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Essex v Kent

Vitality County Championship

The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford

Friday 12 – Monday 15 April 2024, 11am start

Team News

Essex: Dean Elgar, Feroze Khushi, Tom Westley*, Jordan Cox, Matt Critchley, Paul Walter, Michael Pepper †, Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Aaron Beard, Jamie Porter.

Kent: Ben Compton, Tawanda Muyeye, Daniel Bell-Drummond*, Jack Leaning, Joe Denly, Harry Finch †, Jaydn Denly, Wes Agar, Nathan Gilchrist, Matt Parkinson, George Garrett.

Match Details:

Umpires: Ian Blackwell & Graham Lloyd
Match Referee: Phil Whitticase
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Match Drawn

Scorecard: View Here

Day Four Highlights

Day Four Reaction: Anthony McGrath:

Day Four Report

Jamie Porter claimed four wickets but Essex’s attempt to force victory over Kent came up just short on the final day of the sides’ Vitality County Championship clash at The Cloud County Ground.

Although they reduced the visitors to 65-5, two separate rain stoppages reduced the available overs and ensured that Essex were frustrated in their quest to complete a second successive victory.

After wind and rain delayed the start to after lunch and forced the loss of 32 overs from the day’s play, Tom Westley declared the Essex second innings closed, with Jordan Cox and Michael Pepper not out.

That left 64 overs for Essex to attempt to bowl Kent out, and their quest to do so got off to an ideal start as Tawanda Muyeye departed for a duck, caught behind by Pepper off Jamie Porter.

Ben Compton, who had dug in for an attritive 165 in the first innings, was uprooted far more quickly second time around, being pinned lbw by Porter for six.

A quick burst to remove his fellow first-innings centurion Daniel Bell-Drummond, trapped in front by Harmer for 18, and Jack Leaning, who had his furniture rearranged by Shane Snater, left Kent 37-4.

Harry Finch then became the third lbw victim of the innings, this time at the hands of Critchley, to leave the visitors seriously listing.

However, uncle and nephew Joe and Jaydn Denly battled back to halt the decline, reaching tea without further loss before shepherding their side into three figures with a sixth-wicket stand of 51.

Their partnership was broken when Porter returned to the attack to see the elder Denly flick into the hands of Feroze Khushi at short leg for 39, raising Essex hopes once more.

By this time, they were not just battling Kent, but also the weather, as just after Porter took his fourth, seeing Wes Agar caught by Snater at square leg for six, a passing shower forced the players off.

Fortunately, it cost just four overs, with the changeable spring weather then illustrated by the fact that the remainder of the game was played in bright sunshine.

Regretfully for Essex, Denly the younger, alongside Nathan Gilchrist, resisted for the remainder of the match, with the former finishing unbeaten with an innings top-score to see the visitors escape.

Coupled with their seven bonus points, the draw saw Essex take 15 points from the fixture ahead of another home clash with Lancashire from Friday.

Day Three Highlights

Day Three Reaction: Jordan Cox

Day Three Report

Jordan Cox hammered a stunning 85-ball century late on Day Three as Essex teed up a potential victory push against Kent at The Cloud County Ground.

Having hit two half-centuries in his three previous knocks for the Eagles, Cox went one better against his old side, bashing 13 boundaries to end the day unbeaten on 116 off just 89 deliveries.

Matt Critchley had earlier shone with the ball by returning figures of 5-105 as Kent, who resumed on 245-1, were bowled out for 413.

That gave Essex a lead of 137, which they then extended to a very healthy 374 by the close with some sparkling strokeplay late on, reaching stumps at 257-4.

After a Saturday that saw the Eagles go without any reward for their efforts, they found far more joy early on, taking quick middle order wickets to reduce the visitors to 312-7.

Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond was first to go, trapped lbw by Jamie Porter after adding only one to his overnight 134, just before the exact same fate befell Jack Leaning for four.

Shane Snater then uprooted Joe Denly’s off stump for 16, before Critchley took the first of his five by having Harry Finch held by a diving Tom Westley at mid-off for six.

Kent stuttered past 300 but almost immediately afterwards lost Jaydn Denly, nephew of Joe, for a duck on his first-class debut as he nicked Critchley into the hands of Feroze Khushi at short leg.

With Wes Agar then following for 10, trapped leg before for Critchley’s third, there was hope of Kent being asked to follow on, only for Nathan Gilchrist to hold Essex up with a counter-attacking 41.

He partnered still-unbeaten opener Ben Compton, who was batting in typical attritive fashion at the other end, to put on 68 for the eighth wicket and stave off the threat of Kent being put back in.

Gilchrist’s resistance was eventually ended by Critchley as he edged through to Michael Pepper behind the stumps, before Matt Parkinson fell too, caught by Simon Harmer, to confirm his five.

Harmer himself then wrapped up the innings by finally bowling Compton for 165, giving Essex a sizeable first-innings advantage.

Dean Elgar and Tom Westley then overcame the loss of Feroze Khushi for eight, caught by Jaydn Denly off Agar, by fluently taking the hosts past 50 before Elgar fell for 34.

Westley hit 22, with his and Cox’s stand for the third wicket enough to grow Essex’s lead beyond 200, before the dismissal of the former, lbw to Agar brought about a change in intent from Cox.

Against his former side, he motored through the gears to reach his half-century in just 52 balls, doing so with a monstrous strike for six high over midwicket.

Critchley looked to be similarly positive, contributing a 23-ball 25, but was bowled aiming a similar shot at Parkinson.

However, that took nothing away from the one-man show of Cox, who continued to pillage the boundary as Essex moved further and further out of sight.

He reached his century in the same way he had posted fifty, by dispatching a huge six over the leg side, as he and Pepper, who made 34, put Essex firmly in with a shout of pressing for a win tomorrow.

Day Two Reaction: Matt Critchley

Day Two Highlights

Day Two Report

Daniel Bell-Drummond hit a second successive Vitality County Championship century to continue the good start to the season on a Chelmsford pitch where only two wickets fell all day.

The Kent captain reached three-figures against Somerset at Canterbury last week, and helped his side fight back with a second ton after suffering three and a half sessions of unremitting toil in the field at Chelmsford.

However, in company with fellow centurion Ben Compton for 71 overs, Bell-Drummond led the Kent fightback against an unresponsive Kookaburra ball. Needing 381 to make Essex bat again, Kent had knocked off 245 by the end of day two for the loss of one wicket with Bell-Drummond 134 not out and Compton 100.

Essex’s 530-7 declared was anchored for 73 overs by Matt Critchley’s career-best 151 not out – beating his unbeaten 137 against Northamptonshire in his second appearance for Derbyshire as an 18-year-old back in 2015. His marathon innings encompassed 212 balls and included just five fours, but four sixes.

Shane Snater had claimed the first Kent wicket just before lunch when Twanda Muyeye shouldered arms to one that went straight on and rapped his pad. But it was the last wicket to fall.

Compton and Bell-Drummond dug in doggedly initially at around two an over until the Kent captain hit Simon Harmer straight for four and added another through midwicket in the same over. When Compton flicked Jamie Porter off his legs, Kent had added 14 runs in six balls. It marked a sea-change as the gloves came off.

Bell-Drummond reached his half-century from 99 balls with a push into the covers off Aaron Beard, and then cross-batted the same bowler through midwicket for his sixth boundary. Compton, who was dropped at slip on 20, batted just under three hours for his fifty, which took up 147 balls.

When Critchley strayed down either side of the wicket, Compton came out of his self-imposed shall and nudged the ball three times to the boundary in quick succession. Suddenly, as the evening session progressed in bright sunshine, it was the turn of the Essex attack to suffer.

Bell-Drummond’s 10th four, chopped through the covers for three off Beard, took him to a 168-ball century, and also brought up the 150-run stand for the second wicket. A six over long leg followed by a full-toss for four off Critchley kept up Bell-Drummond’s dominance. Harmer also came in for similar treatment with another maximum disappearing into the far distance.

Compton reached his century on the last ball of the day, having batted for 237 minutes with 12 fours.

Essex had batted on for 70 minutes in the morning, adding 109 runs, losing just the wicket of Harmer and claiming full batting points before the declaration put Kent’s demoralised fielders and bowlers out of their misery. Only George Garrett, who took two for 80, went at less than four runs an over.

Critchley made hay, hitting three sixes over long leg, one out of the ground, in his record knock while also sharing half-century partnerships on the day with Harmer and Snater. As the declaration approached Critchley and Snater put on 52 from 28 balls with the latter’s 26 coming off just 16 balls.

Day Two Reaction: Dean Elgar

Day One Highlights

Day One Report

Dean Elgar, on his home Essex debut, and Matt Critchley both struck sparkling centuries as the Eagles piled on the runs on Day One of the Vitality County Championship clash against Kent.

Having shown more than a glimpse of his class with an impressive 80 at Trent Bridge last week, Elgar took centre stage by going one better at home with a masterful 120 from 176 balls, featuring 18 fours.

Meanwhile, Critchley, who had also chalked up his first 50 of the season in Nottingham, followed the South African in posting triple figures off 168 balls, with his knock including four fours and one six.

He ended the day unbeaten on 103, while Jordan Cox also backed up his bright start to the season by hitting 67, and Michael Pepper contributed late on with a swift 42-ball 49.

On a bright and warm day at The Cloud County Ground, those knocks contributed towards Essex’s Day One total of 421-6, which came after Tom Westley had won the toss and eagerly opted to bat first.

Feroze Khushi was an early victim, bowled by Wes Agar in the opening over of the day, and Westley made five before following him as he edged George Garrett behind to Harry Finch.

That left the Eagles in a sticky spot at 10-2 early on, but Elgar and Cox, as they had a week earlier in Nottingham, rebuilt fluently and effectively with a stand of 159 in 34.4 overs either side of lunch.

Cox in particular scored rapidly, hitting back-to-back fours on three occasions and crunching spinner Matt Parkinson for a giant straight six to bring up his 50 in just 61 balls.

By comparison, Elgar was more watchful, but he too hit Parkinson for a boundary, this time a lofted drive for four, to post his own half-century in 76 deliveries as the duo took Essex to 123-2 at lunch.

Their stand looked set to continue to flourish into the afternoon, with Elgar cutting Parkinson away for two to tick it past 150, but it came to an abrupt end nine runs later when Cox was pinned lbw by Garrett.

However, after seeing himself in, his replacement Critchley took up the mantle with enthusiasm, striking only his tenth ball, bowled by Parkinson, for an almighty maximum.

He followed it up immediately with four more, and was then on hand to partner Elgar to see Essex beyond 200 midway through the afternoon.

Elgar’s partnership with Critchley did not quite reach the levels of his one with Cox, being worth 89 in the end, but it was enough to take him to his individual ton.

That arrived off the final two balls of the 49th over, as he hit Nathan Gilchrist for consecutive fours, one driven through the covers and the other flicked beyond mid-on.

He and Critchley saw the total beyond 250, but the South African fell in the next over, turning Parkinson into the hands of Tawanda Muyeye at short leg.

Now partnered by Paul Walter, Critchley continued to attack and posted his own fifty in 80 balls by driving Jack Leaning for four, just before Walter hit the same man for six to push the total beyond 300.

Parkinson removed Walter for 33, caught by Joe Denly at long-off, but again there was no let-up, as Pepper partnered Critchley past 400.

Their stand was worth 80 in just 72 balls, and shortly after it ended via Pepper being caught by Muyeye at third off Gilchrist following a blustery knock featuring eight boundaries, Critchley posted his century.

Having tiptoed his way through the 90s, the all-rounder finally sent the crowd into raptures with a cut single off Gilchrist in the final trappings of the day.

He and Simon Harmer then confidently saw out what remained of the day, ending with an unbroken stand of 25 for the seventh wicket.
 

The Eagles Have Landed: The 2024 Vitality Blast at The Cloud County Ground

Fresh from a Finals Day appearance last summer, Essex return to shortest-format action in Chelmsford from Sunday 02 June.

Demand remains exceptionally high, and there is now just one Friday night fixture with availability remaining, the visit of Glamorgan to The Cloud County Ground on 07 June.

With the Eagles aiming to go one better in 2024, there is no time to waste to snap up your seats.

Sunday 02 June, 4:00pm: Essex v Middlesex – buy here
Friday 07 June, 7:00pm: Essex v Glamorgan – buy here (LAST FEW TICKETS)
Friday 14 June, 7:00pm: Essex v Sussex Sharks – SOLD OUT
Thursday 20 June, 7:00pm: Essex v Hampshire Hawks – buy here
Friday 05 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Somerset – SOLD OUT
Thursday 11 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Kent Spitfires – buy here
Sunday 14 July, 2:30pm: Essex v Surrey – buy here
 

Essex Cricket is proud to commemorate two Essex legends with a renaming of the ends at The Cloud County Ground ahead of the 2024 season.

The Hayes Close End, as the side of the ground closest to East London, will now be known as the Graham Gooch End, while the River End will be named the Sir Alastair Cook End.

Born in Whipps Cross in 1953, Graham Gooch was educated at Norlington School and Leyton Sixth Form College in East London, and went on to represent Essex between 1973 and 1997.

He played 118 Tests and 125 ODIs for England, captaining his country in the longest format on 34 occasions, scoring 67,057 runs in first-class and List A cricket combined.

Gooch also played 391 first-class matches for Essex, scoring 30,701 runs at an average of 51.77, and a top score of 275.

For two decades he was England’s all-time Test run-scorer with 8,900 runs, until he was overtaken in 2015 by Alastair Cook, the other player to be honoured in this latest update to The Cloud County Ground.

Alastair Cook still holds the record of most Test runs scored in an England shirt, with 12,472 runs to his name, and represented Essex after making his debut in 2003.

He captained England in 59 of his 161 Tests, as well as in 69 of his 92 ODIs, and holds the record for most consecutive appearances by an individual in Test cricket, with an unbroken run of 159.

Cook represented the county in 158 first-class matches, scoring 11,337 runs at an average of 45.16 with 31 centuries. He announced his retirement following the conclusion of the 2023 season.

The duo also enjoyed a close bond with Gooch mentoring Cook throughout his career whilst at Essex and England.

John Stephenson, Chief Executive Officer at Essex Cricket, said: “It’s a real honour to rename the bowling ends at The Cloud County Ground after two legends of Essex cricket.

“We’re a Club with a long history, and it’s important that we recognise that. The renaming of our ground ends allows us to pay tribute to two of our finest players of all time.

“For their respective contributions to our Club, I can’t think of many people more deserving of this honour than Graham and Sir Alastair.”
 

The Eagles Have Landed: The 2024 Vitality Blast at The Cloud County Ground

Fresh from a Finals Day appearance last summer, Essex return to shortest-format action in Chelmsford from Sunday 02 June.

Demand remains exceptionally high, and there is now just one Friday night fixture with availability remaining, the visit of Glamorgan to The Cloud County Ground on 07 June.

With the Eagles aiming to go one better in 2024, there is no time to waste to snap up your seats.

Sunday 02 June, 4:00pm: Essex v Middlesex – buy here
Friday 07 June, 7:00pm: Essex v Glamorgan – buy here (LAST FEW TICKETS)
Friday 14 June, 7:00pm: Essex v Sussex Sharks – SOLD OUT
Thursday 20 June, 7:00pm: Essex v Hampshire Hawks – buy here
Friday 05 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Somerset – SOLD OUT
Thursday 11 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Kent Spitfires – buy here
Sunday 14 July, 2:30pm: Essex v Surrey – buy here
 

This is the seventh and final part of a series, with a look back at a memorable game from the past against each of Essex’s 2024 home Vitality Blast opponents. This last instalment recalls an unbelievable batting display against Surrey in 2019.
 
Essex (226-4) beat Surrey (174-7) by 52 runs
Chelmsford County Ground, 19 July 2019
 
Scorecard: View Here
 
Highlights:

When the scorecard reads that all but one member of the opposition bowling attack conceded respective economy rates of at least 12.6, it becomes very clear that something special unfolded.

Records aplenty were rewritten on a barely believable evening in Chelmsford in July 2019, when Cameron Delport, making his home debut for Essex, pummelled a colossal 129 from just 49 balls.

The South African’s century, which arrived in 38 deliveries, remains the fastest ever by an Essex player in T20 cricket, and his stunning innings was ably backed up by Dan Lawrence, who hit 57 from just 22.

Lawrence’s knock was also a record, with his half-century coming off just 17 balls to represent the fastest Eagles fifty in the format, as the hosts racked up an enormous score.

 
What made the final score of 226-4 all the more remarkable was that it came in just 15 overs, with the match initially having been delayed due to a passing shower.

Thankfully, play was able to begin after a mopping-up operation with a quarter of the scheduled overs lost, and having won the toss, Surrey captain Jade Dernbach asked Essex to bat first.

It was an understandable decision given the venue and the favourability given to the chasing team in a reduced-overs encounter, but a little over an hour later, it had backfired on Dernbach horribly.

The initial stages gave no clue of what was about to happen, though, with Essex moving to an unremarkable 23-1 after three overs, but it was then that Delport took matters into his own hands.

 
He cracked 14 off five balls of Sam Curran’s second over, but that was only the warm-up for what followed against his brother Tom, as Delport struck three sixes in a row to take 26 off his next five.

Two more just prior to Tom Westley falling in the sixth over brought up his fifty in just 19 deliveries, and he continued to pepper the crowd with maximums in each of the next four overs.

That included two in three balls off Imran Tahir and three more in four against Gareth Batty, before he brought up his ton in just about the only way he knew how, with his 11th six of the night off Tom Curran.

Amid that carnage, Lawrence was wreaking havoc of his own, lofting Tahir for three more consecutive sixes and taking 24 off the South African spinner’s second over to send Essex flying past 170.

 
Having added a scarcely-believable 135 for the fourth wicket in just seven overs, a stand that included 19 boundaries, the duo were finally parted when Delport’s fireworks ended in the last over.

That partnership had taken Essex comfortably beyond 200, a landmark which naturally had been brought up by Delport striking Tom Curran for another six.

As he strode off with his bat aloft, the innings’ magnitude was sinking in: Delport’s knock was, and remains, the second-highest individual Essex T20 score, behind only Graham Napier’s legendary 152*.

There was little time remaining for new man Ravi Bopara to have much of an impact, though he and Lawrence put the cherry on top of the innings in the final four balls to cap off an unforgettable display.

 
The total now sits fifth on the all-time list, but then, it represented the second-highest T20 score by Essex, and the Surrey dressing room was especially sombre at half-time.

If they were to achieve an even more remarkable feat of overhauling the target they had just been set, they would need a fast start, but just to introduce a few nerves, that is exactly what they got.

Will Jacks struck four fours off the first four balls, and followed it up with back-to-back sixes in the second over to put himself on 29 off just seven and give Surrey a start of 31-0 in just 1.2 overs.

However, it was at that point that Essex struck back, as the second half of a remarkable second over, bowled by Matt Quinn, reduced them to 32-3.

 
Jacks was first to go, skying to Ravi Bopara in the covers the ball after his second successive maximum, before Sam Curran and Ben Foakes were both caught to depart for first-ball ducks.

Adam Zampa then followed up with a wicket maiden to Rikki Clarke, bowling five successive dot balls before the veteran miscued to Tom Westley to also go without troubling the scorers.

Amidst Aaron Finch’s efforts to at least give Surrey some pride, with the Australian hoisting his compatriot Zampa for consecutive boundaries, Tom Curran fell too, caught off Shane Snater for four.

That left the visitors reeling at 57-5, and the Chelmsford crowd hit new decibel levels when Bopara snuck one past a driving Finch to bowl him for 40.

 
Jordan Clark, now with Rory Burns for company, aimed to take up the mantle and struck Bopara for back-to-back sixes just after the halfway point to push Surrey into three figures.

However, a relatively tight next six overs, which saw just one boundary per over and a total of 60 runs – fast without perspective, but in context of this game, somewhat slow – decisively settled the match.

In all, Burns and Clark added 79 off 43 balls, but the contest was long gone by the time Snater parted them with the second ball of the final over, seeing Westley snaffle Clark for 45.

Victory was formally secured four balls later, with Essex taking a massive net run rate swing and a pair of points that proved vital in their sneaking through to the last eight in fourth place.

As far as Essex fans are aware, there wasn’t anything particularly special about what followed in the knockout stages and at Finals Day…

The Eagles Have Landed: The 2024 Vitality Blast at The Cloud County Ground

Fresh from squeaking out the most dramatic of wins over Surrey in the Blast group stage last summer, Essex take on the Brown Caps again at The Cloud County Ground on Sunday 14 July.

With demand running high across the board for this year’s competition, there’s no time to waste to secure the best seats as the Eagles square up to their London rivals.

Click below to buy your Surrey general admission tickets now:

Essex County Cricket Club (Essex CCC) can confirm that sanctions have been imposed against the individuals implicated in Katharine Newton KC’s independent review into historic allegations of racism.

Following the publication of Ms Newton’s report on 08 December 2023, the Club commissioned an independent committee who recommended disciplinary measures.

While the individuals are not named to align with the anonymised report, Essex CCC takes allegations of racism extremely seriously and the measures are a further commitment to creating an inclusive and welcoming club for everyone.

Essex CCC have shared the measures with the England and Wales Cricket Board and reaffirms its pledge to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion within cricket to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
 

Members are invited to an online presentation centered on the ‘Future of Essex Cricket and the broader cricket landscape’. This event, presented by Senior Executives and members of the Club’s Board, will commence at 7pm on Wednesday 28 February conducted via the Zoom video conferencing platform.

In light of ongoing groundworks at The Cloud County Ground, the presentation will exclusively be held online. It presents a valuable opportunity for attendees to hear insights from Chair Anu Mohindru KC, Chief Executive John Stephenson, Deputy Chief Executive Dan Feist, and Treasurer Neil Faraday.

An exclusive invite has been sent to Members by email and please get in touch with the Club directly if you are a 2024 or Life Member and have not received your link on [email protected] or 01245 252420.

This is the fourth part of a series, with a look back at a memorable game from the past against each of Essex’s 2024 home Vitality Blast opponents. This next instalment looks back to a dramatic win over arch-rivals Kent in 2012.
 
Essex (158-6) beat Kent (155 all out) by three runs
Chelmsford County Ground, 20 June 2012
 
Scorecard: View Here
 
Essex are no strangers to nail-biting finishes to T20 matches, with their finest Vitality Blast moment of winning the trophy in 2019 coming via a last-ball finish.

However, back in 2012, when the competition was known as the Friends Life T20, the Chelmsford faithful were treated to one of the most dramatic conclusions of all.

Just three runs ultimately separated the Eagles and Kent in the summer’s first Battle of the Bridge, but that, along with Greg Smith’s haul of 5/17 and James Foster’s 27-ball 51, barely told half the story.

The clash had begun innocuously enough, with Rob Key winning the toss and opting to insert the hosts, who progressed to a sedate 59-1 at the halfway point of their innings.

 
James Franklin was responsible for 39 of that total, with Napier on 18 at the other end, but both fell in the very next over, as the former was castled by Adam Ball before Darren Stevens ran out the latter.

That brought Foster to the crease, and although Ryan ten Doeschate became Ball’s second victim shortly afterwards, the captain and Smith negotiated a further 4.4 overs to see Essex onto 113-4.

The rate felt a little placid, especially with only 18 balls remaining, but it was at that point Foster took control, hoisting Matt Coles for the first two sixes of the innings as part of an 18th over that went for 15.

Coles, who would go on to cross the Dartford Bridge in 2018 and spend two seasons with Essex, did remove Smith, but the pair of maximums that bookended that over signalled Foster’s change in intent.

 
He returned to bowl the last over after Foster had moved on to 38 in Azhar Mahmood’s penultimate set of six, but Smith’s replacement Adam Wheater wasted no time in getting in on the act.

Wheater cracked a six from the second ball before handing the strike back to Foster, and the skipper obliged with another maximum, meaning the first four balls had gone for 14.

A shaken Coles replied with a wide and a no ball in succession, with the latter delivery also sent flying over the rope by Foster in an act that brought up his fifty from just 26 balls and cost eight runs in total.

The last laugh did go to the bowler as Foster’s furniture was rearranged, but the damage was done, with the final over going for 24 and those ultimately priceless runs on the board as part of Essex’s total.

 
In response, opening pair Key and Sam Billings made a watchful start, before David Masters’ double-strike, bowling Key and trapping Mahmood lbw, brought the contest into the balance.

That left Kent 23-2, though Billings and Stevens rebuilt with quiet efficiency, adding 41 before the latter was caught by Reece Topley off ten Doeschate for 21 just after the halfway point.

Billings sought revenge and cracked sixes in each of the next two overs, with the second bringing up his fifty in 46 balls, as he and Brendan Nash upped the rate and saw the Spitfires to 118-3 after 16 overs.

At that point, their fourth-wicket partnership was worth 54 and Kent required just 41 more from the remaining 24 balls, but it was then that the chaos, orchestrated by Smith, truly began.

 
Billings was snaffled by Mark Pettini to end his innings on 59 before Nash nicked behind for 26, with Geraint Jones on his way too, bowled for one, before the over was out as the chase hit the skids.

Sam Northeast did his best to restore some order, hitting Franklin for two sixes in a blustery cameo of 14 from seven balls, but he too fell to Smith in the penultimate over, caught by Michael Comber.

A quite remarkable five-for was complete in the space of just 11 deliveries when Smith saw Topley catch Coles for six, with Kent’s near-total collapse having seen them fall to 139-8 with one over to go.

The Spitfires were, however, about to be thrown a lifeline, as the hosts’ over-rate was deemed too slow in a turn of events that added an invaluable six runs to their total.

 
A further eight then came off the bat in the first three balls of Napier’s final over, lowering the requirement to just five off three before James Tredwell was run out at the bowler’s end.

Two balls, five runs, and one wicket were all that split the rivals at that point, before a Ball single left last man Mark Davies needing to find the boundary to give Kent victory.

Napier, however, always was the man for the big occasion, and the cheers that erupted when he uprooted one of Davies’ stumps signified how astonishing the fightback had been.

Kent’s collapse had seen them lose 7/37, and the win proved crucial in the qualification battle that year, as Essex snuck over the line into the quarter-finals, two points ahead of their rivals.

Get priority access to Vitality Blast tickets

The Eagles will host seven explosive T20 encounters at The Cloud County Ground this summer, and with over 15,000 tickets already sold, there’s no time to waste to grab the best seats.

You can now secure early access to purchase your tickets ahead of this week’s general sale by subscribing to our ‘Over & Out!’ e-newsletter.

Just click below to sign up and receive your instant priority access before general sale begins on Tuesday 20 February:

Members are invited to an online presentation centered on the ‘Future of Essex Cricket and the broader cricket landscape’. This event, presented by Senior Executives and members of the Club’s Board, will commence at 7pm on Wednesday 28 February conducted via the Zoom video conferencing platform.

In light of ongoing groundworks at The Cloud County Ground, the presentation will exclusively be held online. It presents a valuable opportunity for attendees to hear insights from Chair Anu Mohindru KC, Chief Executive John Stephenson, Deputy Chief Executive Dan Feist, and Treasurer Neil Faraday.

Further details regarding the Forum will be communicated to Members in advance of the dates, including instructions on how to access online.

Blast Passes to see Essex’s 2024 Vitality Blast campaign at The Cloud County Ground have now sold out.

After going on general sale on 19 January, the T20 season passes were in demand and the 250 early bird Blast Passes were sold out within three days of going on sale.

While all public Blast Passes are now sold out, there is still time to purchase your tickets for the 2024 Vitality Blast in Chelmsford.

Tickets have proved similarly popular during the priority windows, with record numbers being sold to date and less than 500 tickets remaining for the fixtures against Sussex Sharks (Friday 14 June) and Somerset (Friday 05 July).

While tickets don’t go on public sale until Tuesday 20 February, you can access tickets today and in less than two minutes by subscribing to our ‘Over & Out!’ emails and joining the newsletter subscriber priority window.

Once you have subscribed to our emails, you can either wait for a welcome email to land in your inbox with a unique ticket link, or you can head to our ticketing site and purchase tickets using the same email you used to sign up.

The T20 MVP returns

Daniel Sams has put pen to paper to confirm his return to the Eagles in 2024, after being named the competitions Most Valuable Player last year.

The Australian all-rounder will feature during the first eight group stage fixtures.

This is the third part of a series, with a look back at a memorable game from the past against each of Essex’s 2024 home Vitality Blast opponents. This next instalment recalls a tense victory in Taunton from three years ago.
 
Essex (187-7) beat Somerset (185-7) by three wickets
Taunton County Ground, 9th June 2021
 
Scorecard: View Here
  

 
There are lots of things to love about T20 cricket, but perhaps one of the format’s best qualities is the constant momentum swings that can make a game so dramatic.

When Essex visited Somerset for their opening match of the 2021 Blast, the constant shifts in who was the favourite, especially in the latter stages, made for an extremely memorable encounter.

Playing the role of finisher, New Zealand international Jimmy Neesham hit a blazing 25-ball 53 in his first match for the Eagles to sneak out a tight win that at one point seemed improbable.

Paul Walter also contributed with 45 from 30 deliveries as Essex overhauled their target in the penultimate over.

Challenging as it was, the required runs could have been far higher, with Somerset reined in by Sam Cook’s 3/14 and combined figures of 2/42 from seven overs from Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer.

 
It was Cook who initially prised Essex’s first opening in the contest, ending an early onslaught from James Hildreth, who made an 18-ball 39 after Harmer had won the toss and invited the hosts to bat.

One then brought two as after Hildreth, who was chiefly responsible for a 33-run third over, had picked out Walter behind square, his fellow opener Tom Banton slapped Cook to Aron Nijjar at midwicket.

The Cook/Porter combination usually finds most of its rewards for Essex in red-ball cricket, but it was on full display here, as only two balls later, the latter rearranged Roelof van der Merwe’s furniture.

It was those three wickets that helped rein Somerset in, and the deceleration continued when Tom Abell was deceived by Harmer’s second ball to be stumped, leaving the hosts 94-4 at halfway.

 
Eddie Byrom started well, though his innings never really took flight before he was caught by Neesham for 28 to give Cook his third wicket, resulting in Lewis Gregory being content to milk the middle overs.

Consequently, his innings was similarly doughy, making a 25-ball 24 before falling in the 17th over, though some late Ben Green hitting ensured Somerset finished with a flourish.

The Exeter-born all-rounder contributed an unbeaten 30-ball 43, including three sixes, while boisterous South African speedster Marchant de Lange hit 18 off seven.

Ultimately, Somerset finished with a total that, considering where they had been and the small dimensions of the Taunton ground, left the match in the balance.

 
It remained that way through to the end of the powerplay as, despite Josh Davey claiming two wickets, Essex advanced to 51-3 after six overs with Walter and Ryan ten Doeschate looking set at the crease.

The duo milked the spin of van der Merwe and Max Waller, before both opened their shoulders somewhat to take 15 off the tenth over, bowled by Gregory.

That put the Eagles on 88-3 at halfway, requiring a difficult but hardly improbable 97 more, before a single from ten Doeschate off van der Merwe brought up his stand of 50 with Walter in 31 balls.

Although that was exactly the kind of rate the visitors needed, de Lange bustled in to deal a body blow when he squared up ten Doeschate and the ball nicked the shoulder on its way through to Banton.

 
Moments later, Walter became Davey’s third victim when he miscued to van der Merwe at mid-on, leaving Essex in a difficult position of 109-5 and needing another 77 from 40 balls.

The combative Neesham, however, showed his love of a challenge, and blasted six boundaries within his first eight balls to wrest back some control.

The larger-than-life de Lange then slightly lost his cool in sending down an eight-ball 16th over that went for 14, just after Waller had leaked 19 off the 15th and before van der Merwe conceded another 14.

 
That brutal three-over spell had swung the pendulum once more, and despite de Lange snaring both Harmer and Neesham at the end of his final over, the job was just about done.

Essex had 12 balls remaining to achieve another ten runs with three wickets in the hutch, but they needed just five of them.

Off the penultimate ball of Davey’s final over, Jack Plom heaved the Scotsman across the line for an almighty six that handed the Eagles a tense win.

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