The countdown is nearly over to the 2022 Vitality Blast campaign with the Eagles making the trip to Canterbury to face Kent this Friday.

Four days later, they’ll walk out to ‘Chase The Sun’ for the first time in 2022 as T20 action reaches Chelmsford. Tickets for that game against Hampshire Hawks are still available and what better way to celebrate Half-Term than to see the Eagles into the new season of the shortest format of the game.

 
The first of our Friday night fixtures against Middlesex on June 10 is now sold out and there is very limited availability remaining for other two Friday night fixtures against Sussex Sharks (June 17) and Surrey (June 24) respectively.

Watch: T20 Nights Under Lights are Back

10 for the price of 8

 
Fancy a night of T20 cricket with your mates? Get ten tickets for the price of eight with our group-saver offer. To claim this deal, book your tickets with our Ticketing Office over the phone on, 01245 254010.

Available for: Tue 31 May, Hampshire Hawks | Tue 07 Jun, Kent Spitfires | Sun 19 Jun, Somerset | Sat 02 Jul, Glamorgan.

The Eagles Area

Get closer to the Eagles with our on-pitch seating area. As well as being just inches from the action the Eagles Area is also the only section of unallocated seating in the stadium, so make sure to arrive early and pick your seats.

Family Fun Day

T20 cricket at Chelmsford is family-friendly and with allocated family and alcohol-free stands, The Cloud County Ground is a safe and friendly place for families to come and enjoy the cricket.

On Sunday 19 June, Essex Eagles take on Somerset at The Cloud County Ground, a fixture which has been nominated as our annual Family Day. Coinciding with Father’s Day, there will be extra activities for families to enjoy and the earlier start time of 2:30pm means the game will be wrapped up by 6pm.

On the day that Colchester was awarded city status, it is an opportunity to look back at first-class cricket staged at the two venues in the north of the county, primarily the Castle Park Cricket Ground but also the Garrison ‘A’ Cricket Ground.

Lying to the north of the High Street, and below the level of the town and castle itself, the park is bordered by the remains of the Roman perimeter wall and the old Colchester by-pass. Colchester CC first opened the ground in 1908 and after returning from the war, Essex first staged their opening first-class game in 1914.

However, due to constant flooding of the River Colne, Essex had to move to the Garrison ‘A’ Ground in 1966 before returning in 1974 for regular cricket festivals. Usually taking place around August, festival cricket continued to be staged the venue until 2016. These festivals were suspended from 2017 due to a change in the ways in which fixtures are arranged by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

A total of 117 first-class matches were staged there with Essex victorious on 40 occasions.

Colchester Castle Park in 2016

The first Essex fixture took place in 1914 and witnessed a winning start following a 193-run win against Worcestershire.

In a game which saw over a thousand runs, there wasn’t a single century scored in the match with Essex’s entire middle order of Percy Perrin, Frederick Fane, Johnny Douglas and Walter Turner all scoring 50s to set up a comfortable first win at Castle Park, as they bowled out Worcestershire twice for 214 and 216.

Colchester Castle Park in 1908

The dominance of Essex between 1979-1984 was also on show for the people of Colchester, in particular a nervy Championship fixture against Glamorgan in 1981.

The visitors held a first-innings lead of 87, before opening batters, Graham Gooch and Brian Hardie both scored 113 & 114* respectively. This was supported by Allan Lilley who struck 88 to give Essex a lead of 324 going into Glamorgan’s second innings.

However, 5-62 from the legendary John Lever left Javed Miandad stranded on 200* as Essex secured a 13-run win.

The highest first-class score ever hit in a first-class game at Castle Park is 662-7 in 1995, with three of the opening four batters hitting hundreds against Hampshire. Graham Gooch opened the scoring with 142, followed by Nasser Hussain who top-scored with 145 and 136 from the overseas star, Mark Waugh.

This was reinforced by Ronnie Irani and Robert Rollins who scored 78 & 85, respectively, putting Essex in the perfect position for a comfortable win by an innings and 254.

The only T20 game to be played by Essex in Colchester was in 2014 against Kent Spitfires. Essex Eagles didn’t get off to the greatest start losing both openers, Jesse Ryder and Mark Pettini departing within the first seven balls. However, this bought Tom Westley to the crease who would go on to score a century in what is his best-ever T20 campaign to date.

Westley scored his 105 off 58 balls, including 10 fours and 6 sixes. His innings helped to guide the Eagles to over 200, with the support of James Foster (36) and Ryan ten Doeschate (37). It was Jesse Ryder who starred with the ball, taking 5/27 with the Spitfires were bowled out for 146 to give Essex a 63-run victory.

Westley celebrates reaching a century against Kent

The last Essex game played at Castle Park to date was in 2016, which turned out to be a momentous moment for Graham Napier. Napier, who is arguably Essex’s greatest player to come from Colchester, was playing in his final match at Castle Park following his impending retirement at the end of that season.

Graham Napier walking off after scoring 124

The Championship fixture ended in a draw but was overshadowed by Napier, who showed his brilliance one final time in festival cricket. Napier took 5-114 off 30 overs as Sussex were bowled out before scoring a beautiful century with the bat, which included 17 fours and 4 sixes, to top off his farewell.

Colchester Moments:

After a week without a game, Essex make the journey to Manchester to play a high-flying Lancashire team.

Essex’s last game finished in a draw against Yorkshire in a match where the batters once again flourished at Chelmsford. A debut first-class hundred for Paul Walter and twin centuries for Alastair Cook were the highlights of a game that left Essex on 54 points.

While Essex remain unbeaten at home this season, fortunes on the road have been mixed with a remarkable victory at Somerset and defeat at Warwickshire.

Squad:

Dan Lawrence has made a full recovery from the hamstring injury he sustained in Essex’s last away game at Warwickshire. He returns to the squad alongside Aaron Beard, who impressed during his short loan stint with Sussex.

Mark Steketee will miss what was scheduled to be the final game of his spell with the Club due to an injury he picked up in Essex’s last game against Yorkshire.

The Opposition:

Lancashire enjoyed an excellent start to the 2022 campaign, winning their opening two matches in convincing fashion. They have drawn each of their three fixtures since, despite being in a strong position last time out against Yorkshire. Their early season form has left them sat second in the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One table on 85 points with only Surrey in front of them.

They have benefitted from strong batting performances from the likes of Keaton Jennings (348 runs at 174), Captain Dane Vilas (362 runs at 72.40) and Josh Bohannnon (308 runs at 61.60). While their bowling unit, at it’s strongest, comprises of James Anderson, Hassan Ali, Saqid Mahmood and the legspin of Matt Parkinson.

Saqib Mahmood, however, has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2022 season with a stress fracture to his back.

Lancashire squad: Dane Vilas (c), James Anderson, Tom Bailey, George Balderson, Jack Blatherwick, Josh Bohannon, Steven Croft, Hassan Ali, Keaton Jennings, Matt Parkinson, Phil Salt (wk), Luke Wells, Luke Wood.

Last time out:

Somewhat surprisingly, Essex haven’t played Lancashire in first-class cricket in 4 years.

The last time these two teams met was at Manchester in June 2018. Essex ran out winners by 5 wickets thanks to 7-wicket match hauls for Simon Harmer (7/69) and Jamie Porter (7/98).

Batting first, Lancashire managed 301 all out in their thanks to half-centuries for Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jordan Clark. Wickets for the Essex bowlers were spread between Sam Cook (3), Simon Harmer (3), Jamie Porter (2) and Neil Wagner (2).

Essex one-upped Lancashire’s first-innings effort with a score of 302 all out. Alastair Cook top-scored with 58, but there were contributions from Tom Westley, Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater and the Lancashire bowlers, who added 42 in extras.

It was in Lancashire’s second-innings when Porter (5/30) and Harmer (4/34) sprung into action, routing their batting line-up for 105. This left Essex requiring 104 to win, which was managed for the loss of 5 wickets.

How To Watch:

Our hosts will provide a live Stream service that will be available across all four days of this game from 10:30am, which also includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the day.

The broadcast can be accessed via the Essex Cricket Matchzone here.

The Cloud County Ground host Sunrisers once again in 2022 with four fixtures being played in the Charlotte Edwards Cup (T20) and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy (50-over).

First up is Sunrisers v South East Stars for the opening match of the Charlotte Edwards Cup, which takes place on Saturday 14 May (2:30pm) at Chelmsford and here is all you need to know about the competition this year.

The 2022 Charlotte Edwards Cup starts on 14 May, with the eight regional teams playing for a place at Finals Day on 11 June in Northampton.

Which games are being hosted at The Cloud County Ground?

• Sunrisers v South East Stars: Saturday 14 May, 2:30pm
• Sunrisers v Western Storm: Wednesday 18 May, 7pm
• Sunrisers v Western Storm: Saturday 16 July, 10:30am
• Sunrisers v Lightning: Sunday 11 September, 10:30am

When will the Charlotte Edwards Cup start?
The 20-over competition begins on Saturday 14 May with all eight women’s regional team in action on the opening day.

The month-long competition will conclude with Finals Day at the County Ground, Northampton, on Saturday 11 June.

What are the groups and format?
The format is the same as last summer, when South East Stars were the inaugural champions, with the eight teams split into two equal groups.
Group A: Central Sparks, South East Stars, Sunrisers, Western Storm
Group B: Lightning, Northern Diamonds, Thunder, Southern Vipers

Each team will play six group-stage matches – three at home and three away. The best group winner progresses immediately to the final of Finals Day.

The semi-final on Finals Day will be contested by the other group winner and the best second-placed team. The winner of that match will progress to the final.

How can I follow the matches?

Tickets for the games hosted at Chelmsford are on sale now via essexcricket.org.uk priced at just £10 for Adults and £5 for Students/Young Adults (18-24)/Juniors (U18s).

All Charlotte Edwards Cup matches will be live-streamed and you can find the streams via the sunriserscricket.com or on YouTube.

What is the background of the eight teams playing in the Charlotte Edwards Cup?

The eight teams are formed of First-Class Counties and National Counties – and Loughborough University – who work together at the elite end of the women’s domestic game to support a squad of professional and semi-professional players, as well as an academy.

The eight regions are:
• Central Sparks (Warwickshire CCC & Worcestershire CCC, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire)
• Lightning (Loughborough University, Derbyshire CCC, Leicestershire CCC, Nottinghamshire CCC, Lincolnshire)
• Northern Diamonds (Yorkshire CCC, Durham CCC, Northumberland)
• Thunder (Lancashire CCC, Cheshire, Cumbria)
• South East Stars (Surrey CCC, Kent CCC)
• Southern Vipers (Hampshire Cricket, Sussex CCC, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire)
• Sunrisers (Middlesex CCC, Essex CCC, Northamptonshire CCC, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, Suffolk)
• Western Storm (Glamorgan CCC, Gloucestershire CCC, Somerset CCC, Cricket Wales, Cornwall, Devon, Wiltshire)

Essex v Yorkshire

LV= Insurance County Championship

The Cloud County Ground, Thursday 05 – Sunday 08 May

Team News:

Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Adam Rossington (wk), Feroze Khushi, Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Mark Steketee, Sam Cook.

Yorkshire: Adam Lyth, Dimuth Karunarante, George Hill, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Harry Duke (wk), Dom Bess, Jordan Thompson, Matthew Revis, Steven Patterson (c).

Match Details:

Umpires: Rob Bailey & Tim Robinson
Match Referee: Stuart Cummings
Toss: Yorkshire, who elected to bowl
Result: Match Drawn

Scorecard: View Here

Day Four Match Highlights:

Day Four Reaction: Anthony McGrath

Day Four Match Report:

Alastair Cook recorded a century in both innings for the first time in his illustrious career as Essex and Yorkshire fought out a draw in Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship.

Somewhat surprisingly, England’s leading Test run-scorer and the veteran of 19 years at first-class level had never previously reached three figures twice in a match – but he rectified that with an unbeaten 102 in the second-innings to accompany his 107 in the first.

With this latest century, Cook racked up his third in the space of five innings at Chelmsford this year. Including a half-century on a tough pitch at Somerset, the former England Captain has looked in vintage form.

After a long spell in the field on the previous day for the Essex bowlers where despite their best efforts they could only muster two wickets, they were rewarded early on the final day.

Yorkshire lost their last five wickets for just 39 runs, leaving them all out for 465 and Essex batting again earlier than many would have expected.

That left Cook and opening partner Nick Browne under little pressure in their second innings and the pair eased comfortably past the deficit with an unbroken partnership of 167 before the captains agreed a draw at 4.50pm.

Resuming on 425 for five, fast scoring appeared to be a necessity for Yorkshire– but the Essex bowlers pegged them back by picking up regular wickets.

Shane Snater picked up the wicket of Dawid Malan with just the second ball of the day as he clipped one into the welcoming hands of Feroze Khushi at square leg.

Brook eventually fell for 123, caught behind slashing at a short delivery from Sam Cook, who was also unlucky not to claim the wicket of Harry Duke when he struck off stump – yet the bail refused to budge.

Cook’s persistent bowling was reflected in figures of three for 78, while Snater (three for 62) finished off the innings by having Dom Bess caught behind, leaving Essex with a deficit of 62 and half an hour to negotiate before lunch.

The Essex opening pair looked completely in command as they progressed nearly chanceless to 167-0 at the close.

While Cook took centre stage with a 72nd first-class hundred from 178 deliveries, Browne looked equally assured and completed his half-century in the second to last over of the game.

Essex take 11 points from the fixture and sit on 54 in total after the five matches. The team will now wait a fortnight until their next game when they play Lancashire at Old Trafford on Thursday 19 May.

Day Three Match Highlights:

Day Three Reaction: Tom Westley

Day Three Match Report:

The Essex bowlers were kept in the field for the entirety of the third day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Yorkshire as first Joe Root and then Harry Brook and Dawid Malan enjoyed the friendly Chelmsford conditions.

Root, in what was remarkably only his 50th County Championship appearance for the White Roses despite making his debut back in April 2011, stroked his way to a half century in 88 balls, the exact same number as his successor as England skipper Ben Stokes had taken to smash 161 against Worcestershire at New Road 24 hours earlier.

However, youngster Brook stole the spotlight, giving another stunning audition ahead of the first Test of the summer against New Zealand next month, by smiting a thrilling century, so keeping up his record of scoring 50 or more in every innings so far this season. The 23-year-old who closed on 110 not out currently averages over 200 for the campaign.

He shared a record unbroken stand of 210 with Dawid Malan (87 not out), his fifth half-century in a row, as Yorkshire finished the day on 425-5 with a lead of 24.

Root was immediately in the action and got underway with a streaky four wide of second slip. Sam Cook beat him all ends up with a peach of a delivery during a probing opening spell, but after those early moments Root looked in total control.

It was a trademark knock by the now former England Captain and he compiled a century stand with Matthew Revis either side of a morning truncated by rain.

Critchley has picked up a number of wickets with his googly this season and Root became the latest batter to be fooled by it as he chopped on for 75.

His wicket brought Malan and Brook together and the latter, top of the Division 1 averages got off the mark by slog sweeping Simon Harmer over the square-leg fence. That kickstarted an innings which cemented the young batter as one of the most promising talents in the country. He became the leading run scorer in division one this season when he reached 49 and the single which followed meant his latest half century had come in 48 balls.

Harmer plugged away for 41 overs and bowled with his usual accuracy and guile. However, he couldn’t find enough assistance from the pitch in order to add to his wicket tally.

The pair forged on in a lengthy last session, and with great symmetry, having got off the mark with a six Brook reached an all-but run a ball century by hoisting Critchley over the ropes at mid-wicket.

Day Two Match Highlights:

Day Two Reaction: Paul Walter

Day Two Match Report:

Paul Walter’s maiden first-class century lit up a day in which Essex just about maintained the upper hand against Yorkshire in the LV = Insurance County Championship Division One clash.

The 27-year-old left-hander, who’d narrowly missed the landmark when out for 93 in last week’s draw with Northamptonshire, finally ticked the accolade of his bucket list after reaching a masterful 141. With Simon Harmer raising the tempo in the latter stages of the innings, reaching a half-century in the process, Essex eventually posted 403.

Dominic Bess the pick of the White Rose attack with three for 82. The spinner bowled tightly and kept the scoring rate in check over a mammoth 44 over spell.

Yorkshire lost Adam Lyth early in reply, while Shane Snater produced the ball of the day to end George Hill’s stylish cameo and Dimuth Karunaratne fell to the last ball of the day from Sam Cook to leave the visitors 81 for three at the close.

The morning revolved around Walter’s hunt for his long-deserved century and thanks to some disciplined Yorkshire bowling, he was made to wait for his moment.

In the end, the 13th over of the morning proved lucky for Walter as he worked a ball on his pads off the inside edge down to fine leg for the 12th four of his then close to five and a half hour vigil.

Freed of the burden of getting a hundred he played with freedom thereafter, clubbing Bess over the mid-wicket fence and raising Essex’s 300 with a deft cut for four. He was given a life on 127 when he drilled Bess straight to Thompson at cover only for the quick to shell the catch. And Bess was out of luck again when night-watchman Sam Cook edged to Lyth at slip via the thigh of wicketkeeper Harry Duke, the deflection enough for the opener to grass the chance.

Cook eventually lost his off-stump to a good ball from Hill to end a stand of 73, the only success of a frustrating morning for Yorkshire.

Whatever the visitors had for lunch they came out transformed, Bess removing Walter to the fourth ball of the afternoon when the centurion slashed to point. The England spinner made it two in two when he bowled Adam Rossington and though Feroze Khushi survived the hat-trick ball, when he nicked Patterson behind soon afterwards the hosts had been pegged back at 322-7.

Simon Harmer, left with only last man Mark Steketee for company, survived the next hour before Harmer opened his shoulders to rouse the home supporters. The South African international hoisted three big sixes as he raced to 54 in a last-wicket stand of 58 which saw Essex past 400.

Lyth didn’t last long before Sam Cook pinned the former England opener lbw. Hill, in contrast, looked fluent from the off, driving Steketee for successive fours, before striking Harmer back over his head for another boundary.

The Sri Lankan international Karunaratne enjoyed a charmed life, somehow edging one which turned into him from Harmer just over the top of the stumps and out of reach of wicketkeeper Rossington, before the spinner dropped a difficult chance at second slip from the bowling of Shane Snater.

Snater gained recompense, ending George Hill’s stylish cameo with a lifting ball which he edged behind and Cook gave Rossington more catching practice when Karunaratne’s luck ran out in the last over.

Day One Match Highlights:

Day One Reaction: Tom Huggins

Day One Match Report:

Alastair Cook batted for most of the day as he ground out a tenacious century to provide Essex with a strong platform in their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Yorkshire.

The former England captain occupied the crease doggedly for his 107 from 268 balls, sharing a third-wicket partnership of 174 with fellow left-hander Paul Walter to guide Essex to 234 for three after being put in at Chelmsford.

Yorkshire included Cook’s successor Joe Root, featuring for the first time since he resigned the England role and deployed him as one of seven bowlers as they toiled to try and build on early successes.

But those efforts were largely fruitless, with Walter reaching stumps just 11 short of a maiden first-class hundred – having narrowly missed out four days earlier when his knock of 93 had enabled Essex to secure a draw against Northamptonshire.

After winning the toss, Yorkshire got the breakthrough of Nick Browne to the third ball of the morning, caught low at third slip off Jordan Thompson.

Thompson and Steven Patterson, who opened alongside him, sent down 34 consecutive dot balls in a tight opening spell before Cook got the scoreboard moving with a single on the leg side.

He and Tom Westley put together a partnership of 56 before the Essex captain fell caught behind for 24, attempting to cut Dom Bess.

Walter survived chances early in his innings, with Patterson unable to hold onto a sharp return chance and inducing an edge in his next over that appeared to fall narrowly short of the diving George Hill in the slips.

At the other end, Cook relentlessly progressed towards his half-century, dispatching Thompson to the cover boundary to reach that landmark after more than three hours.

Having progressed at around two an over, Essex raised the tempo in the final session, with Walter adopting a more attacking approach and Cook carving Thompson to the boundary to complete his ton.

Despite Brook shelling Cook, Yorkshire took the wicket of the opener as he played on off the bowling of Yorkshire skipper Patterson.

Night-watchman Sam Cook accompanied Walter to the close and left Essex in a position to bat big in the first-innings in what will be an important second day.

Essex County Cricket Club can today announce that wicket-keeper batter, Adam Wheater, is set to retire from professional cricket at the end of the 2022 season.

The 32-year-old is an Essex Academy graduate and has made 380 appearances across all formats during his career, scoring 10,876 runs whilst taking 386 catches and recording 64 stumpings.

Wheater made his first-class debut for Essex in 2008 but really cemented his place in the First Team during 2011. In the fifth Championship game of the season, he scored his maiden century for the Club, reaching 164 as Essex swept aside Northamptonshire at Chelmsford.

In 2013 he moved to the South Coast to link up with Hampshire. In his debut season at The Ageas Bowl he impressed with the bat, scoring three Championship centuries and catching the eye for both his glovework and runs.

He averaged 32.10 as Hampshire claimed the Division Two title the following year and also scored his maiden List A century, which came from just 76 balls as he made 135 against Essex at Chelmsford.

After a loan spell back at Chelmsford in 2016, where he helped his boyhood Club secure the Division Two title, Wheater made the move permanent the following year.

In 2017 he was part of the Essex side that won a first County Championship title in 25 years, and two years later, he wrote his name into Essex folk law, playing a significant role as the Club became the first side in history to claim a County Championship and T20 double.

His form carried through to the 2020 campaign, the same year he was awarded his County Cap, in which he averaged 58.20 as the side won the inaugural Bob Willis Trophy at Lord’s.

On his decision to retire, Wheater said: “It’s been a tough call to make, but the timing feels right and I’m pleased to be going out on my own terms.

“I’ve had a great time at both Essex and Hampshire. Not many players get the opportunity to play for their boyhood Club, so to be able to do that has been a dream, and to be able to win the things we’ve won, I couldn’t have asked for more.

“I’m looking forward to whatever comes next, but until then I’m fully committed to helping Anthony McGrath and this side secure more silverware.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the Members, fans, players, staff and everyone associated with the Club for their support over the years. It’s been a great journey and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have.”

Essex Cricket Chief Executive & Interim Chair, John Stephenson, added: “I would like to thank Adam for his contribution to Essex County Cricket Club over his two spells with the Club.

“He’s been an excellent performer for this side and has been a big factor in the success we’ve enjoyed over the last six years.”

Essex v Northamptonshire

LV= Insurance County Championship

The Cloud County Ground, Thursday 28 – Sunday 01 May

Team News:

Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Feroze Khushi, Adam Wheater (wk), Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Mark Steketee, Sam Cook.

Northamptonshire: Ricardo Vasconcelos (c), Will Young, Emilio Gay, Saif Zaib, Rob Keogh, Luke Procter, Lewis McManus (wk), Tom Taylor, Matthew Kelly, Gareth Berg, Ben Sanderson

Match Details:

Umpires: Nigel Llong & Tom Lungley
Match Referee: Stephen Davis
Toss: Essex, who elected to bowl
Result: Match Drawn

Scorecard: View Here

Day Four Highlights:

Day Four Reaction: Paul Walter

“The main thing for us going into the last day was to save the game. It was not ideal for us but after the position we found ourselves in at the end of Day Two, we would obviously take the draw.

“I think a lot of credit for our fightback has to go to our lower-order batting especially Shane Snater on Day Three morning. It flipped the momentum in our favour and from there we managed to really buckle down and bat a long period of time to save the game.

“We knew it was a bit of a new-ball wicket but when the ball did get soft, it was going to be a lot easier to bat. So it was just a matter today to try and grind out as long as possible and work a partnership with your mate in the middle and see where it would take us.

“I would like to have been not out at the end and see the lads home, but that’s cricket and we got the draw in the end. We are all aware that, as a collective, we need to score more runs in the first innings.”

Day Four Match Report:

Paul Walter fell agonisingly seven runs shy of a maiden first-class century, and three runs short of his career-best, though his mercurial 93 ensured Essex held on to save the game against Northamptonshire.

The tall left-hander anchored Essex’s second innings for five and a half hours before he was undone by a delivery from Saif Zaib that spun past his forward defensive.

But his good work was carried on by Adam Wheater who used up 174 balls of the day’s allocation while scoring just 33 runs. In the end, Wheater was still there to accept the handshake of Northampton captain Ricardo Vasconcelos on the draw just after five o’clock.

Off-spinner Rob Keogh wheeled away relentlessly for 33 overs to claim 4-51, supported by seamer Tom Taylor who charged in to return figures of 3-62. But their joint efforts were in vain.

Northamptonshire had enforced the follow-on at lunch-time on day three after racking up a 197-run lead on first innings. But they were unable to make the inroads they were hoping for on the final morning and they enjoyed only sporadic success thereafter.

With Walter leading the rearguard action, Essex lost just two wickets before lunch while moving into a position where Northamptonshire would have needed to bat again.

Essex batted out the final five sessions of the match, showing greatly improved application among their middle-order than in the first innings when they collapsed to 83-8. They were rescued then by a Shane Snater-inspired tail-end insurgence that took their total to 193 in reply to Northamptonshire’s 390.

The overnight pair of Critchley and Walter reached the century milestone for the fourth wicket without undue alarm. Immediately, though, Critchley chased a wide delivery from Tom Taylor and spooned to short mid-off for 47.

Walter, whose top score remains his 96 against Gloucestershire last summer, was particularly strong off his legs. One flick to the long-leg boundary off Gareth Berg took Essex into the black for the first time in the game, 82 overs into their second innings.

Feroze Khushi joined Walter in a free-scoring, 69-run stand that was ended when a delivery from Taylor leapt off a length and Khushi was caught behind for 30.

When Walter departed after a 246-ball stay as the sixth man down, Essex’s lead was just 67 with a minimum of 54 overs remaining. But Wheater dug in doggedly, batting all the way through the afternoon session while facing 100 balls and adding just 16 to his personal account.

But he lost Simon Harmer after 16 overs’ joint resistance when the South African all-rounder steered Keogh into first slip’s hands. Keogh claimed a third wicket when Snater swept injudiciously to Zaib stationed just inside the midwicket boundary. The lead had now become 107 with 27 possible overs left.

With six men around the bat, Mark Steketee thumped Keogh back for two boundaries but was then beaten outside his attempted defensive fend-off by the off-spinner. It just remained for Wheater and Sam Cook to see out three overs for one run before curtains were drawn.

Day Three Highlights:

Day Three Reaction: Shane Snater

Day Three Match Report:

Paul Walter and Matt Critchley batted determinedly through the final session of the day to frustrate Northamptonshire’s hopes of claiming a morale-boosting victory at Chelmsford.

The fourth-wicket pair came together at 58-3 shortly before tea and were still there at stumps having put on 91 valuable runs as Essex fought back in the LV= Insurance County Championship match.

Essex, eventually dismissed in their first innings for 193, with Ben Sanderson finishing with 4-32, were asked to follow-on by Northamptonshire. By the close on day three they were 149-3, requiring another 48 to make the visitors bat again. Walter was 40 not out, Critchley 44.

That Essex are still in the game is largely down to Shane Snater, who almost single-handedly dragged Essex back into the game with a swashbuckling unbeaten 79. When he eventually ran out of partners, Essex were asked to go straight back in again, 197 runs in arrears.

Snater dominated stands of 69 for the ninth wicket with Mark Steketee and 41 for the last with Sam Cook. Importantly for Essex, his stoic resolution took a session out of the equation which greatened Essex’s chances of getting something out of the game.

The Dutch international shone with a series of hooks, pulls and drives that were as effortless as they were exquisite. He accounted for the majority of the 98 runs scored for the loss of the last two wickets in an entertaining morning session.

When Snater dabbed down to the vacant third-man boundary for the ninth of his ten fours, it carried him not only from 47 to 51 but to both his highest score for Essex and his highest in first-class cricket.

Northamptonshire’s tactics seemed a little awry on a pitch that returned to its earlier placid state, and it was 70 minutes before front-line bowler Gareth Berg was finally introduced. To underline what his absence might have missed, with his fourth ball he had Steketee bowled while attempting a pull.

Still, Snater motored on regardless, capping his 94-ball knock with a towering straight six off Rob Keogh. His fun was curtailed, though, when Cook edged the off-spinner on the dot of lunch and was snaffled at slip.

Without a moment’s hesitation Essex were asked to bat again. They were briefly in trouble losing three wickets in 14 overs. Alastair Cook went for 19, caught at first slip off Tom Taylor, who had just been hit for three backfoot, off-side boundaries in an over by the former England captain.

Tom Westley was next to go, pinned on his crease by Luke Procter, before Nick Browne drove at Keogh and became the latest victim to a slip catch.

Browne’s wicket went down in the midst of a sequence of 38 dot balls as Essex dug in as they fought to save the game. There was another spell of five successive maidens that epitomised the Essex approach as Walter and Critchley battled through the evening session.

Day Two Highlights:

Day Two Reaction: Anthony McGrath

“It’s been a very bad day. We couldn’t get that breakthrough this morning. We’d bowled beautifully on that first day when I think there were 43 play and misses but we just couldn’t get the edges.

“Having bowled 90 odd overs yesterday, you could see that the bowlers were a little bit tired this morning. But fair play to the Northamptonshire, they batted well.

“Then with the bat, we lost too many soft wickets. They bowled nicely but we just couldn’t sustain that pressure like last week at Warwickshire.

“It’s disappointing but we’ve still got 12 wickets left so we are going to have to scrap and scrap hard.”

Day Two Match Report:

Ben Sanderson ran through the Essex batting line-up after a Luke Proctor century as Northants took control on Day Two.

The pace bowler took his season’s tally to 15 in five LV= Insurance County Championship innings as he found the edges of a succession of bats that Essex reduced to 55-5, then 75-7 and finally 95-8 at the close in reply to Northamptonshire’s 390.

Earlier in the day, Northamptonshire were able to eke out a further 157 runs to their overnight score in 45 overs, courtesy of a ninth-wicket partnership of 105 between Procter and Gareth Berg.

Procter took exactly six hours to carefully compile his 113, only the fifth century of his 12-year first-class career. In contrast, Berg included three sixes in a swashbuckling 75 that lasted just 132 balls.

Nick Browne nicked Sanderson to second slip early in Essex’s first-innings, leaving the home side on 12-1. Westley followed on the stroke of tea when he got a leading edge to hand Will Young a second catch, this time off Tom Taylor’s bowling.

Sanderson had his second after a spell of tight bowling when Cook was caught behind for six.

Young completed a hat-trick of catches, swooping after Emilio Gay at third slip parried Critchley’s edge in his direction. And Gay picked up a catch of his own to send back Paul Walter for two to give Sanderson wicket number four.

Adam Wheater counter-attacked with three fours in an over from Matt Kelly, but the Australian seamer produced a beautiful ball that jagged back and removed Wheater’s middle-stump after the batter offered no shot.

Simon Harmer also shouldered arms to Kelly and was lbw for nought. Feroze Khushi dug in and soaked up 36 balls before he got off the mark, but after reaching nine he was caught behind off the bowling of Luke Proctor.

Essex prised out Matt Kelly early in the day with the ball, before Proctor and Berg produced stiff resistance to compile a century stand for the ninth wicket.

Kelly had tried to inject some aggression into his innings, but only succeeded in pulling to short midwicket to give Shane Snater a third wicket in eventual figures of 3-56.

Berg refused to be tied down and hit Critchley over midwicket for six. He later twice threatened the scorers’ box when lofting the same bowler straight for further maximum.

Procter, who lunched on 99 after adding just 39 to his total in the morning session, duly passed three-figures post-break when he turned Mark Steketee backward of square for two. He had faced 256 balls to that point.

However, in an uncharacteristic moment of carelessness, the left-hander attempted to hit Critchley out of the park for what would have been just the 11th boundary of his innings, only to pick out Paul Walter at short midwicket.

Berg finally went after a mini-flurry of hitting when he found Westley on the long-on boundary to give Critchley figures of 3-81.

Day One Match Highlights:

Day One Match Reaction: Sam Cook

Day One Match Report:

The Essex bowlers battled hard against Northamptonshire on Day One to restrict the visitors to 233-7 at Stumps.

Opener Will Young particularly impressed for the visitors, with the New Zealander following up his match-saving 96 against Yorkshire last week with a painstaking 63 before Northants lost a clutch of late wickets.

Young’s 100-run partnership for the second wicket with Emilio Gay set the tone for a day of frustration for the Essex attack.

After Young became the second of Sam Cook’s two victims, the cudgels were taken up by Luke Procter, around whom Northants’ middle-order resistance was built. The left-hander will resume this morning on 60 from 164 balls.

Essex’s decision to put Northants in appeared to have been vindicated immediately when Ricardo Vasconcelos edged Cook’s third ball into the slip cordon.

Thereafter, the Essex bowlers toiled on a benign strip that offered little before they finally parted Gay and Young, who dug in for a workmanlike 38-over partnership.

It was a far cry from Northants’ visit to Chelmsford last September that resulted in the shortest match of the modern four-day era: students of the unusual will remember that it finished half an hour into Day Two.

This time, though, the visitors passed the 45 that constituted their second-innings total then inside 20 painstaking overs; the 81 of their 2021 first innings was overtaken with the first ball after Lunch in an over where Young hit Shane Snater for three fours from alternate deliveries.

Cook kept the pair in check in a 7 over opening spell in which the seamer conceded just 8 runs, the only dent coming when Gay pulled him with supreme nonchalance to the boundary.

The second-wicket stand had reached three figures when it was finally broken. Snater got one to move away from the 22-year-old left-hander Gay and Sir Alastair Cook took the catch low down to his right at first slip.

Young’s three-hour, 146-ball stay ended soon after when he shouldered arms to a ball from Cook that nipped back off the seam and trapped him lbw.

Proctor and Rob Keogh put on 45 quietly and efficiently in 16 overs until the stroke of Tea when Keogh prodded tentatively at a delivery from Matt Critchley that the bowler caught tumbling forward just above his boot-straps.

Paul Walter, called in to replace loanee Adam Rossington, who is ineligible to play against his parent Club, claimed the scalp of Saif Zaib by pinning him lbw.

Lewis McManus hung around for three-quarters of an hour for 7 before he wafted at one outside off-stump from Snater and Simon Harmer pounced in front of Cook the elder at first slip to snaffle the catch.

Australian Mark Steketee was impressive with the ball, showing control and consistency to end the day with figures of 1/41 from his 22 overs.

His efforts were finally rewarded when Harmer took a sharp one-handed catch at second slip to account for Tom Taylor just before Stumps.

Somerset v Essex

LV= Insurance County Championship

The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, Thursday 14 – Sunday 17 April

Team News:

Somerset: Ben Green, Tom Lammonby, Matt Renshaw, James Hildreth, Tom Abell (c), Lewis Goldsworthy, Steve Davies (wk), Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Peter Siddle, Jack Leach.

Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Matt Critchley, Adam Rossington, Adam Wheater (wk), Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Mark Steketee, Sam Cook.

Match Details:

Umpires: Mike Burns & Russell Warren
Match Referee: Steve Davis
Toss: Essex, who elected to bowl
Result: Essex won by 1 wicket

Scorecard: View Here

Day Three Match Highlights:

Day Three Reaction: Anthony McGrath

Day Three Match Report:

Adam Rossington kept his head in a crisis to guide Essex to a nerve-tingling one-wicket LV= Insurance County Championship win over Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

Needing just 84 for victory, Essex found themselves 60-8 before Rossington’s 29 not out saw them to the target by the narrowest of margins.

Rossington played an inspiring innings for his new Club on a pitch that proved a test for the batters on both sides. The loanee played some impressive shots as his side claimed 19 points in total from the match.

Craig Overton claimed 6/30 to complete career-best match figures of 13/87. He was supported by Peter Siddle (three for 25) as Somerset’s seamers fought to the last.

Essex began the day on 3-1, having lost opener Nick Browne at the end of play the previous evening.

After the 11th ball of the day, the scoreboard read four for four. The first from Overton had seen Alastair Cook edge just short of third slip and take a single.

The next accounted for nightwatchman Sam Cook, bowled off stump by a delivery that shaped away from him.

Siddle took up the attack from the River End and with his second ball found the edge of Alastair Cook’s bat as he defended off the back foot. Wicket-keeper, Steven Davies claimed a straightforward catch.

Worse was to follow for Essex as the fifth delivery of the same over saw Dan Lawrence edge to third slip where Overton took a fine catch, diving to his right.

Tom Westley eased some of the tension in the visiting dressing room by clipping an overpitched delivery from Overton through mid-wicket for four to get off the mark.

Then Matt Critchley launched his score with a boundary through mid-off. But Overton and Siddle were maintaining an exemplary line and length to make scoring difficult.

It seemed the tide had turned when Essex progressed to 27 for four. But in Overton’s sixth over of the morning, Critchley, on 15, drove loosely at a wide ball and dragged it onto his stumps.

Two balls later, he had Westley caught behind for six, pushing forward defensively.

At 28-6, Essex required a further 56 runs. Adam Wheater flashed a boundary through a vacant fourth slip area to get off the mark.

Overton’s impressive spell ended with 4-15 from nine overs, one of them bowled the previous evening.

Siddle switched ends to replace him and went past the bat on several occasions without finding an edge. Lewis Gregory also bowled without any luck as Wheater and Rossington took Essex past 50.

It was 56 for six when Overton returned from the River End. With one run added, Wheater was pinned lbw with a ball that struck his back pad.

Before Essex could regroup from that blow, Siddle sent back Simon Harmer for a duck, leg-before attempting a front foot defensive shot.

With 24 still needed, the outcome was in the balance. Rossington opted to be positive with some crisp attacking shots.

The scores were level when Shane Snater was caught off a top edge, trying to win the game with pull shot off Overton before a scampered leg bye finally settled a riveting contest.

Day Two Match Highlights:

Day Two Reaction: Anthony McGrath

“We’d have settled for needing 83 to win the game on the third day before the start.

“It’s not been easy batting out there and winning the toss was definitely important. There was a lot of playing and missing the night before and we knew it would be difficult when we came back this morning. That’s exactly how it turned out, with the ball still doing a bit.

“In the end, we’re happy with the position we’re in.

“I think the decision to select Shane Snater was a good one. He bowled well last week, carried that on here and deserved his six wickets. Jamie Porter has done really well for us over the past three or four seasons, but he had a slight injury and Shane made the most of his opportunity.

“It will be tricky chasing that total, but we have to back ourselves.”

Day Two Match Report:

19 wickets fell on Day Two of the LV= Insurance County Championship fixture against Somerset, with Essex requiring a further 81 runs for victory once play resumes on Saturday morning.

The day started with a bang. Former Essex bowler Peter Siddle, now turning out for Somerset, had Alastair Cook caught by James Hildreth for 59.

His dismissal was the start of what would be a treacherous morning for Essex, with the remaining seven wickets falling for a combined 71 runs before the Lunch break.

Nightwatchman, Sam Cook was the next to go, being trapped leg before by Craig Overton for 3.

The Cook’s dismissals meant that Dan Lawrence and Matt Critchley were looking to steady the ship, and the partnership was worth 20 runs before Lawrence was given out leg before to Overton, who was really beginning to turn the screw.

Critchley, Rossington and then Wheater all went for single-figure scores, whilst South African spinner Simon Harmer showed composure with the bat to play some nice shots and begin to give Essex a decent lead.

Others fell around him though, with Snater edging behind for 8 and Steketee being trapped leg before for 2 to leave him stranded on 25, the joint second-highest score of the Essex innings, who were all out for 180.

Overton was the standout bowler for the hosts, taking 7/57 and recording career-best figures.

Cook and Steketee opened the bowling for Essex, and it was Sam that made the breakthrough, with Lammonby edging to Alastair Cook in the slips for 2.

Snater then trapped Green leg before without any addition to the score to leave Somerset 7-2. The Dutchman then bowled Hildreth for 6 and had Goldsworthy caught behind on 7 to reduce the hosts to 75-5 at Tea, now leading by 4 runs. Steketee claimed the other wicket in the session, with Abell edging to Wheater on 12.

Snater stole the show in the final session though, recording three more wickets to end with figures of 6/36.

Matt Renshaw and Steve Davies had begun to find some rhythm and were looking strong in the middle, but Sam Cook had Renshaw out lbw on 45 just as it looked like the Essex bowlers were beginning to get frustrated.

Gregory was the next man in but his stay didn’t last too long. He skied one off Snater and Cook took a smart catch on the boundary to dismiss him for 9.

Davies was still going strong though and became the first player other than Alastair Cook to reach a half-century in the game. His 50 included a massive six off the bowling of Harmer, who was unlucky to not have a few wickets to his name.

After his heroics in the morning, Overton went cheaply after being bowled by Snater for 2. Davies then looked to increase the run rate and played and missed at a straight one from Steketee, departing for 51.

Snater then finished things off by bowling Leach for 7 to see Somerset all out for 154, leaving Essex 84 for victory. Shane ended with figures of 6/36, the first 5’fer for any Essex player this season.

With two overs to see out, Nick Browne went cheaply after chipping one straight to Green off Overton, and Essex ended the day on 3-1 and exactly as it started, with both the Cook’s in the middle.

Essex require 81 runs on Day Three for victory.

Day One Match Highlights:

Day One Reaction: Mark Steketee

Day One Match Report:

Alastair Cook reached another milestone in his illustrious career as Essex dominated the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.

The former England captain passed 25,000 first-class runs in contributing 59 not out to a first innings total of 109 for two after the hosts’ fragile batting line-up had folded to 109 all out.

Cook’s tally includes 70 centuries and 118 fifties. He looked typically unflappable in cementing the strong position built earlier by the Essex bowlers.

Sam Cook, Mark Steketee and Simon Harmer claimed three wickets each as the Essex bowlers dismantled a Somerset batting line-up lacking confidence.

Harmer, returning to the side in place of Jamie Porter after his stint with South Africa, tore through Somerset late in the innings to claim three wickets fewer than five overs into his county season.

After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, the new ball pair of Mark Steketee and Sam Cook took advantage of favourable conditions to reduce somerset to 70-5 at Lunch.

Mark Steketee claimed his first wicket for Essex when Ben Green edged an ambitious drive through to Adam Wheater and shortly after got his second with a beauty that left James Hildreth late and took the thinnest of edges.

At the other end Sam Cook produced a series of excellent deliveries, eventually being rewarded with the wicket of Matt Renshaw who was bowled attempting a leave.

He then took two wickets in quick succession just before the lunch break as first, Tom Abell edged to Dan Lawrence via his pad and then Lewis Goldsworthy edged into the slips.

Snater picked up the wicket of Steven Davies in the first over after lunch before Harmer picked up where he left off last season.

The spinner ended with figured of figures of 3-14 in just 4.4 overs to cap a remarkable return to the team.

By tea, Essex openers Nick Browne and Alastair Cook, both fresh from centuries in the opening game with Kent, had taken the score to 40 with few alarms.

The pair advanced the total to 68 before Browne, on 25, edged a drive off Overton and was caught at the second attempt by Abell at third slip.

Cook passed the 25,000 run landmark with a cut boundary off Green, which took him to 35. Tom Westley was caught behind down the leg side off Overton for 13 to leave the side two down going into tomorrow, but with eight wickets remaining and a large first-innings lead up for grabs.

Middlesex 2nd XI v Essex 2nd XI

Second XI Championship, Tuesday 12 April

Radlett Cricket Club

Team News:

Middlesex 2nd XI:: Max Holden, Nathan Fernandes, James Cracknell, Martin Andersson, Luke Hollman, Daniel O’Driscoll (wk), Nathan Sowter (c), Blake Cullen, Thilan Walallawita, Toby Greatwood, Ishaan Kaushal, Noah Cornwell.

Essex 2nd XI: Paul Walter, Feroze Khushi, Michael Pepper (wk), Josh Rymell (c), Robin Das, Will Buttleman, Luc Benkenstein, Aaron Beard, Jamal Richards, Ben Allison, Eshun Kalley, Nav Dwivedi.

Match Details:

Umpires: S Redfern and BJ Peverall
Toss: Essex 2nd XI won the toss and elected to bowl
Result: Middlesex 2nd XI won by 10 wickets
Scorecard: View Here

Essex 2nd XI: 150 & 114
Middlesex 2nd XI: 258 & 7-0

Match Report

Essex endured a difficult opening to their Second XI Championship campaign as their Middlesex counterparts roared to a ten-wicket victory inside two days at Radlett.

The writing was on the wall from the start for Essex. Robin Das followed up some impressive pre-season performances with a half-century. However, Jamal Richards was the only other visiting batter to reach double figures. Essex were largely reliant on a sizable amount of extras to reach 150 – Ishaan Kaushal was the pick of the Middlesex bowlers with 4/32.

Max Holden (34), Joe Cracknell (33) and Martin Andersson (31) provided the platform for Middlesex’s 108-run first-innings lead. Paul Walter impressed with the ball, taking 4/19, while there were three wickets for Ben Allison.

Middlesex continued to dominate. Thilan Walallawita took 3/20 as Essex were dismissed inside 37 overs for 114. Das again led the way for the Essex batters with 23 on what proved to be a tough examination – Kaushal, Andersson and Toby Greatwood with two apiece for the Seaxes.

It took Middlesex just five balls to secure victory, Holden with the decisive runs.

Essex will now take on Middlesex in a 40-over aside friendly match on Thursday 14 April at Radlett, with play starting at 11am.