After a thrilling One-Day Cup match against Kent Spitfires, Essex Eagles have reached the Play-Off stages of the Royal London One-Day Cup and will face Yorkshire Vikings from the North Group at The Cloudfm County Ground.

The game will take place on Thursday 14 June at 2pm and tickets for the match will be on sale from 9am on Friday (08 June).

Ticket prices:

On-Sale Dates:

Members
Friday 8 June | Online – 9am, In person – 9am, By Phone (01245 254010) – 10am

Public
Friday 8 June | Online – 9am
Monday 11 June | In person – 9am, By Phone (01245 254010) – 10am

 

Members Restaurant:

The £10.00 Members’ Restaurant package returns for this match with the opportunity to watch the match in the Woodland Group Premier Marquee, along with a main meal of Chicken Pasta Bake with Salad and a drink of your choice.

This cannot be pre-order in advance but can be booked on the day of the match at the Doug Insole Pavilion bar.

Premier Members Options:

The Scrutton Bland Premier Suite will operate the same package options as the One-Day Cup group stage with two or three course choices available.

Play-Off Hospitality Options

Hospitality packages are available for this match, starting from £39 + VAT per person (£49 + VAT for non-Members). The popular Beer & Balti package is available for this fixture, plus a new Play-Off package, which includes a two-course meal and refreshments throughout the day.

To book your hospitality package for this match, please contact the Commercial Department on 01245 254120 or via commercial@https://http://essexcricket.org.uk/.

To book your hospitality package for this match, please contact the Commercial Department on 01245 254120 or via commercial@https://http://essexcricket.org.uk/.

A dominant performance with both bat and ball helped Essex Eagles leapfrog Wednesday’s opposition and secure a home Play-Off spot in the Royal London One-Day Cup. The Eagles’ huge score of 337/7 was largely helped by centuries from Dan Lawrence (115) and Ravi Bopara (125) as they obliterated the Kent bowlers around Fortress Chelmsford.

Ravi’s innings came off just 88 balls and included 17 boundaries, finishing off the game with the final wicket of Matt Henry to end a fine night for the Eagles. Ravi spoke to Essex Cricket TV after play to talk about his special innings.

Matt Coles has only played one Royal London Cup match at Chelmsford in a red Essex Eagles shirt, but already The Cloudfm County Ground feels like home. And he is preparing a warm welcome for his former Kent team-mate in today’s day-night game that Essex need to win to progress to the knockout stage of the 50-overs competition.

The 28-year-old all-rounder has taken five wickets in his two appearances for the Eagles, both of them victories to ensure fate resides in their own hands going into the final group match against a Kent side who have already qualified.

Coles has a good white-ball record at Chelmsford, though predominantly with bat in hand: his highest T20 score of 54 was there in 2014, and few who saw it will forget his devastating 91 from 52 balls in a Royal London contest two years ago.

“It was one of the reasons for coming here,” says Coles, who signed a two-year deal in October. “When you do well against a team, or at certain grounds, you think it might be somewhere you could take your game forward.

“The small boundaries help a bit, but then again you do have to bowl with them. So it’s a win-lose sort of thing. It’s about adapting to each ground you play at, and it’s definitely a ground where I’ve played enough cricket – for Kent and Hampshire – to know what roughly to bowl in certain situations.

“This being the home ground, it’s where you have to feel most comfortable. The last game here [against Glamorgan last week] I felt comfortable; it felt like home.”

Of his exit, via the Dartford Tunnel, from his native county, Coles says: “I just felt it was time to get away. I wasn’t really enjoying it as much as I would have liked, and when an opportunity popped up to come to Essex, the county champions, it was a no-brainer. It was a chance to play at a club that’s moving in the right direction rather than somewhere that sits stagnant.”

There will be little love lost out in the middle against life-long friends and colleagues. “Last time I went back to Kent [after leaving Hampshire] I got booed when I walked out! It sums it up really. They’re opponents now, so it’s irrelevant really about who’s friends and who’s not. No doubt I’ll be giving them a bit of stick out on the pitch, and hopefully pulling my weight to give Essex the greatest opportunity to win.

“I think I’ve definitely learnt a few more tricks of the trade over the last six months. They will know most of what I do, what my plans are. It’s one of those things given I’ve played with them for so many years. But, look, I also know things about them, so it’s not one-sided.

“I know what to do against certain people. It’s like [Daniel] Bell-Drummond doesn’t get forward enough, doesn’t move his feet, so you’ve just got to bowl it fuller to him. [Joe] Denly: he’ll fiddle a wide one early on. You know their weaknesses, so it’s trying to exploit them as much as possible.

“But they’ve been on a good run so it’s going to be a tough game, a fiery game. They have stand-out players in-form at the moment: [Heino] Kuhn, Denly and Bell-Drummond with the bat; [Matt] Henry and Steveo [Darren Stevens] have been doing their job with the ball. But I do feel we’re a better team and I think Essex will come out on top.”

Coles’s time at Essex has been restricted by an ankle injury that still requires regular treatment. But he reports he is available for selection in all formats, as and when required. That includes the Specsavers County Championship match against Lancashire, starting at Old Trafford on Saturday. “I’m ready,” he says. “If I have to take extra Ibuprofens, then so be it!”

Last Friday saw the annual Essex Cricket Golf Day take place at Chelmsford Golf Club, with an array of current and ex-players, and sponsors and partners in attendance.

The rain held off all day, and a spectacular afternoon was had by all, although not for some on the course!

Essex legends’ John Childs and Brian Hardie were in attendance, while current Essex stars Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom Westley and Matt Coles, among others, showed off their golfing ability.

Sponsors Seven Investment Management ran out victors on the day, and their team included Essex and England batsman Westley.

The closest guest Nearest the Pin was Aaron Davies, while Ryan ten Doeschate was the closest player to the hole.

The Longest Drive of any guest in the afternoon was by Nick Seels, while tall Essex all-rounder Paul Walter clinched the longest drive of any player.

Paul Shanahan scored highly in the Stableford format, clinching 47 points and finishing top of the pile of any player on the day. Essex batsman Dan Lawrence performed the best of any Essex squad member with 39.

The day was once again sponsored by Euroline, and the Club thanks them for their continued support.

Victory over Sussex Sharks on Sunday has set The Eagles up for a mouth-watering contest with Kent Spitfires on Wednesday at The Cloudfm County Ground, with victory guaranteeing a place in the play-off stage.

Eagles Head Coach Anthony McGrath is delighted that his squad have rediscovered their touch to find themselves on the cusp of extending their interest in the 50-over competition.

“Given where we were a few games ago in this tournament, if someone had suggested that if we won our last game then we would qualify, we would certainly have taken it,” he admitted.

“We had put ourselves under a bit of pressure with some of our performances but wins in our last two games have put things back into our own hands. At the start of a competition like this, the first target is to reach the latter stages and we’ve given ourselves every opportunity of doing that.

“We go into this vitally important game having won two on the spin and hopefully, we can keep this momentum going. If we can get the win, then we will have peaked at the right time and hopefully be able to carry this level of performance into the next stages of the competition.”

Kent Spitfires arrive at Chelmsford two points ahead of Essex and one behind leaders Hampshire. Irrespective of their individual results in their remaining match, both Hampshire and Kent Spitfires have already secured their place in the play-offs.

If Essex beat the Spitfires tomorrow, then they will automatically qualify for the play-off stage of the competition. A win by a suitable margin will see them leapfrog Kent into second and secure a home tie. Anthony McGrath’s side do still have a chance of qualifying should they lose, although that will depend on other results.

Once again, the Eagles Head Coach paid tribute to the overall level of performance of his side that saw them overcome Sussex by 4 wickets to set up the intriguing contest on Wednesday.

“I thought we were generally in control throughout really,” he said. “We batted really well and for much of the time, our bowling was good. We’ve said throughout this campaign that we believe we are always a side who does better chasing the runs and given the size of the ground and the pitch on Sunday, we were always pretty confident that we could chase the runs down.

“Sussex did turn up the tempo in the last ten overs but they were always going to have to come after us at some point but we were content at having to chase their total of 281.

Essex Eagles squad:

27 Ryan ten Doeschate (C)
25 Ravi Bopara
6 Varun Chopra
1 Matt Coles
16 Sam Cook
11 Simon Harmer
28 Dan Lawrence
44 Jamie Porter
29 Shane Snater
13 Neil Wagner
21 Tom Westley
31 Adam Wheater (WK)
99 Ashar Zaidi

Alastair Cook will be available for Essex selection from Friday’s County Championship game against Lancashire onwards.

Dominic Bess and Joe Root are among the otherEngland players who have been made available to return to their counties.

Bess, the 20-year-old off-spinner who made his first two Test appearances against Pakistan, is free to play for Somerset against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday in the last round of matches in the South Group – a game which has been selected for live coverage by Sky Sports with Hampshire top of the group and aiming to clinch a home semi final, while Somerset are fourth and could still secure a play-off place.

Root has been made available for Yorkshire’s home game against Northamptonshire Steelbacks on Thursday – when they may also be in contention to qualify for the play-offs, depending on the result of the first Roses showdown of the season against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford tomorrow (Tuesday).

If Yorkshire win that game, they will climb above the holders Notts Outlaws and Derbyshire Falcons into third ahead of the last round of matches in the North Group on Thursday.

Notts face Derbyshire in an East Midlands derby at Trent Bridge, but the Sky cameras will be at the West Midlands derby between Warwickshire and Worcestershire Rapids at Edgbaston – where the winners will secure a home semi final, and the losers will be in danger of missing out on the play-offs altogether.

Moeen Ali will again be available for Worcestershire before linking up with England’s one-day squad, but Warwickshire will be without Chris Woakes after he picked up an injury late in the Headingley Test.

Other players from England’s Test squad available for Royal London One-Day Cup fixtures this week are Mark Wood (Durham), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Middlesex) and Sam Curran (Surrey) – and Malan has also been made available to play for Middlesex in their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire starting on June 20.

Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler will take a break before switching to one-day mode with England.

England are still to make a decision on the availability of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad between now and the start of the Specsavers Test Series against India in August, although neither will be available for the next round of Specsavers County Championship matches which starts on Saturday.

But Alastair Cook is available for Essex’s game against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

The draw for the knockout stages of the Royal London One-Day Cup will be held at Edgbaston on Thursday night, after the Warwickshire-Worcestershire game.

As last year, the group winners will earn home advantage in the semi finals, which will be played on June 17 and 18, and both shown live on Sky.
Their opponents will be determined by play-offs between the second team from the North Group and the third from the South, and vice versa, on June 14 – with Sky to select one of those matches for live coverage.

The draw will determine which play-off winner travels to which group winner – and ahead of this week’s final group matches, 11 of the 18 counties are still in contention to stay on course for the Lord’s final on Saturday June 30.

Royal London One-Day Cup
Remaining fixtures (all matches 2pm; group tables here https://www.ecb.co.uk/matches/one-day-cup/tables)
Tuesday, North Group: Lancashire v Yorkshire Vikings
Wednesday, South Group: Essex Eagles v Kent Spitfires, Gloucestershire v Middlesex, Hampshire v Somerset (live on Sky Cricket), Surrey v Glamorgan.
Thursday, North Group: Leicestershire Foxes v Durham, Notts Outlaws v Derbyshire Falcons, Warwickshire v Worcestershire Rapids (live on Sky Cricket), Yorkshire Vikings v Northamptonshire Steelbacks.
June 14, Play-Offs: Second in North Group v Third in South Group, Second in South Group v Third in North Group.
June 17, 18, Semi Finals: North Group winner v Play-Off winner TBC; South Group winner v Play-Off winner TBC*
June 30, Final (Lord’s).
England Player Availability
Alastair Cook (Essex), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Dominic Bess (Somerset) and Sam Curran (Surrey) – available for all cricket.
Mark Wood (Durham), Jason Roy, Tom Curran (both Surrey), Eoin Morgan, Dawid Malan (both Middlesex), Alex Hales (Notts Outlaws), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire Rapids), Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, David Willey (all Yorkshire) – available for remaining Royal London One-Day Cup fixtures before joining England’s one-day squad.
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire) and Jos Buttler (Lancashire) – unavailable for this week’s Royal London matches before joining England’s one-day squad.
Dawid Malan (Middlesex) – available for Specsavers County Championship match at Leicester starting June 20.
Jimmy Anderson (Lancashire) and Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) – availability TBC
Ben Stokes (Durham) and Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) – injured.

The Club were delighted to welcome a new face to Essex as Vitality Blast overseas signing, Adam Zampa arrived from Australia ahead of the tournament in July and August. The leg-spinner will be playing Club cricket for Brentwood Cricket Club before joining up with his Eagles teammates at the end of June.

Adam spoke to Essex Cricket TV on his arrival and expressed how he is looking forward to pulling on the Essex shirt and playing in front of the packed houses at Chelmsford.

You can watch Adam Zampa and the Essex Eagles in action during this year’s Vitality Blast competition, starting with Sussex Sharks on Wednesday 5 July at The Cloudfm County Ground. Ticket are on sale but selling fast with limited availability on certain fixtures. Purchase online now or alternatively, by phone – 01245 254010 and in person.