however and bring up their 50.

OVER 3: Zampa enters the attack, the Somerset batsmen appeared cautious at first before eventually taking the over for 12 runs.

OVER 2: Aaron Beard opens up from the other end where Somerset opener Tom Banton shows his class hitting 5 consecutive boundaries in an over that went for 22.

OVER 1: Amir bowls the first over tightly, going for just 5. A crisp 4 from fellow Pakistani Babar Azam the only shot of note in the over.

THE SIDES ARE ENTERING THE FIELD: Essex are led out by Simon Harmer, hoping to make it two wins in two.

TEAM NEWS: Somerset select a side including young talent Tom Banton as well as Pakistan national team player Babar Azam. Essex make one change from the side that won at Gloucester picking Ravi Bopara ahead of Shane Snater.

TOSS NEWS: Somerset win the toss and elect to bat. The Eagles will field first.

AN HOUR TO GO: The ground is beginning to fill with fans ready for this exciting fixture between the Eagles and Somerset. Team news due shortly.

WEATHER OUTLOOK: The sun is now shining at the Cloudfm County Ground following a brief but heavy shower. Play is due to start at 7 as expected still with no rain expected throughout the evening and into the night.

Welcome to The Cloudfm County Ground, where Essex Eagles take on Somerset in the Vitality Blast, with Simon Harmer’s side searching for back to back wins for the first time in the competition following last week’s victory over Gloucestershire.

Simon Harmer and Anthony McGrath made a change to their batting line-up for last week’s Vitality Blast fixtures against Hampshire and Gloucestershire, and promoted Tom Westley to the top of the order.

It’s the first time that the 30-year-old has opened the batting for the Eagles in T20 cricket and the shift has given the side a boost right when their campaign needed it.

The Eagles had won one of their first four matches before Westley was moved up the order from the number three position he has made very much his own across all formats. It did not have an immediate effect on the team’s fortunes, though, as despite his sterling 44 against Hampshire at The Cloudfm County Ground last Thursday, which included an 81-run, second-wicket stand with Adam Wheater, the Eagles slipped to defeat.

However, on the road the following night, Westley’s unbeaten 86 laid the foundations for a morale-boosting victory over Gloucestershire that has ignited hopes of landing one of the four qualifying places for the knockout rounds as the group stage approaches its halfway point.

Westley said: “Opening is not too dissimilar to batting at three, you can be in from the second ball anyway in T20 cricket, so it’s not a huge change for me, but it’s one that I’m enjoying.

“It probably gives you a little more licence to be aggressive. Having 10 wickets in the hutch means you can go for it a bit more, especially opening with someone like Cam Delport who gives it a serious whack. We’ve actually had two good power plays in the last two games, so hopefully this is something we can continue and set the boys up.”

The suggestion that Westley should open came from the management, with him saying: “Harmy and Mags felt a change was needed, and it paid off down in Bristol. In fact, we were going quite nicely against Hampshire until that drastic batting collapse. But down in Bristol, myself and Delport got fifties and Dan Lawrence, going up a place in the order, got a magnificent fifty as well.

“I haven’t opened in T20 cricket before, but I have in 50-over cricket, and when it was 40 overs before that, and I’ve opened in first-class cricket as well, so it’s nothing new. I like going in when the power play’s going on anyway as it gives me the chance to try and hit a few boundaries.”

The addition of the power-hitting of South African Delport to the batting line-up has enabled the Eagles to play the brand of attacking cricket required in the short format, with Westley commenting: “That hundred he got against Surrey was one of the best white-ball knocks you will see. He takes a lot of pressure off the non-striker because he gets fours and sixes galore.

“T20 cricket has changed massively in the last three or four years. There is not much scope now to try and knock it around at a strike-rate of around 110-120. If you’ve got the honour of batting in the top six then you’ve got to be striking at 130-plus, so Cammie obviously sets the tone and hopefully the rest of us can follow suit.”

Next up at The Cloudfm County Ground in the Vitality Blast are Somerset, who along with Essex, lead the way in the County Championship.

Westley added: “It’s a completely different format, different teams, different make-ups, but I suppose just beating them will be a slight psychological advantage for us going back into the Championship campaign. But we’re very much into taking one game at a time. It would be brilliant to beat Somerset on Wednesday, that’s our first challenge, then we’ll take care of all the four-day stuff later on.”

As for his own form this season, Westley says: “I’m scoring consistently, it’s just been a bit frustrating in the sense I’ve got a lot of starts, so many 30-plus scores, maybe seven or eight fifties across all the formats, but still haven’t managed to get a big hundred yet. But, more importantly, I feel I’m offering valuable runs to the team.”

The 30-year-old committed himself to another three years at Chelmsford last month, said: “It was a no-brainer, because I think we’re in the middle of what could be a very successful era for the club.”

Essex Eagles entertain Somerset in the Vitality Blast on Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Ravi Bopara and Jamie Porter return to the squad, but Matt Quinn drops out after picking up a shoulder injury which forced him out of the clash against Gloucestershire at The Bristol County Ground.

The 26-year-old is the leading wicket taker for the Eagles in the Vitality Blast, and he’s due to have a scan on Wednesday to determine the extent of the injury.

Simon Harmer’s side are looking to build on last week’s win where they beat Gloucestershire by 25 runs, and the skipper is hoping that his side can build momentum from the victory, saying: “The win showed the character we have in the group together with the talent and potential.

“To go to a strong Gloucestershire side and turn them over was excellent particularly after the disappointing defeat to Hampshire the previous evening.

“I’m trying my best to make things happen as they should but I also have in mind that there are certain things here and there that we can work on and be better at going deeper into the competition. But as a captain watching that performance on Friday was very enjoyable.

“We needed our batters to take responsibility because our top-six needs to be scoring the bulk of our runs. They put their hands up and showed what they could do and that set us up. It was a real positive performance from them and a good blueprint of how we want to play our T20 cricket.

“It showed what we’re capable of and I think it also demonstrates that we have a lot of talent, youth and depth in our squad.”

Essex Eagles squad to face Somerset:

Simon Harmer (11) (captain)
Mohammad Amir (5)
Aaron Beard (14)
Ravi Bopara (25)
Sam Cook (16)
Cameron Delport (89)
Ryan ten Doeschate (27)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Jamie Porter(44)
Shane Snater (29)
Paul Walter (22)
Tom Westley (21)
Adam Wheater (31) (wicket-keeper)
Adam Zampa (88)

Somerset head to The Cloudfm County Ground looking to turn their fortunes after suffering 4 defeats in this year’s Vitality Blast after 6 matches.

The Eagles’ Mohammad Amir will be coming up against his international teammate, Babar Azam, who is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the competition behind Middlesex’s Dawid Malan.

Here’s the low-down on Wednesday’s opponents…

Titles: 1 (2005)

Finals Days: 6

Head Coach: Jason Kerr – The Lancastrian played as an all-rounder for the club between 1993 and 2001 before moving to Derbyshire. Put in charge of the team for the 2018 season after serving as a bowling coach.

Captain: With Lewis Gregory set to miss Wednesday’s match with a foot injury, Club Captain, Tom Abell will take on the duties of leading Somerset.

Overseas Signings: Jerome Taylor (West Indies) & Babar Azam (Pakistan)

The Narrative: Director of Cricket Andy Hurry has publicly targeted Somerset winning all three domestic trophies this summer. So far, his confidence has been justified by the club winning the Royal London One-Day Cup and sitting second in the Specsavers County Championship, a competition they have never won.

Star Man: Jamie Overton – Having worked on a greater variety of delivery, the tall seamer with genuine pace claimed 24 wickets in last summer’s Vitality Blast, a tally bettered by only two other bowlers in the competition.

Mr Consistency: Max Waller – The experienced leg-spinner has developed into a T20 specialist, renowned for his miserly economy rate and not afraid to open the attack when called upon.

Under the Radar: Tom Banton – The 20-year-old batsman announced himself with a brilliant Royal London One-Day Cup campaign this season and is already being compared to Jos Buttler for his range of strokes all around the wicket.

Killer Stat: Lewis Gregory had a strike-rate of 202.46 in last season’s Vitality Blast, the highest by any batsman who made more than three appearances. Somerset’s captain played in all their 16 matches, averaging 46.85.

Gloucestershire v Essex Eagles
Vitality Blast
Friday 02 August
The Bristol County Ground, Bristol

Gloucestershire Team: Michael Klinger (C), Miles Hammond, James Bracey (WK), Iain Cockbain, Ryan Higgins, Jack Taylor, Benny Howell, Graeme van Buuren, Andrew Tye, Tom Smith, David Payne.

Essex Eagles Team: Tom Westley, Cameron Delport, Adam Wheater (WK), Dan Lawrence, Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Shane Snater, Simon Harmer (C), Mohammed Amir, Adam Zampa, Matthew Quinn.

Umpires: Paul Baldwin & Richard Illingworth

Result: Essex Eagles won by 25 runs

Match Report:

Excellent powerhouse batting from the Eagles proved defining as they beat Gloucestershire by 25 runs in the Vitality Blast clash at Bristol on Friday night.

Led by Tom Westley, who carried his bat for 86, the Eagles posted 206 for 3 and their highest total against Gloucestershire in Twenty20 cricket. In reply, the home side reached 181 for 5 wickets with Ryan Higgins scoring 77 not out.

Westley’s efforts were superbly supported by Dan Lawrence and Cameron Delport who contributed 56 and 51 respectively with the latter launching the innings after the Eagles had won the toss, with an 81 partnership in nine overs with Westley.

Delport set the tone with a 30-ball half-century that included 5 sixes and 2 fours before he was caught in the deep off the excellent and frugal Benny Howell.

Howell, who conceded just 13 runs from his four overs amongst all the carnage, also picked up the wicket of Adam Wheater for 3 to leave the Eagles who had opted to bat, 94 for 2 just after the halfway stage.

But Lawrence joined Westley to move the innings into overdrive as both drove cleanly and frequently. Westley’s half-century arrived fork 36 balls with 1 six and 5 fours, but the batsman wasted little time in celebrating the milestone blasting three maximum blows from one Tom Smith over.

His 50 runs stand with Lawrence took just 25 balls and whilst Westley continued to exhibit fine and punishing strokeplay, Lawrence too went on the rampage with a demonstration of powerful hitting. He was to prove the fastest of the half-centurions to reach his fifty from just 27 balls aided by three sixes and four other boundaries.

His partnership with Westley had accrued 105 runs from 52 balls when Lawrence was caught at deep mid-off in the penultimate over of the innings.

The home side never picked up the required rate losing their first three wickets in seven overs from 43 runs including Michael Klinger. So often a thorn in the Essex side, the Australian was caught for 11 as he attempted to lob a ball from Shane Snater over the head of the wicket-keeper but Wheater leapt to take the catch. Adam Zampa removed Miles Hammond whilst skipper Simon Harmer accounted for James Bracey both batsmen falling to catches in the deep.

When Aaron Beard claimed his maiden T20 wicket on debut having Ian Cockbain caught by Harmer at mid-off, the West Country side required 139 more runs off 55 balls.

However, Ryan Higgins and Jack Taylor decided that if their side was to lose, then they would go down with all guns blazing.

They took 70 runs in five overs as they ate into the target with Higgins striking a huge 6 off Harmer to reach a 28-ball half-century with the assistance of 32 in boundaries.

At the start of the 16th over, they required 87 off 30 balls and a Delport over then yielded 18 runs.

But Harmer had kept two overs of Mohammad Amir under his belt. The Pakistan quickie applied the brakes conceding 9 runs from over 17 before Zampa struck to end a fifth wicket partnership that had realised 93 runs in seven overs by having Taylor caught by Harmer for 42.

Gloucestershire required 32 from the final over and Beard was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the Eagles secured victory. He sent down a splendid over conceding just 6 runs as the Eagles recorded a second victory of the Vitality Blast season and now have five points from 6 matches.