Alastair Cook will miss Essex’s opening Specsavers County Championship fixture against Lancashire starting this Friday due to left hip soreness.
Cook has been receiving treatment for the problem for several weeks.
A scan this week has ruled out serious injury but he will undertake an injection in the upcoming days to help settle his symptoms.
Cook will continue his rehab with the Essex medical team.
Ryan ten Doeschate was happy with the pre-season preparations that the squad have now completed after the draw with Durham MCCU, and is now set for the visit of Lancashire in the Specsavers County Championship opener on Friday (7 April).
The match against Durham MCCU gave an opportunity for the squad to get some further time out in the middle, which saw centuries for Nick Browne and Adam Wheater along with wickets for Jamie Porter, Simon Harmer and Matt Dixon.
With many impressive performances, Tendo spoke about the selection dilemma both he and Head Coach, Chris Silverwood now face going into the game this week.
Essex youngster, Aaron Beard struck his maiden First Class half century as the squad’s final preparations take place ahead of the opening Championship clash against Lancashire. He spoke after play on Day One against Durham MCCU, as his innings of 58* helped Essex to a score of 333 all out.
Beard has shown real promise in the Essex squad over the last couple of years, but supporters will be more used to seeing him bowling the ball, not hitting it. Listen to Aaron’s interview as he talks about the work he has done on his batting attributes and the desire to get a regular spot in the Essex starting XI.
Day Two against Durham MCCU begins at 11am on Monday with free entry for all spectators. Gates are open at 10am with the visitors resuming the day’s play on 66-3.
Essex commence the First Class season when Durham MCCU visit the The Cloudfm County Ground in a three-day fixture, starting on Sunday.
The match acts a pre-cursor to the start of the Specsavers County Championship campaign next Friday (7 April) when Lancashire will be the visitors to Chelmsford as Essex take their place in Division One for the first time since 2010.
Essex Head Coach Chris Silverwood has named a strong 13-man squad for Sunday that includes Alastair Cook, and will see Adam Wheater keep wicket.
“It’s the start of what could be a very exciting year for us,” Silverwood admitted. “We will be going at the fixture full guns blazing to try and put a marker down for ourselves as much as anything. We want to show what we want to do moving forward.
“Preparations for the season could not have been better, we had a pre-season tour to Dubai that went exceptionally well and we have strengthened our squad with some really good signings that will give us a lot of competition for every place in the starting line-up.
“I’m sure that there are going to be two or three disappointed players every now and again who could end up missing out on selection but it is a long season and with three different formats, we are going to need everyone at some stage.
“If you look at the best team, they have all got a strong squad and if we are to compete, we need that also. We have got real strength in depth now. Look at the batting front alone, we have got nine top-class batters in there who will all be fighting for a position in the starting line-up.
“We’ve now got a world-class spinner in Simon Harmer and Neil Wagner will soon be joining us as a leading fast bowler, so the year ahead really is an exciting prospect.”
Essex squad to face Durham MCCU:
27. Ryan ten Doeschate (captain)
14. Aaron Beard
25. Ravi Bopara
10. Nick Browne
6. Varun Chopra
26. Alastair Cook
30. Matt Dixon
11. Simon Harmer
28. Dan Lawrence
44. Jamie Porter
67. Callum Taylor
21. Tom Westley
31. Adam Wheater
Play is scheduled to start at 11am on all three days and Meteor Way Car Park is available for Members.
Incoming overseas star Neil Wagner scooped two gongs at the New Zealand Cricket awards after an impressive year of Test Cricket.
The 31-year-old played in 13 out of 14 Tests during the award period taking 56 wickets, and was adjudged the Test player of the year, and also won the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling.
During the home summer, Wagner became the second-fastest New Zealand bowler, after Richard Hadlee, to 100 Test wickets.
The fast bowler links up with the Essex squad in the coming days and will look to build on an outstanding year with ball in hand.
Wagner will go straight into the squad for the match against his former side Lancashire and you can buy tickets here.
There is just one week to go until the start of the Specsavers County Championship, with Essex welcoming Lancashire to The Cloudfm County Ground.
Division One cricket returns to Chelmsford with the likes of Jimmy Anderson, Haseeb Hameed and Liam Livingstone due to be in the travelling party.
Alastair Cook will feature for the home side, while Neil Wagner and Simon Harmer will be in contention to make their league debuts for the Club.
With a batting line up to rival any other in the league, and a youthful and exciting bowling attack, Chris Silverwood’s men will look to build on their impressive pre-season form in the opening game.
Tickets are available for all four days and you can purchase them here.
Essex took advantage of the fine weather to hone their skills ahead of the start of the First Class season with an inter-club match at The Cloudfm County Ground on Wednesday and Thursday. This provided an opportunity to get some time out in middle before the ground opens to spectators on Sunday for the visit of Durham MCCU over three days.
The squad were split into two sides with a number of youngsters from the Academy, such as Jack Plom and Ben Allison, having the opportunity to impress alongside members of the First Team squad.
Alastair Cook scored an unbeaten 65, whilst Tom Westley scored 22 before he became one of two wickets for paceman Matt Dixon. Ashar Zaidi was stumped by Adam Wheater off the bowling of new recruit and off-spinner Simon Harmer but one of the most impressive knocks came towards the end of the innings. That was provided by Academy player Will Buttleman who struck 5 boundaries from the 19 deliveries he faced on his way to 25 not out as his side totalled 214. Apart from Dixon, there were also two wickets apiece for Aaron Beard and pace bowler Jack Plom, another Academy player. However, the pick of the attack was South African Harmer who returned 3 for 44 from 13 overs.
In response, their counterparts all enjoyed time in the middle as they ran up 303 for 8 by the close of the match. Varun Chopra led the list of scorers with 65 not out, Ryan ten Doeschate collected 37, Dan Lawrence 34, Callum Taylor retired with 33 runs to his name and Wheater was 28 not out in a score of 303 for 8. Ravi Bopara with 2-80 from 18 overs was chief wicket-taker.
Sunday’s match against Durham MCCU will begin at 11am with free entry for all spectators. Members Parking is available at Meteor Way for all three days of this fixture at £1 per car.
Photos – Nick Wood (www.unshaken-photography.co.uk)
At Tuesday’s Annual General Meeting opening bowler Matt Dixon was awarded the annual Bernard Stimpson Award.
Many years ago, Mr Bernard S Stimson left the Club a legacy requesting that the Trustees use the interest to award the player who had done the most by way of character, appearance and turn out to represent the Club.
During his first season at the Club, Matt made himself available at every opportunity for commercial, charity and media requests.
Commenting on receiving the reward, Dixon said: “I don’t feel as if I should be recognised for my contributions but it is always nice. Everyone at the Club made me feel welcome during my first season and it is the least I can do to offer my time to support various Club ventures.
“It is an exciting time to be part of the Club and I hope I can continue to make contributions both on and off the pitch going forward.”
The 2017 season is just around the corner with tickets for all matches now on sale and selling fast. Our popular hospitality packages are also proving to be in demand once against, with limited availability on the NatWest T20 Blast fixtures in July and August.
There are just two tables remaining for the opening 20-over match against Surrey on Friday 7 July, plus the games against Somerset (13 July) and Hampshire (21 July), which will certainly all sellout soon – so book now to avoid disappointment.
Tables for the other four matches in the competition are also selling fast with the Unlimited Beer packages in the Woodland Group Marquees being booked up, which are priced at from just £99 + VAT. The Beer & Balti package is also available for the Royal London One-Day Cup match on Friday 12 May, which is an opportunity to enjoy this experience in 50-over cricket.
If you would like further information on the packages available across all formats this season, then please contact the Commercial Department – 01245 254120 | commercial@https://http://essexcricket.org.uk/.
Alternatively, view the 2017 Commercial Brochure – here.
The Essex County Cricket Club Annual General Meeting took place last night, at The Cloudfm County Ground and the result of the 2017 Committee ballot was announced. It was confirmed that there were 6 nominations for 3 places on the General Committee and that a total of 1,352 voting papers were received (37% of the Club’s Membership voted).
Those nominated were:
Mr Paul Harvey
Mr Ronnie Irani
Mr Daren Mootoo
Mr Peter Northfield
Mr Baiju Solanki
Mr Brian Springall
Those elected onto the General Committee:
Mr Ronnie Irani
Mr Peter Northfield
Mr Paul Harvey
It was a very positive meeting as the Club’s President Doug Insole, General Committee and most importantly, Members, celebrated last season’s success and looked forward to the imminent start of Essex’s campaign.
