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Essex County Cricket Club’s Championship winning players and employees celebrated their historic victory with a special ceremony at County Hall last night.

As the Club prepares to defend the County Championship title, Chairman of Essex County Council, Cllr John Aldridge hosted a celebration to remember.

Cllr Aldridge said: “No one in Essex with an interest in sport will have missed out county’s eighth Championship victory last summer, and the first since 1992.

“As the Club celebrate their incredible success as County Champions, I was delighted to host the players and employees to thank them on behalf of the County and to wish them well before they start their season away at Yorkshire next week.

“I know that myself and the rest of Essex will be backing them all the way to retain their title.”

The Club’s new President, David Acfield, who played more than 400 first-glass games for Essex and won four championships, also gave a speech at the event and said: “It was a special achievement to win 10 out of 14 games last year, not many teams do that and to clinch the title again was a monumental effort from the squad.

“It is a pleasure to be here, and be recognised by the Essex County Council for our achievements in 2017. Thank you very much for inviting us, and for your hospitality, hopefully it will be same time, same place next year!”

Essex make the short trip to Fenner’s on Saturday where they commence a three-day first-class fixture against Cambridge MCCU.

It is the last opportunity for the 2017 County Champions to engage in some competitive action ahead of the start of the new Specsavers County Championship campaign which commences next Friday.

Since last season, Chris Silverwood has left the club to take up an appointment as bowling coach with England and that has allowed his assistant Anthony McGrath to step up into the role as Essex Head Coach.

Speaking ahead of the visit to Cambridge, the former England and Yorkshire player acknowledged that the fixture is eagerly anticipated.

“We are all looking forward to the match with Cambridge MCCU, it is an important part of our preparation for the start of the County Championship campaign,” he said.

“It will be a good indicator of where we are at in those preparations, everyone is keen to play. Hopefully the game will afford a few people the opportunity to get a good run out with the bat and the ball towards that opening Championship match of the season.”

Essex were beaten by an innings and 34 runs in their match with MCC in Barbados last week but McGrath remains unfazed by that outcome.

“Yes, we were disappointed with the result of the match, we don’t like to lose any game but we had a few injury problems out there,” he admitted. “There’s nothing too serious but we won’t take a chance on anyone’s fitness at this time of the year, we’ll err on the side of caution if we have to.

There’s a lot of cricket ahead of us, but hopefully we’ll have a fully fit squad by the time we go to Emerald Headingley.

“There were a number of positives to take from the trip to Barbados, it afforded some of the younger players like Aron Nijjar, Callum Taylor and Aaron Beard the opportunity to play, whilst Jack Plom and Feroze Khushi came into the squad and really impressed and were unlucky not to play in the MCC game.

“So there were a lot of positives and we talked as a squad about it being another step towards our preparation for the Yorkshire game.

“If we are going to be competitive in the three formats, which we want to be, then we have to use and utilise our whole squad and that’s the whole point of a pre-season tour. If we are going to be successful, this year, it will be because of our strength in depth.”

Anthony McGrath has named a 12-man squad for the trip to Fenner’s, with Varun Chopra and Sam Cook missing out with injuries.

Essex squad v Cambridge MCCU
Ryan ten Doeschate (27) Captain
James Foster (7) Wicket-keeper
Aaron Beard (14)
Ravi Bopara (25)
Nick Browne (10)
Simon Harmer (11)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Jack Plom (77)
Jamie Porter (44)
Paul Walter (22)
Tom Westley (21)
Adam Wheater (31)

Official brewing partner, Greene King, has signed a two-year contract extension to take its partnership with Essex Cricket to 2020.

Having come on board with the County Champions in 2016, Greene King has seen two successful years of association as Essex clinched back-to-back Championship titles.

Members and supporters have enjoyed an extensive selection of drinks at The Cloudfm County Ground, and Greene King IPA, among others, will be available for a further two years.

Essex Cricket commercial manager, Darrell Fox, is thrilled to see Greene King sign an extension and said: “Ever since Greene King became Official Brewing Partner in 2016, feedback from the membership and supporters has been extremely positive.

“Greene King has provided a high quality, broad selection of beers and we were delighted when they decided to extend their partnership with the Club.

“Hopefully this is just the beginning of a fruitful, long term partnership for both parties.”

Joe Parks, Greene King on trade sales director, said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Essex Cricket for a further two years.

“Our flagship ale and the official beer of England cricket, Greene King IPA, will continue be served at bars throughout the stadium.  And, as the start of the new cricket season is upon us, we wish Essex well for the 2018 campaign as they look to retain the County Championship Division One title.”

Six members of the England Test squad who will shortly head home from New Zealand have been made available to get straight back into action for the start of the Specsavers County Championship season over the next couple of weeks.

James Vince and Liam Livingstone are due to be the first to enter the fray, with their counties in action in the opening round of Division One fixtures which start on Friday week – Vince for Hampshire against newly-promoted Worcestershire at the Ageas Bowl, and Livingstone in his new role as Lancashire captain at home to Nottinghamshire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Then Mark Stoneman and Ben Foakes are set to face Vince’s Hampshire when Surrey begin their Division One campaign at the Kia Oval on Friday April 20 – when the Somerset pair of Craig Overton and Jack Leach will make their first county appearances as England players at home to Worcestershire at the Cooper Associates County Ground.

All six players will remain available for the three further rounds of Championship matches that are played before the start of the Royal London One-Day Cup on May 17.

They will be joined from the start of the season by two members of England’s most recent one-day squad – Yorkshire all-rounder David Willey, and the captain Eoin Morgan.

Morgan’s new Middlesex captain Dawid Malan will be available from their third match of the season in Division Two, against Glamorgan at the SSE SWALEC from April 27.

Stuart Broad has also been made available to play for Nottinghamshire from April 27, when they face Worcestershire at Blackfinch New Road, and Jonny Bairstow and the England Test captain Joe Root have been made available for two potential blockbuster Division One fixtures against the champions Essex at the Cloudfm County Ground in Chelmsford from May 4, and at the Kia Oval against Surrey from May 11.

Alastair Cook will be available for Essex from their game at Hampshire on April 27, setting up a potential head-to-head with Root and Bairstow in Chelmsford.

The England management have yet to make a decision on the early-season availability of Jimmy Anderson for Lancashire.

Full England player availability for the early stages of the Specsavers County Championship:

Alastair Cook (Essex) – available for Specsavers County Championship matches against Hampshire (April 27-30), Yorkshire (May 4-7) and Worcestershire (May 11-14).

James Vince (Hants) – available for all games from April 13 (but not v Oxford MCCU April 7-9).

Liam Livingstone (Lancs) – available for all games from April 13 (but not v Loughborough MCCU April 7-9). Jimmy Anderson (Lancs) – tbc.

Dawid Malan (Middlesex) – available for Specsavers County Championship matches against Glamorgan (27-30 April), Sussex (4-7 May), and Gloucestershire (11-14 May). Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) – available for all matches.

Stuart Broad (Notts) – available for Specsavers County Championship matches against Worcestershire (27-30 April), Hampshire (4-7 May) and Lancashire (11-14 May).

Mark Stoneman and Ben Foakes (Surrey) – available for all games from April 20 (but not v Cambridge MCCU April 13-15).

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow (Yorks) – available for Specsavers County Championship matches against Essex (4-7 May) and Surrey (11-14 May). Liam Plunkett, Gary Ballance, and David Willey (Yorks) – available for all matches.

Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) and Mark Wood (Durham) are all unavailable for the start of the season having signed to play in the Indian Premier League. Players selected for the first Test of the summer against Pakistan which starts at Lord’s on May 24 have been told by the ECB that they are expected to return by May 17, with availability for Royal London One-Day Cup fixtures to be confirmed nearer the time.

Essex were defeated inside three days against MCC but Nick Browne highlights the positives that have come out a game, which saw the tea get valuable time in the middle ahead of another long and tough season.

The tour has been another great opportunity for the squad to spend time with one another on and off the pitch with the introduction of some new faces to setup.

Nick speaks to Essex Cricket TV after play at the Kensington Oval with the players set to return to the UK this weekend ahead of a trip to Fenner’s for the annual MCC University round of the fixtures next week.

The new season is just weeks away and you can be part of it by becoming a EsseX County Cricket Club Member.

Head Coach, Anthony McGrath spoke to Essex Cricket TV after play on Day Two of the Champion County match. It was a frustrating day in the field for the team but McGrath remains positive with a chance to see his bowlers get some over under their belts before the first Championship match of the season against Yorkshire.

Mags also gives an update on the current injuries to the likes of Varun Chopra and Sam Cook, ahead of next week’s trip to Fenner’s to face Cambridge MCCU.

Essex resume play at 2:30pm today with Aron Nijjar and Tom Westley in bat for the start of Day Three at the Kensington Oval. A Live Stream service and scorecard for the match can be found – here.

Essex team | Nick Browne (10), Aron Nijjar (24), Tom Westley (21), Dan Lawrence (28), Adam Wheater (31), Ryan ten Doeschate (27) (C), James Foster (7) (WK), Matt Coles (1), Callum Taylor (67), Aaron Beard (14), Jamie Porter (44).

MCC team | Daniel Bell-Drummond (C), Brett D’Oliveira, Paul Collingwood, Sam Northeast, Sam Hain, Delray Rawlins, John Simpson (WK), Dom Bess, Matthew Fisher, Richard Gleeson, Fidel Edwards.

Live Stream:

The stage is set for the opening First Class match of the 2018 season, which will see Essex take on the MCC at the Kensington Oval, Barbados in the Champion County match.

The squad have spent the week training and playing two warm-up fixtures in the build up for this showcase curtain raiser to the new campaign.

Anthony McGrath is looking forward to his first competitive match as Head Coach and said: “The lads have been working hard for a number of months now, and especially for the past week in Barbados. This trip has been a great opportunity to get the group together on a daily basis and prepare for this match and the upcoming season on and off the field.

“This game is going to be a tough four days as John Stephenson has assembled a talented group of players, but I will be looking for the boys to hit the ground running and impress myself and the other coaching team.

“There is an opportunity for some of the lads to stake a real claim for a spot against Yorkshire in a few weeks time. Unfortunately, Varun [Chopra] wil miss this match after tweaking his quad during training so it leaves a position alongside Nick Browne in the batting.”

Feroze Khushi could make his first-class debut after featuring in both warm-up games, but Jack Plom is unavailable after he sustained a minor ankle injury during net practice. Sam Cook and Paul Walter also miss out due to slight injuries which are not being risked for this fixture.

McGrath added: “Both Feroze and Jack have been excellent during their time on the tour and they are certainly two talented lads that will be pushing to become important players for the Club in the years to come. It has been a great experience for them to join up with the First Team setup and they have been able to learn alot from the vast expereience we have in the squad.”

Notable absentees from the touring party are Simon Harmer, Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara, due to their commitments overseas, but Jamie Porter is available for selection after the conclusion of the North/South series on Friday.

Essex squad to face MCC:

Ryan ten Doeschate (27) (Captain)
Aaron Beard (14)
Nick Browne (10)
Matt Coles (1)
Matt Dixon (30)
James Foster (7) (WK)
Feroze Khushi (23)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Aron Nijjar (24)
Jamie Porter (44)
Callum Taylor (67)
Tom Westley (21)
Adam Wheater (31) (WK)
Ashar Zaidi (99)

MCC Squad: Daniel Bell-Drummond (C)(Kent), Brett D’Oliveira (Worcestershire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Sam Northeast (Kent), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Delray Rawlins (Sussex), John Simpson (WK) (Middlesex), Dom Bess (Somerset), Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Richard Gleeson (Northamptonshire), Fidel Edwards (Hampshire).

Play is scheduled to take place at 2:30pm (7:30pm BST) on each of the four days. This match is a Day/Night fixture, played with a pink ball under regular First Class rules and conditions. Coverage of the match will be available on the Club’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts as well as a match report and reaction on https://http://essexcricket.org.uk/.

Essex Cricket went further afield in Barbados last week on Thursday to go and visit one of the island’s schools. On the agenda for students at Lodge School was some cricket coaching from Ashar Zaidi and Head of Cricket Operations, Dan Feist, who were also joined by Club Chairman John Faragher.

There were two classes taking part in the morning plus the opportunity to also work with the school’s cricket team. The students also took part in a 6 hitting competition with some expert help from ‘Boom Boom Zaidi’ himself.

Ashar spoke to Essex Cricket TV during the day along with some special guests too!

The squad stepped up pre-season training by getting under the floodlights at the 3 Ws Oval on Saturday evening. After the first week of training approached, there was an opportunity to get the pink balls out and have a night net, in preparation for the Day/Night encounter against MCC on Tuesday.

The players will be fighting for a place in the 11-man team, in what is set to be a great encounter against an MCC side featuring familiar faces such as Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond and Hampshire’s new signing, Sam Northeast.

The match is scheduled to take place at the Kensington Oval at 2:30pm on Tuesday 27 – Friday 31 March with coverage available via the Club’s Facebook and Twitter channels plus www.https://http://essexcricket.org.uk/.

Travelling to Barbados? Tickets for the match can be purchased in advance – here.