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We’re excited to announce that sports fan engagement platform, IQONIQ has been named as the Club’s shirt sponsor for the Royal London Cup.

IQONIQ has recently partnered with Essex County Cricket Club and will sponsor the front of the 2021 shirt.

The Team will be looking to add to their recent limited-overs success by winning their first 50-over competition since the 2008 Friends Provident Trophy.

Kazim Atilla, CEO and Founder of IQONIQ said: “We’re delighted to have secured Essex County Cricket Club as our first cricket partner. The Club’s success over the past five years made them the standout choice and we hope that their success continues in the 2021 Royal London Cup.”

Cloudfm is continuing their support of the Club by sponsoring the shirt back and collars.

Jeff Dewing, CEO and Co-Founder of Cloudfm said: “At Cloudfm we care deeply about the success and longevity of Essex County Cricket Club. We’re incredibly proud to have naming rights of The Cloudfm County Ground and that we now feature on every shirt used in the 2021 season shows our commitment to this great Club.”

Darrell Fox, Essex County Cricket Club’s Commercial Manager said: “We’d like to thank IQONIQ for joining the team. We’re incredibly excited about what they’ll bring to the Club and we hope that their support off the pitch can aid the team’s success on it.”

“Cloudfm have been exceptionally generous in their support of the Club, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Jeff and the team understand exactly what it means to be fans of Essex County Cricket Club and are heavily invested in our long-term success.”

The Eagles Royal London Cup campaign gets underway with an away match against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl on Thursday 22 July. The Team’s first home fixture is against Middlesex on Sunday 25 July, with the first ball being bowled at 11am.

The Graham Gooch Scholarship, part of the Essex Cricket Foundation, has donated £3,300 to the Professional Cricketers’ Trust in order to fund a motorised scooter and stairlift for former Kent and England man Alan ‘Iggy’ Igglesden.

The generous donation was funded by the Chelmsford-based Graham Gooch Scholarship which was founded by legendary former England captain Gooch, who was both a teammate and adversary of Igglesden during his playing career.

Rivalries have been set aside ahead of the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ in the Vitality Blast on Friday evening, as charity from Essex has shown its support for a character who is loved and respected across the game in Iggy.

Iggy and wife Liz revealed their family’s heartbreaking yet inspirational story to the Professional Cricketers’ Trust at the beginning of May, which led to an outpouring of support from the entire cricket family.

Iggy, whose 305 professional appearances between 1986-98 included seven for his country, has lived with an inoperable brain tumour for over 22 years, and his health problems were compounded when he suffered two major strokes in 2018 and 2020.

The 56-year-old is therefore reliant on a scooter and chairlift to enable movement both within and outside of his home in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

The £3,300 donation from the Graham Gooch Scholarship adds to the over £20,000 raised from the #5ferIggy campaign, which was a part of the national 5k May challenge.

The money raised will go towards the Professional Cricketers’ Trust, which supports PCA members and their immediate families when they have fallen on hard times, just like Iggy.

Graham Gooch commented: “The Graham Gooch Scholarship and Essex Cricket Foundation are pleased to be able to donate to help out Alan Igglesden, a great servant of Kent and England cricket.

“Essex v Kent is always a big rivalry in cricket, and I had many great tussles with Alan, but in his hour of need, we are really happy to be of some small assistance to him.”

Liz Igglesden, said: “We are so overwhelmed by the help, donations and messages. Iggy’s life is now literally powered by the love and loyalty of the cricket family. The donation from the Graham Gooch Scholarship is so generous, we are lost for words. We raised a glass to him on Father’s Day when Iggy had an outing on the scooter. I can’t begin to explain the power of these two simple machines on our lives; all three of us.”

Professional Cricketers’ Trust President, David Graveney, said: “Iggy’s story touched hearts across the cricket family, so a huge thanks to all of those who have donated, including the Graham Gooch Scholarship and Essex Cricket Foundation whose significant contribution has made a big difference.

“Fundraising for the Professional Cricketers’ Trust has been challenging in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the money raised is much-needed for what is a small charity.”

It was 13 years ago this week when Graham Naper re-wrote the record books.

When 5,500 fans packed into the Chelmsford ground on a balmy evening on June 24th, 2008 to watch Essex meet Sussex in the Twenty20 Cup, they could not have imagined that they would be about to witness a spectacular world-breaking salvo of sixes from the bat of Graham Napier.

It was a life-changing innings for a game-changer. As the popular Essex Eagles all-rounder strode to the crease, neither would he have any idea of what was about to occur.

“It was the launch pad of my career at a time when I didn’t really know where my cricket was going,” he readily admitted. “It set me on track to where I wanted to be.”

Batting at number 3, he scored 152 not out from just 58 balls during which he set new world record figures by launching 16 sixes, many like Exocet missiles, whilst his innings was the highest-ever score in domestic T20 cricket. It was also the most runs (136) scored in boundaries in an individual T20 innings.

“I remember that I started off a bit scratchy, I got off the mark with a couple of runs and then I saw an early opportunity to chance my arm and the ball went out of the ground for six,” he recalled. “At that point, I remember thinking, ‘Let’s go for it.’

“There were a couple of overs when the bowlers lost it a bit and I was just seeing how far I could hit the ball,” he continued. “When you are batting at the Hayes Close End, you’ve always got the river to aim for! It was brutal innings and you make the best of those times.”

His century arrived from 44 balls and 15 balls later, he was celebrating his hundred. The next 50 runs came at even greater pace with just 13 more deliveries required to reach his to 150, achieved with the 16th six of his spectacular innings that also included 10 fours.

His assault allowed the Eagles to reach 252 for 3 at the close of their innings before dismissing the Sharks for 114.

And Napier’s blitzkrieg innings brought the offer of an IPL (Indian Premier League) contract with Mumbai Indians. It was a commitment that was to change his life.
The 152 opened the door for me,” he acknowledged. “It got me into world headlines and led to opportunities to play in the IPL and other places.
He fondly recalls two of the particular maximum blows of that mind-blowing assault.

“My third six, a straight drive off Dwayne Smith was my favourite shot of the innings,” he said. “I was beginning to get my eye in and with a fine leg up and deep square-leg in front of square, I knew he couldn’t bowl too short. I aimed straight and the ball soared over the ropes. This six took the least effort but it was the best-timed.

“Then the final six, a pull shot off James Kirtley to reach my 150. At this point, I felt I had climbed Everest; I was on top of the world.”

The compelling cricketer, who made his senior debut for Essex in 1997, was an effective and fine exponent of the game across all three formats. He played 172 first-class matches for Essex and accumulated 5,225 runs and took 468 wickets. His 219 List A appearances for the county brought 251 wickets and almost 2,400 runs whilst 109 T20 matches produced 123 wickets and 995 runs but at the end of the 2016 season, the Colchester-born player took the decision to retire.

“I wanted to go out when I was still turning in acceptable performances,” he insisted.

Now his time is spent as a cricket coach at RHS School in Ipswich but he hopes that his master classes for Essex on the cricket field will be fondly appreciated by all who saw him play.

“I’d like people to remember me as someone that played with a smile, enjoyed the game, and entertained,” he concluded.
He certainly did that!

Essex Eagles head to Lord’s for their next fixture in the Vitality Blast where they meet Middlesex on Thursday evening with the match scheduled to get underway at 6:15pm.

It is an important 48 hours for the Eagles who also have a home clash with Kent Spitfires on Friday night as they seek back-to-back successes that could galvanise their T20 campaign.

They recorded their second win in the competition on Monday night when they beat Surrey by 8 wickets with Will Buttleman and Sam Cook returning personal best T20 figures. Cook captured 4 wickets for just 15 runs whilst opener Buttleman scored 56 not out.

The Eagles now have a total of 5 points with half of their qualifying matches completed.

Middlesex have managed just a single win from their five matches thus far and are at the foot of the South Group table. Their victory came against Hampshire by a 3 wicket margin but clashes with Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent Spitfires and Surrey have all ended in defeats.

The home side will be missing top-rated white ball batsman Eoin Morgan who is leading England in their T20 series with Sri Lanka. However, New Zealand international Daryl Mitchell has now joined Middlesex for the remainder of the T20 campaign.

Squad:

McGrath’s View:

Anthony McGrath admitted that the victory against Surrey earlier this week that ended an unwanted sequence of five matches without a win Eagles came as a welcome relief.

“It had not been the greatest of performances for a few games before we beat Surrey, but we showed what we are capable of in that match,” said the Eagles Head Coach.

”It was obviously a much-needed win and now we have the chance to build on that with back-to-back matches with Middlesex on Thursday and then Kent Spitfires on Friday.

“Games in T20 come thick and fast, it’s easy to get on a losing run but equally, it’s also possible to put a decent winning run together. If we can do that, there are still enough games left for us to qualify for the next stage and that’s what we are aiming for.

“As we keep saying, it’s fine margins in T20 cricket, it’s about doing the basics really well and we did that against Surrey. If you get a few wickets in the powerplay and then when you bat, someone in the top-order takes responsibility and gets you off to a good start, it’s a different game.”

Sam Cook, Will Buttleman and Michael Pepper all attracted special mention from the Eagles Head Coach.

“It was good to see our young players taking the lead, I was delighted for Sam because he’s been our best bowler in the competition so far and Will is an exciting player,” he stated.

“I thought he showed great maturity and I’m sure he’ll take a lot of pride from his innings. I also thought Michael was very mature in the way he supported Will through to the end.

“You need individuals to perform and we had that on Monday.

“There’s still a lot of cricket to be played but we need to back up that performance and get a good run going. When we do that, we know that we are a match for anyone.”

Injury/Absentees News:

The Eagles have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the fixture with Middlesex.

Opposition:

Coach: Stuart Law
Captain: Steven Finn
Last Year’s Performance: Fourth in the South Group
2020 Leading Runscorer: Stevie Eskinazi (413 runs @ 41.30)
2020 Leading Wicket Taker: Steven Finn (14 wickets @ 19.00)

Key Man: Stevie Eskinazi

With Morgan and Stirling only available for the opening stages, Middlesex will look to Eskinazi to embrace the freedom to play his shots and repeat last year’s sparkling form.

Flies under the radar: Nathan Sowter.

Leg-spinner Sowter may attract few headlines but has become one of Middlesex’s most consistent T20 wicket-takers and helped propel his side to the quarter-finals in 2019.

Blast Expectations:

While Middlesex have underperformed in the Blast, this year’s tournament will be a welcome switch in formats after a poor start to their Championship campaign. England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan returns as skipper and bolsters a brittle batting line-up alongside explosive Ireland opener Paul Stirling.

Power-hitting New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell joins for the final group games, but the challenge for the rest of the batters is whether they can post competitive totals consistently once Morgan and Stirling resume international duties. Otherwise, Middlesex again have a largely youthful feel. The Seaxes will hope these promising youngsters can kick on after being given an extended run over the last year.

Spin could play a decisive role with several slow bowling options available, including experienced leg-spinner Nathan Sowter, Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman who has risen to number five in the world rankings since his last stint at Lord’s and Sydney Thunder off-spinning all-rounder Chris Green.

Head-to-Head:

When the teams met at Lord’s last year, the home side won by 11 runs after being put into bat. Openers Steve Eskinazi (51) and Max Holden (46) put on 97 before being parted but then wickets fell at regular innings before a brisk unbeaten 25 by Luke Hollman took the home side to 167-7 at the conclusion of their innings.

With a short boundary on the Tavern side to encourage batsmen, the Eagles were hopeful of recording their first win of the T20 campaign in four matches, but a number of batsmen promised substantial contribution only to perish in the deep.

When Steven Finn claimed 2 wickets in 4 balls including Ryan ten Doeschate for 32, the visitors needed 32 from 3 overs with 3 wickets remaining. Simon Harmer then hit a breezy 23 from 12 deliveries including 2 sixes and at the start of the final over sent down by Miguel Cummins, 23 were needed.

The first delivery was a waist-high full toss and a free hit was called, then 10 runs came from the next three balls to keep the Eagles hopes alive. But Harmer was bowl to the next delivery and Essex finished on 156-8.

Of the 30 matches contested, Essex narrowly shade the honours with 15 victories, 1 more than Middlesex whilst 1 match was abandoned.

How To Watch:

There will be a Live Stream service from Lord’s, which will be broadcasting ahead of play from 6:15pm via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.

Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.

Idris Patel, CEO of Supporting Humanity, a charity that delivered in excess of 82,000 hot meals to vulnerable people and frontline NHS staff at more than 18 hospitals, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for his efforts.

During the height of the pandemic, Supporting Humanity teamed up with Essex Cricket to cook and deliver meals to hospitals in Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow, Basildon and Southend. Supporting Humanity also delivered meals to 18 other hospitals, care homes and vulnerable people over the age of 65.

Essex Captains Simon Harmer, Tom Westley and Kelly Castle amongst several players from the First Team and Women’s squads made the trip to Saffron Kitchen, where the charity is based, to help in the kitchen. They were joined by Essex County Cricket Club Ambassador, Graham Gooch OBE, who personally delivered the meals to grateful NHS staff.

Supporting Humanity and Essex Cricket received fantastic support from Club Partners, Cloudfm, Woodland Group and Allen Ford, who provided vehicles for the hot meals to be delivered to the hospitals in Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow, Basildon and Southend.

Essex Cricket also launched a Just Giving page dedicated to raising funds for Supporting Humanity and the Essex Community Foundation which supports local charities and voluntary groups. The campaign raised over £3,500 and the Club would like to thank everyone who provided support throughout the project.

Every single person in my charity is like a family member. We’re not expecting the world to thank us, we are doing things because we want to do it for the world.”

A lot of these things that I’m doing with the charity are because of the way my mother has raised me” he continued. “She has always said to me don’t worry about what the world can do for you, you worry about what you can do for the world.”

Arfan Akram, Essex Cricket’s East London Cricket Operations Manager said: “The work done by Idris and everyone at Supporting Humanity during the pandemic has been truly sensational. It’s a prime example of the selfless work done in the community to support vulnerable people and heroic NHS staff.

Cricket and community life go hand in hand, and for Essex County Cricket Club to lend their help was yet another example of the great work done by cricket clubs to strengthen bonds with their local communities.”

The Club would like to congratulate Idris on this fully deserved award.
 

Essex Eagles entertain Sussex Sharks in the Vitality Blast on Tuesday evening with play getting underway at 7pm.

The two sides head into the match with contrasting fortunes in the competition thus far. After winning the opening match with Somerset, the Eagles will now be looking to bounce back following two successive defeat against Glamorgan and Hampshire in the past four days.

Meanwhile, the Sharks arrive with a 100 percent record having beaten Gloucestershire by 5 wickets, followed by a 9-wicket thrashing of Hampshire Hawks on Saturday.

Phil Salt has been in sparkling form for the visitors hitting unbeaten scores of 77 and 72 in the victories.

Squads:

Sussex Sharks Squad:
Luke Wright (C), Will Beer, Ravi Bopara, Oli Carter, Henry Crocombe, George Garton, Travis Head, Chris Jordan, Archie Lenham, Tymal Mills, Delray Rawlins, Phil Salt, Aaron Thomason, David Wiese.

Head Coach’s View:

“We were probably 15 runs short of the score we wanted on Sunday and so the key was to get wickets early in the powerplay”, said Antony McGrath.

“We didn’t manage to do that and once Glamorgan got past the 100 with only one wicket down, the game was pretty much gone. They accelerated and didn’t give us much chance.

“When we batted, we lost wickets at crucial points and really, you need one of your top four to go and get a 60, 70 or 80 and when you keep losing wickets constantly, the run-rate drops and you lose momentum.

“We were without Adam [Wheater] and Ryan [ten Doeschate] who are two very experienced cricketers who played a big part when we won the competition in 2019, but these things happen.

“So, yes it was disappointing to lose both on Sunday and last Friday.

“In fact, I think we should have won against Hampshire which would have given us two wins out of two. You have to close those games out when you are on top like we were.

“In Twenty20 matches, sometimes you can get outplayed which I thought we were on Sunday with bat and ball, but we should have beaten Hampshire on Friday given the position we were in.

“But those games are gone and we now have two home games to look forward to. We saw in 2019 when we got on a run that we were difficult to stop so that’s what the immediate target is in front of us, to put together two or three wins which lifts everyone’s confidence.

There’s plenty of time to get a run going, there are eleven games still to go and that’s a lot of cricket to be played.”

Injury/Absentees News:

Adam Wheater still remains on the sidelines through injury, whilst Dan Lawrence will return soon from international duty.

Opposition:

Coach: James Kirtley
Captain: Luke Wright

Last Year’s Performance: Quarter-finalists
2020 Leading Run Scorer: David Wiese (281 @ 40.14)
2020 Leading Wicket Taker: George Garton (14 @ 16.5)

Overseas players: Rashid Khan (available from June 27), David Wiese and Travis Head (both available for the whole tournament).

Key man: Ravi Bopara – The former Eagle will make another return to Chelmsford after his move South in 2019. Ravi is one of the dangermen in the Sharks ranks and struck his first half-century for the Club on Saturday against Hampshire.

Flies under the radar: George Garton – He was outstanding in 2020 with 14 wickets and the best economy rate of Sussex’s seamers. He took 20 off a Steve Finn over to beat Middlesex and underline his batting potential.

Best Player Under 24: Archie Lenham – At just 16-years-old, it has been a memorable start of the campaign from Lenham who took 1/34 on debut, and followed it up with a man of the match performance against Hampshire Hawks with figures of 3/14.

Blast expectations: Sussex Sharks look to have all bases covered and it will be one of the favourites for the knockout stages.

Even at 36, skipper Luke Wright still has a lot to offer and commands enviable resources, even without Jofra Archer and with Chris Jordan’s appearances likely to be limited by England commitments.

Travis Head will bring runs and big-match experience and Ravi Bopara is too good a player not to improve on a disappointing 2020.

Head-to-Head:

When the teams met at Chelmsford last year, the Sharks won by 4 wickets with 10 balls to spare. Paul Walter batted splendidly for the Eagles holding the innings together with a valiant 76 in a total of 136 for 9.

The visitors started with a wobble in their reply losing half their side for 59 but Calum MacLeod and George Garton staged a 73-run partnership. When they were finally parted with the score on 132, Sussex were on the cusp of victory.

It’s a tight record between the two Clubs in Twenty20 cricket over the course of 28 meetings – Essex Eagles have claimed 13 victories with Sussex Sharks just ahead on 15.

How To Watch:

There will be a Live Stream service from The Cloudfm County Ground, which will be broadcasting from 6:30pm ahead of play which is scheduled to start at 7pm.

Host, Simon Ward will be joined by Graham Gooch and opening batsman, Nick Browne for the match and can be viewed via the Essex Cricket TV YouTube channel and Essex Cricket Matchzone.

Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.

Essex Eagles v Hampshire Hawks

Vitality Blast

The Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford

Team News:

Essex Eagles: Tom Westley, Will Buttleman (wk), Michael Pepper, Paul Walter, Ryan ten Doeschate, Jimmy Neesham, Simon Harmer (c), Jack Plom, Aron Nijjar, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Hampshire Hawks: James Vince (c), D’Arcy Short, Tom Alsop, Joe Weatherley, Liam Dawson, James Fuller, Lewis McManus (wk), Ian Holland, Chris Wood, Mason Crane, Brad Wheal.

Match Details:

Umpires: Graham Lloyd & Paul Pollard
Toss: Essex Eagles who elected to field
Result: Hampshire Hawks win by 13 runs – view scorecard

Match Highlights:

Match Report:

Essex Eagles suffered a 13 run defeat in their match against the Hampshire Hawks at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Following their thrilling victory against Somerset 48 hours earlier, they succumbed tamely when replying to what appeared a modest 155-6 .

The Eagles were bowled out for 142 after Tom Westley top-scored with 44 from 29 balls before he was run out by Ian Holland’s direct throw from short fine leg.

A half-century between Westley and Paul Walter in only six overs promised to pave the way for the Eagles second victory of the campaign but once the latter was stumped off leg-spinner Mason Crane with the total now 77-3 at the end of eight overs, wickets tumbled.

Wednesday’s hero Jimmy Neesham hit a spirited 28 from 16 deliveries that included two sixes and two fours but when he departed to leave the score 120-6, the home side never really threatened to deny their opponents’ success.

The last five wickets went down for 22 runs to hand Hampshire victory with four balls to spare.

The visitors who were put into bat, were never able to accelerate as they wished thanks to some tight bowling and fine fielding.

Sam Cook conceded only 21 in his four overs and picked up two wickets, the first as a result of a magnificent catch above his head by Aron Nijjar to remove opener James Vince for 23.

Cook also got rid of the Hawks other opener, Australian international D’Arcy Short, for 26 as debutant Will Buttleman accepted a straightforward catch.

Debutant Buttleman, who was deputising for regular wicket-keeper Adam Wheater who was suffering with a side strain, enjoyed a highly competent game with the gloves. He collected a second victim when he pulled off a neat stumping to remove Liam Dawson that provided off-spinner and skipper Simon Harmer with success.

Hampshire were guided Joe Weatherley who struck 42 from 37 balls, his innings coming to an end when he swung a delivery from Neesham, one of seven bowlers used by the Eagles, to deep mid-wicket.

James Fuller weighed in with 25 from 13 balls before he departed during an eventful over by Jamie Porter. The batsman collected successive sixes but then skied the next delivery to Nijjar in the covers.

Cook, with figures of 2/21 from four overs and Harmer, 2/23 from three overs, were the chief wicket takers for the Eagles who now travel to Cardiff to meet Glamorgan on Sunday in their next Vitality Blast fixture.

Essex County Cricket Club can today confirm that Peter Siddle has returned to Australia for personal reasons and will miss the rest of the 2021 campaign.

The 36-year-old took 20 wickets in the LV= Insurance County Championship this year, with his best figures of 6/38 coming in the rain-affected draw with Warwickshire at Chelmsford last month.

The former Australia international recently became the 164th player to be awarded their Essex County Cap, and on his departure, he said: “I’m sad to be leaving Chelmsford early as I love playing for Essex.

“I’ve got some great friends in the dressing room and they’re a great bunch to be around and play cricket with. I’ve built some really strong bonds with the guys, so it’s upsetting that I have to go home, but hopefully in the future I can come back and play some more cricket for this great Club.

“I know I’m getting to the back end of my career, but I’ve still got some playing time left. We’ll see what happens in the coming months and in the build-up to the 2022 season, but fingers crossed there’s still a little bit more cricket to be played for Essex.”

Watch: Peter Siddle Departs

Essex Head Coach Anthony McGrath also said: “Peter is a model professional so it’s obviously disappointing that we’re losing a player of his calibre.

“He’s a great figure in the dressing room and a leader on the field. He’s been amazing with the younger bowlers and has always offered support and advice, and when playing he’s contributed with some important wickets.

“He’s a fierce competitor and always gives it his all, but we wish him nothing but the best and hopefully we see him back at Chelmsford soon.”

Essex play the penultimate LV= Insurance County Championship Group One match when entertaining Nottinghamshire at The Cloudfm County Ground starting on Thursday.

The home side will be seeking revenge for the defeat by an innings and 30 runs when the teams met at Trent Bridge at the start of May, but they go into this week’s clash sitting at the top of the Group One section with Nottinghamshire arriving in second position but with a match in hand.

Victory against Durham last week took Essex back to the top of the table and they will be looking for a win that would put distance between themselves and their closest pursuers in the bid to secure a top-two finish. That would guarantee them their place in Division One where they would have the opportunity later in the season to compete once again for the County Championship title.

Essex have played eight of their 10 matches in the group stage and have amassed 107 points, five more than Nottinghamshire and seven more than Warwickshire, both of whom have three matches left to play.

Worcestershire, who have also played eight matches are in fourth position with 94 points.

Squad:

Hear from McGrath:

Essex returned to winning ways when they beat Durham last week to record their third win of the campaign and second in three matches.

Head Coach Anthony McGrath praised the spirit of the side in the manner in which they achieved their success.

He said: “It was a very interesting game really because conditions changed so much from Day One. We would definitely have bowled had we won the toss but as I say, conditions really changed a lot.

“I think the overall way we played epitomises everything we have been over the past few years, showing character, skill and whenever we have been under pressure, we have found a way to win.

“I’m delighted for the boys because we’ve probably not been at our best this year but to get the win over Durham that takes us to the top of the table is a nice feeling.

“The last three games have shown what our bowling attack is all about. We have bowled as a unit and that’s been our success really. If one of them is not getting wickets, they are not going for runs.

“I felt before the game with Durham that we needed to win two of the three remaining games depending on other results, but our group is very tight. We try to win every game, of course, but going into what is a big game with Nottinghamshire, we’ll take the confidence and momentum from that victory over Durham.”

Injury/Absentees News:

Dan Lawrence will miss the clash with Nottinghamshire at Chelmsford having been named in the England squad for the forthcoming two-match Test series with New Zealand.

Opposition:

Nottinghamshire’s batsmen have recorded six centuries collectively so far this season. Two have been scored by opener Haseeb Hameed (who has accumulated 515 runs at an average of 46.81) and two by fellow opener Ben Slater (503 runs at an average of 45.72).

Joe Clarke has yet to post a three-figure contribution although he has made four half-centuries amongst his tally of 365 runs.

Luke Fletcher is enjoying a profitable campaign with the ball having bagged 36 victims thus far at an impressive average of 13.22. He has taken three 5-fers and one 10-fer amongst his prolific haul of victims. Dane Paterson offers chief support with 24 wickets at an average of 23.62.

Head-to-Head:

Despite a career-best 7/98 from Shane Snater, Essex crashed to an innings defeat when they met Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge a month ago. Nick Browne scored 53 but Dan Lawrence was the only other Essex batsman to reach double figures (14) when the visitors were undone by Luke Fletcher, who captured 6/24 in the Essex meagre effort of 99 all out.

Notts Captain Steven Mullaney showed the way with the bat posting 117 supported by a half-century from Lyndon James as the home side gained a first-innings lead of 224 runs. James then showed his all-round capabilities with 4/51 when Essex were bowled out for 194 with Browne again top-scorer. This time, the left-hander contributed 64 batting for more than four hours.

When the two teams last met at Chelmsford in the County Championship back in May 2019, Essex emerged winners by 8 wickets.

Nottinghamshire won the toss but were dismissed for a below-par 187 as Jamie Porter claimed 4/75. In reply, Essex posted 241 with Nick Browne scoring 67 whilst Luke Fletcher proved the pick of the visitors attack with 5/50.

Notts then struggled to contend with the wiles and guile of spinner Simon Harmer who took 6/60 in a total of 158 all out. Essex reached their target for the loss of 2 wickets with Tom Westley falling one run short of his half-century whilst Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 40 when the winning runs were scored.

In the 137 Championship clashes so far, Essex have won 37, there have been 66 draws and Notts have been victorious on 34 occasions.

Potential Milestones:

Adam Wheater requires 5 more victims to reach 150 first-class dismissals for Essex. He has currently claimed 133 catches and 12 stumpings.
Simon Harmer requires 11 more wickets to record 300 first-class wickets for Essex.
Ryan ten Doeschate requires a further 173 runs to record 10,000 first-class runs for Essex.

How To Watch:

Our Live Stream service will be available across all four days of this game from 11am, which also includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the day. Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.