Essex: Feroze Khushi, Robin Das, Michael Pepper, Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Josh Rymell, Daniel Sams, Will Buttleman (wk), Simon Harmer (c), Shane Snater, Sam Cook.
Glamorgan: Kiran Carlson (c), Sam Northeast, Callum Taylor, Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke (wk), Billy Root, Zain-ul-Hassan, Timm van der Gugten, Ruaidri Smith, Peter Hatzoglou, Jamie McIlroy.
Match Details:
Umpires: Ben Debenham & Chris Watt Match Referee: Devon Malcolm Toss: Essex won and elected to bowl Result: Essex won by 4 wickets
Feroze Khushi struck a wonderful half-century as Essex made it four wins in a row in the Vitality Blast, beating Glamorgan by four wickets at Chelmsford.
Academy graduate Khushi crashed a 37-ball 61 as Essex comfortably chased down 175, despite losing three early wickets thanks to Jamie McIlroy’s four for 36.
Khushi showed more of his incredible promise with four huge sixes, the biggest of which flew high and long into the River Can.
Paul Walter continued his fine form against Glamorgan with 43, before Matt Critchley and Daniel Sams saw off most the remaining runs with 24 balls to spare.
Having been stuck in on a fresh pitch, Kiran Carlson got the visitors off to a flyer with 43 off 25 balls, which included a straight six off Daniel Sams and a swatted pull maximum off Sam Cook.
Sam Northeast, who had earlier received a life, was the first of three catches for Paul Walter at long-on – with Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke also picking out the tallest man on the field– as Glamorgan reached 55 in the powerplay.
Glamorgan’s good start was dented by Ingram and Carlson falling in successive overs as Essex claimed control of the middle overs to have Glamorgan 122 for four after 15 overs – with Cooke falling to Harmer.
Matt Critchley lured Billy Root to swing to wide long on but Timm van der Gugten smashed Harmer for two sixes in an 18 run over to push Glamorgan closer towards par.
Van der Gugten was eventually run out in the final over after a brutal 14-ball 33 as Glamorgan ended up on 175 for six – with Sams and Critchley both boasting economical figures of one for 20 to keep the total narrowly in the Eagles’ favour.
Essex’s aggressive approach initially faultered with two wickets going down in the first over.
Robin Das hit his first ball to deep square leg and Michael Pepper ramped the next ball behind. Jamie McIlroy couldn’t get a hat-trick but Josh Rymell chipped to mid on in the left-armer’s following over.
Khushi didn’t let the wickets slow him down, pinging three sixes in the first three overs as he had 33 off his first 11 balls, although took fewer risks to reach his third half-century in 29 balls.
Paul Walter joined Khushi and the pair found a nice rhythm in a 80-run stand in 47 balls.
Walter had scored 58 and 78 in his previous two innings against Glamorgan, he struck 42 before his fourth attempt at a six top-edged to short third.
Khushi was sensationally caught and bowled by van der Gugten five balls later to leave 59 off 51 balls.
But Sams and Critchley made sure the result wasn’t in danger, with the former boshing 41 off 16 – Essex scoring 57 off the last 24 balls they faced.
Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Feroze Khushi, Simon Harmer, Will Buttleman (wk), Ben Allison, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.
Essex: Tom Lammonby, Sean Dickson, Tom Abell (c), George Bartlett, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, James Rew (wk), Kasey Aldridge, Craig Overton, Matt Henry, Josh Davey, Shoaib Bashir.
Match Details:
Umpires: Nigel Llong & David Millns Match Referee: Wayne Noon Toss: Essex won and elected to bat Result: Essex won by 196 runs
Sam Cook, Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter confirmed Essex’s 196-run victory over Somerset – their first LV=Insurance County Championship win at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford for 11 months.
Fast bowler Cook grabbed two in two with the new ball before Simon Harmer took two more wickets to claim match figures of eight for 178 and Porter rounded off the tail.
Somerset had batted stoically in the hope of batting out 151 overs, or reach 466 to win, but they were eventually bowled out for 269 with two sessions to spare.
Essex only won two Championship matches at home last season, have recently gone unbeaten at Chelmsford between September 2018 and September 2022.
The day’s play was preceded by a minute’s silence for the victims of the Nottingham attacks, while players from both teams and the umpires wore black armbands and the flags were at half-mast.
The two students who died both had links to Essex and Somerset cricket. Barnaby Webber, 19, played for Bishops Hull Cricket Club in Taunton. Grace O’Malley Kumar, 19, played and captained Essex Women from under 11 to under 15.
Somerset had shown great fight and grit on the third evening to give Somerset hope of saving a draw, having been bowled out for 167 with a first-innings lead of 295.
But Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s dismissal to the final ball of the day swung the mentality metre strongly in Essex’s favour.
Tom Abell and James Rew did bat out the first 137 balls of the morning, putting on 56 with great skill.
The second new ball was coming though and that would prove to be the fatal twist for the visitors.
Sam Cook needed just two deliveries to extract a thin edge behind to see off Abell for 83 before a wobble-seamed delivery nipped off the seam and into Kasey Aldridge’s off stump next ball.
Craig Overton navigated a hat-trick ball that teased the outside edge but Rew soon fell to Simon Harmer – who had shared the fresh nut.
Left-handed Rew drove at the off-spinner with the edge brilliantly taken at first slip by a full-stretched Alastair Cook.
Matt Critchley took an equally great catch at leg slip when Craig Overton turned Harmer around the corner.
Essex’s second victory of the campaign was confirmed with Matt Henry tickling behind and Josh Davey was sensationally caught behind by Will Buttleman, both off Porter.
Essex take 22 points, to Somerset’s two, to keep their nose in the Championship race.
Day Three Match Highlights
Day Three Reaction: Matt Critchley
Day Three Match Report
Matt Critchley scored his seventh 50+ score of the season before taking two wickets as Essex pushed for a crushing victory over Somerset in the LV= Insurance County Championship.
All-rounder Critchley notched up 52, to go with his first innings century, as Essex set Somerset an unlikely 466 runs to win in just under five sessions.
Somersets’ batters, headed by Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell’s half-centuries, took advantage of a heavy-rolled pitch, to show fine grit, and bolster their chances of saving a draw.
Critchley struck with his first ball to pin Lammonby for a two-hour 59 and also dismissed George Bartlett, leaving Essex needing six wickets on the final day to win at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford for the first time this season – Somerset still need 294 runs.
Essex’s ‘brain trust’ had decided not to enforce the follow-on – with the decision hinging on giving the bowlers a longer break, the offset being less time to bowl Somerset out.
They had taken their 295 first innings lead to 310, but lost Nick Browne in seven overs on the second evening.
The third morning was a meandering session where Essex seemed in no rush to declare, albeit against some well-directed bowling. 113 runs were scored in the session with four wickets falling.
New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry pinned Division One’s leading run scorer (Tom Westley) leg before in the sixth over of the day.
Paul Walter showed a few moments of intent in his 25 before a drive was well caught at gully, before Feroze Khushi fended a ball which stopped in the pitch to first slip.
Critchley had shown impetus, as he had during his 121 in the first innings, to push the lead to 450 – the loose plan to bring about a declaration.
The former Derbyshire player carted Aldridge over midwicket for six before clobbering debutant spinner Shoaib Bashir back over his head.
His half-century came in 64 balls and was his sixth of the season. No one in the country has passed fifty more than Critchley’s six in the Championship – although he has only converted to three figures once.
After Simon Harmer had picked out long on in a post-lunch frenzy, Critchley departed for 52 after lobbing a reverse pull shot softly to short fine leg.
Will Buttleman and Ben Allison both stuck sixes as the lead soured past 450, before Tom Westley pulled out with 55 overs left in the day, and 151 in the match.
Tom Lammonby and Sean Dickson – who had carried his bat in the first innings – looked in little danger before the latter surprisingly hoicked Jamie Porter to midwicket.
Essex tend to pin their hopes on Harmer in these situations, especially after his first-innings five-for. He was introduced in the seventh over.
The South African bowled 14 fruitless overs before Critchley was thrown the ball to make something happen. He did immediately as a drag down stayed low and hit Lammonby – who had struck his third fifty of the season – on the pads.
After two overs from the River End, the leg spinner switched to the Hayes Close
End and two balls later influenced an edge from Bartlett which was well caught at first slip.
Abell’s fifty came in 124 balls but Tom Kohler-Cadmore was lbw to Harmer to the last ball of the day having put on 55 with his captain.
Day Two Match Highlights
Day Two Reaction: Simon Harmer
Day Two Match Report:
Simon Harmer claimed his first five-wicket haul of the season as Essex put themselves into an imperious position in the LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Somerset.
Harmer had taken 18 wickets in his first six Championship appearances of the season but tore through the Somerset lower order after Jamie Porter had dealt with the top order and seen the visitors slump to 10-3.
Sean Dickson carried his bat for Somerset, the first since Tom Lammonby against Worcestershire in 2020, as he scored an unbeaten 82 – comfortably his best since arriving from Durham.
Somerset were bowled out for 167 and trailed after the first innings by 295 runs, but Essex didn’t enforce the follow-on and ended the day on 15 for onewith the lead extending to 310.
Tom Westley had earned opening bowlers Sam Cook and Jamie Porter 20 minutes to bowl at Somerset before the lunch break by declaring on 462.
Only 2.5 overs were possible before rain came but Porter had knocked over Toms Lammonby and Abell in the first over.
Lammonby had looped the third ball of this innings to point before Abell was brilliantly caught at second slip.
Things didn’t improve after lunch with George Bartlett lbw to Porter with the first ball on resumption, having previously survived some close call while stepping across his stumps.
Harmer arrived at his customary River End in the 13th over and challenged Tom Kohler-Cadmore to take him on down the ground after an enterprising 32 off 39 balls in his fourth over. It was to his detriment as Ben Allison swallowed a simple catch at long on.
In form James Rew edged Allison behind before Harmer went through the lower order.
Kasey Aldridge was caught and bowled, Craig Overton was caught at short leg and Josh Davey and Matt Henry fell in successive deliveries.
It was Harmer’s 31st five-wicket haul for Essex and second against Somerset. Cook would round off the innings after a 40 minute last-wicket stand, which Shoaib Bashir edged to Alastair Cook, with Essex leading by 295.
Throughout the wicket-taking Dickson had held firm, and had shown little appetite for the collapses at the other end.
Having arrived from Durham in the winter, having desired to move back down south with his family, he had peaked at 19 in eight innings with three ducks.
Westley decided to rest his bowlers rather than go immediately again, and in seven evening overs lost Browne leg-before to Overton.
Earlier, Essex returned on day two searching for a fourth batting point, they would eventually miss out by three runs despite needing 40 runs in 14 overs.
Accurate bowling, with slightly more assistance off the pitch, and wickets were the main reasons for the failure.
Nightwatchman Ben Allison was bowled by Craig Overton with the third delivery of the morning before Matt Critchley was run out for 121 when attempting to complete a fourth run.
Harmer was caught behind, Will Buttleman swung to point and Sam Cook handed Bashir his maiden first-class wicket but Khushi opened up to take Essex to 462 for nine before declaring.
Khushi had initially struggled to time the ball as he reached 12 off his first 51 balls, before turning to T20 mode with 44 runs off his last 17 deliveries to end up unbeaten on 56.
Day One Reaction: Matt Critchley
Day One Match Highlights
Day One Match Report:
Alastair Cook struck his 74th first-class century as Essex took advantage of perfect batting conditions in their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Somerset.
He made no mistake converting to three figures off 210 balls before reaching 128, as Essex racked up 360-4 on the opening day – with Matt Critchley providing entertainment in a sublime 119 during and after a 153-run stand with Cook.
On a grueling day for Somerset’s bowlers, England quick Craig Overton was forced off the field in his 15th over after appearing to injure his left foot while bowling, although he did return and bowled a further three overs.
Tom Westley couldn’t have been happier to win a toss with hot temperatures and a dry flat wicket on offer; batting was the only option, especially with the sweatless Cook ready to bed in.
Matt Henry and Overton found some early play and misses in a testing start to the day, which saw Nick Browne put down at second slip on four.
But things settled down and Browne and Cook put on their highest opening stand of the season – 66 – before the former tamely chipped to mid-off.
Somerset handed off-spinner Shoaib Bashir a first-class debut, having recently made his T20 bow and received a two-year contract.
The 19-year-old played age-group cricket for Surrey, Middlesex, and Berkshire before impressing Somerset while on trial last summer.
He started out of Championship career with a maiden to Cook, which included two deliveries that produced significant turn – sadly it wasn’t a prophecy of things to come, although Cook would only score 20 runs off him all day.
Bashir would bowl 29 tidy overs from the River End, and despite going wicketless made scoring hard in his 0 for 89.
Westley is Division One’s leading run-scorer and took his season tally past 600 runs as he scored 37 in a 77-run partnership with Cook.
He departed to a snorter from Overton which caught the outside edge of Westley’s leaving bat to edge behind. Paul Walter put on 52 with Cook before he was bowled by Kasey Aldridge.
Throughout the day Cook was his classic self. Short on his pads, flicked off them. Short outside off, bat opened up and angled to a gap. Overpitched, push through the covers. Anything that worried him, defended or left alone.
Fifty came and went in a workman-like 97 balls and just a drop at square leg when on 56 suggested he was fallible.
He got stuck on 94 for 26 balls, and around an hour, either side of tea but reached three figures in 201 balls with a very fine clip to the boundary.
While Cook was regimented and steadfast, Critchley largely refused to budge from his aggressive style; if the ball was there to hit, he smashed it. The all-rounder’s fifth half-century of the season coming in 45 balls as he scored 78 of the first 100 runs of his fourth-wicket partnership with Cook.
Critchley had begun the season with four half-centuries but hadn’t exceeded 20 in his last five innings. On this occasion he converted his second ton – in 116 balls – for Essex since arriving at the beginning of the 2022 season.
Cook fell lbw to Josh Davey with five overs left in the day to give the visitors some rare cheer at The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford.
Ahead of play on Day Four of the LV= Insurance County Championship fixture against Somerset, both Clubs and officials came together to pay their respects to Grace O’Malley Kumar and Barnaby Webber who tragically lost their lives in Nottingham on Tuesday.
Grace played cricket for Essex from Under 11 to Under 15 level between 2015-2019 and was a highly talented player, and captained the team during her time at the Club. She had a strong affiliation to cricket in the county having also played for Woodford Wells Cricket Club, alongside her talents in hockey where she represented England at age group level.
Barnaby was a young talented cricketer from Taunton, who studied at Taunton School and playing for his local side Bishops Hull Cricket Club.
Chief Executive John Stephenson, “The nation has been shocked by the tragic events which took place in Nottingham on Tuesday.
“The Club are deeply saddened to hear the news that former player Grace O’Malley Kumar, who was part of our women and girls pathway, was one of the victims. It is clear from those who new Grace that she was a talented and bright person, and she will be great missed by those close to her both on and off the pitch.
“On behalf of Essex County Cricket Club, we send our send our condolences to the families, friends and teammates of Grace and Barnaby during this extremely difficult time and we will be supporting those who have been affected by any means possible.”
Grace Melhuish, Essex Girl’s Pathway Manager, added: “We are devastated by the news of the tragic death of Grace O’Malley Kumar. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this very sad time.
Grace played her cricket at Essex from U11 to U15 level and excelled with both the bat and ball. She played 32 games for the Club, scoring two half-centuries, whilst also captaining the side with a maturity beyond her years.
“Whilst we remember Grace as a highly dedicated individual who took her cricket seriously, we also remember how much joy she would bring into the group. She always had a big smile and an encouraging word for her teammate at every opportunity.
“Grace fully embodied the values we strive for and she will always be fondly remembered by the staff and her peers at Essex Cricket.”
The Club will be offering immediate support to those within the Essex pathway who have been affected by the news. The Men’s First Team wore black armbands and observed a minute’s silence before play on Day Four against Somerset and this will also be replicated by the Essex Women’s team for the game against Kent, which takes place on Saturday.
Glamorgan: Kiran Carlson (c), Sam Northeast, Callum Taylor, Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke (wk), Billy Root, Zain-ul-Hassan, Timm van der Gugten, Ruaidri Smith, Peter Hatzoglou, Jamie McIlroy.
Essex: Feroze Khushi, Robin Das, Michael Pepper, Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Josh Rymell, Daniel Sams, Will Buttleman (wk), Simon Harmer (c), Shane Snater, Sam Cook.
Match Details:
Umpires: Graham Lloyd & Tom Lungley Match Referee: Dean Cosker Toss: Essex won and elected to bat Result:
A good evening for me, a bit of a slow start to the comp for me with the bat so very happy to get some runs tonight. I think T20 is a funny game, anyone can chase anything now. But with that amount on the board all you need is one or two good overs and it can really turn the momentum in your favour.
Even when they were getting away at the start we were still confident that we could turn it around and a couple of good overs and we could swing it back in our direction.
If you held your length and bowled it top of the stumps straight it was actually pretty difficult to get away. If you do get hit it flies off here, fairly small boundaries and a good wicket. You have to be very precise and batters are allowed to play well.
I thought their openers played really nicely and got off to a flier so sometimes you just have to respect that. They played well. And you just have to hope that you can get them out and really turn the screws.
It has been a good block, historically we have always been slow starters in the comp so to win five out of seven is a great start and we are just looking to carry that momentum forward.
Match Report:
A career best 78 from Paul Walter set up a 51-run victory as Essex set an impressive 226 for nine in their Vitality Blast match against Glamorgan in Cardiff. The total was the second highest ever made at Sophia Gardens with only the Surrey total made here on Wednesday above the Essex effort in this match.
Essex lost wickets regularly but kept on coming at the Glamorgan bowlers. The innings had just one stand of more than 50 runs but there were important contributions throughout.
Glamorgan started well in their chase but fell away as they looked to keep up with the rate. Colin Ingram top scored with 48 but no Glamorgan batter made a half century as they were bowled out for 175 with Peter Hatzoglou unable to bat.
This is Glamorgan’s second home defeat in a row to leave them with a record of four wins and three losses. Essex now go ahead of Glamorgan in the table with five wins and two defeats.
Essex got off to a flying start having won the toss and elected to bat. After the first five overs they had reached 67 for one with Timm van der Gugten’s return from injury greeted by the Essex batters smashing him around the park. Van der Gugten’s first two overs went for 38 runs as Robin Das, Feroze Khusi and Michael Pepper all took the attack to Glamorgan.
It looked as if Essex could have a truly remarkable score at the end of their six over powerplay, but the last over of the fielding restrictions from Ruaidhri Smith was a double wicket maiden. Smith had Khusi dismissed when he drilled a ball hard and low to Colin Ingram at mid-on and claimed a second wicket from the last ball of the PowerPlay when he had Josh Rymell caught at point.
Paul Walter was the next man in and he, along with Pepper, continued to attack, with the rate rarely dropping below 10 an over throughout the Essex innings. Pepper made 42 from just 19 balls when he was trapped lbw by Peter Hatzoglou.
It was Walter who was the star as he made the highest score for Essex, a career best 78 from 34 balls that contained six sixes. He was dismissed when he drove a ball from Hatzoglou to long off and Ingram took a simple catch.
Despite the regular wickets, Essex still kept coming hard and their lower order, led by Daniel Sams, took them well past 200 to give Glamorgan a target that would be a record chase on this ground.
Glamorgan began their pursuit of the 227-run victory target with a very impressive performance inside the powerplay. Kiran Carlson and Sam Northeast took the score to 65 without loss inside the first six overs and shared a stand of 76 before Carlson was well caught off the bowling of Matt Critchley for 40 from 18 balls.
Northeast followed up his 76 against Surrey on Wednesday with a well-made 46 in this match before he also fell to Critchley, bowled while using his feet to get down the track.
That wicket brought together Glamorgan’s in form pairing of Ingram and Chris Cooke. The issue was the same as in the game against Surrey, they needed something record breaking to get their team over the line. With 118 needed from just 53 balls when their partnership began Glamorgan needed one of these two to be batting at the end of the match. As it was they both made decent starts but failed to kick on.
Ingram was caught on the boundary by Critchley off the bowling of Snater for 46 and Cooke was caught and bowled by Walter. When Billy Root was dismissed the next ball, also caught and bowled by Walter, Glamorgan were five down and needed to score at 16 runs an over.
Wickets tumbled at the end to leave Glamorgan a long way short of their victory target as they went from 158 for three to 175 all out. And with Hatzoglou not coming out to bat it seems if their extensive injury list has got longer.
Essex: Adam Rossington (wk), Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper, Robin Das, Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Daniel Sams, Simon Harmer (c), Shane Snater, Ben Allison, Sam Cook.
Sussex Sharks: Tom Clark, Tom Haines, Tom Alsop, Ravi Bopara (c), Shadab Khan, Michael Burgess (wk), James Coles, Nathan McAndrew, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Tymal Mills, Henry Crocombe.
Match Details:
Umpires: Billy Taylor and Paul Pollard Match Referee: Devon Malcolm Toss: Sussex won and elected to field Result:
Michael Pepper continued his Vitality Blast form as his 48 and Sam Cook’s four-for set up a five-wicket victory for Essex against Sussex Sharks.
Pepper was the Eagles’ top scorer in 2022 with 439 runs and has had a belated started in 2023 after missing the opening three games through injury.
Since returning though, he has picked up where he left off with 63 against Somerset and a stylish 48 here against the Sharks.
Earlier, Cook’s four for 20 helped restrict the Sharks to 147, despite a sizzling 50 from Ravi Bopara.
Pepper and Adam Rossington broke the chase with 76 for the second wicket before Matt Critchley and Daniel Sams completed the win with 31 balls to spare as Sussex were condemned to a fourth straight defeat, as Essex chalked up their third victory from five matches.
In the chase, Dan Lawrence was caught at mid-on second ball but Pepper and Rossington got the Eagles off to a flier with 77 runs coming in the powerplay.
Henry Crocombe was Rossington’s victim with a variety of scoops and pulls to and over the boundary in a healthy 21 run over.
Nathan McAndrew also was sprayed for 21 at the other end in a 10-ball over with Pepper using the crease to create angles to crash boundaries at will.
Rossington flamingoed his fourth six but his stay ended when he turned Tymal Mills around the corner to short leg, before Robin Das and Paul Walter followed quickly.
Pepper popped Bopara back over his head but Shadab Khan pinned him lbw on the reverse sweep.
But Critchley and Sams pitched in with a timely 45-run stand and saw the Eagles home with 5.1 overs remaining.
Sussex chose to bat and lost Toms Clark, Haines and Alsop in the powerplay but Bopara steadied things with Shadab Khan and Michael Burgess.
Bopara played 67 home T20 matches for Essex, having played from the inaugural 2003 season to 2019, with all but one coming at Chelmsford. He knows the dimensions of the ground better than most.
On this occasion he targeted the leg side boundary towards the Pavilion, dragging Ben Allison for six from outside the off stump before two slog sweeps off Simon Harmer.
He added 35 with Shadab, and after the Pakistani was bowled by Walter’s first ball, Burgess helped bring 40 in 24 balls.
Bopara’s 46th T20 fifty came in 30 balls but he departed when Shane Snater grabbed some air to catch at long-on.
Sussex would only score another 33 in the last six overs as Critchley had James Coles and McAndrew in the 16th over, Cook returned four for 20 as he had Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Burgess caught in the same over.
Sams got the wicket his tight bowling deserved when Tymal Mills chipped to a diving Harmer at cover as Sussex were bowled out for 147 with three balls unused.
Surrey v Essex Ability XI D40 Quest Byfleet CC Sunday 04 June 2023
Essex Hawks: Ronnie Jackson (Capt), Joe Freestone, Joe Moss, Matthew Edwards, Alexander Welby, Ben Aust, Jehan Sabih, Andrew Mowatt, Benny Fryatt, Issac Elles, Andy Catherell (WK), Matthew Thomas
Surrey Ability XI: M O’Mahony, A Abbasi, J Gale, J Grindrod, U Khan, S Mannia, L Saunders, J Talmer, T Young, B Carter, O Clement, K Uddin
Ronnie Jackson and Joe Moss produced superb batting performances to lead Essex Hawks to a dramatic four-wicket victory over Surrey at Byfleet Cricket Club.
Jackson hit 53, while Moss finished unbeaten on 70 as the visitors chased down Surrey’s 185 for eight with three balls to spare.
Surrey’s Jason Talmer returned figures of two for 32 from his eight overs, while Tayler Young claimed 2/40.
Earlier, Young had hit 64* to put Surrey into a seemingly strong position, despite the attentions of the Essex bowlers, who toiled admirably.
Matthew Thomas claimed two Surrey wickets for 24 off eight, while Jehan Sabih (8-2-29-2) and Ben Aust (8-0-35-2) also impressed with the ball. Moss and Issac Elles were the other successful Essex bowlers in what proved to be a memorable display from the visitors.
Somerset v Essex
Vitality Blast
Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
Team News:
Essex: Adam Rossington (wk), Robin Das, Michael Pepper, Matt Critchley, Paul Walter, Tom Westley, Daniel Sams, Simon Harmer (c), Ben Allison, Sam Cook.
Somerset: Sean Dickson, Will Smeed, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Abell, Tom Lammomby, Lewis Gregory, Ben Green, Roelof van der Merwe, Craig Overton, Matt Henry, Peter Siddle.
Match Details:
Umpires: Billy Taylor and Ian Blackwell Match Referee: Mike Smith Toss: Essex won and elected to field Result: Somerset won by 11 runs
Matt Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset defended their first innings score to maintain a 100% Vitality Blast South Group record with an 11-run win over Essex at Taunton.
The hosts could muster only 150 all out, having lost the toss, under cloudless skies on a pitch that looked full of runs. Sean Dickson top scored with 42 on his T20 debut for the club, while Daniel Sams claimed four for 20.
In reply, Essex were bowled out for 139, despite a bristling 63 off 43 balls from Michael Pepper, Henry finishing with three for 17 and Green taking his wicket tally in the competition to 14 with three for 24.
It meant a perfect six out of six record for the Cidermen in the group, while Essex were left with four points from as many matches.
Another Cooper Associates County Ground run feast looked on the cards when Somerset opener Tom Lammonby off-drove the first ball of the game from Sam Cook for a boundary.
The third over saw Lammonby hit the first six over long-on off Ben Allison. But Will Smeed departed for just a single with the total on 34, chipping a catch to deep backward square off Shane Snater.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit Sam Cook for a four through mid-wicket and a straight six in the fifth over. Lammonby also cleared the ropes again before being bowled by Sams with the score on 51, having made 34 off 23 deliveries.
At the end of the six-over power play, Somerset were 52 for two. Simon Harmer then held a brilliant two-handed return catch, moving to his left, to send back the dangerous Kohler-Cadmore for 17.
The home side were never able to regain momentum, Tom Abell sweeping a catch to deep mid-wicket off Matt Critchley and Lewis Gregory lofting to long-off to give Allison a wicket.
When Green was bowled by a full delivery from Cook, it was 108 for six in the 15th over. Dickson, who lost his place in Somerset’s County Championship side after a string of low scores this season, shouldered responsibility for a respectable score.
He cleared the ropes twice and hit 3 fours in facing 29 balls before being seventh man out, caught at long-on off Harmer.
Sams cleaned up the tail, sending back Roelof van der Merwe, Henry and Craig Overton as Somerset fell well short of the total they would have been targeting in such advantageous batting conditions.
Adam Rossington began the Essex reply with a boundary off the first ball, sent down by Overton, who went on to prove expensive from the River End.
Henry gave Somerset hope by dismissing Rossington in his first over and Robin Das in his second. But Das had already hit 3 fours off Overton before departing for 17.
Pepper struck two sixes and a four in Overton’s third over, at the end of which the England seamer was pulled from the attack having conceded 38.
It was 49 for two at the end of the power play. Peter Siddle then gave Somerset a boost as Critchley, on three, fell to a fine running catch by van der Merwe.
Pepper survived a tough chance to Henry at short third man off Gregory on 29 and celebrated his escape with a scooped six off Siddle.
Essex were approaching their task in cavalier manner and a fourth wicket fell when Paul Walter, having made only two, skyed a steepling catch to Abell at cover in Green’s first over.
Pepper moved to an impressive fifty off 31 balls in the 11th over, but lost another partner when Tom Westley was bowled by van der Merwe.
At 97 for five, Essex required seven runs an over. Their task increased when Pepper was caught behind off van der Merwe, stepping back to strike through the off side.
Harmer reverse swept a six off van der Merwe before Henry yorked him for 16 with the target 21 off 13 balls. Green followed up by having Sams brilliantly caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Lammonby and Allison snapped up at short third-man.
A suicidal mix-up between the last pair saw Snater run out off the first ball of the final over and completed Somerset’s most unlikely success of their six group victories.
Essex: Adam Rossington (wk), Feroze Khushi, Dan Lawrence, Robin Das, Matt Critchley, Paul Walter, Tom Westley, Daniel Sams, Simon Harmer (c), Shane Snater, Sam Cook.
Sussex: Tom Clark, Ravi Bopara, Tom Alsop, Shadab Khan, Michael Burgess (wk), James Coles, George Garton, Flynn Hudson-Prentice, Oli Carter, Tymal Mills, Henry Crocombe.
Match Details:
Umpires: Mark Newell & Paul Baldwin Match Referee: Simon Hinks Toss: Sussex won and elected to field Result: Essex won by 25 runs
Captain Simon Harmer took only the third T20 hat-trick by an Essex bowler as the Eagles thrashed Sussex Sharks by 25 runs to make it two wins out of two in the Vitality Blast.
The 34-year-old off-spinner struck with his first three balls after coming on in the third over as Essex easily defended a target of 164.
Sussex had already lost skipper and former Essex batter Ravi Bopara in the first over of their reply when Harmer began to cast his spell, although he was helped by some poor shot selection by Sussex’s experienced batters.
His first victim Tom Alsop, fresh from a match-winning half-century in Sunday’s win over Surrey, tried to hit over the top and instead gave catching practice to Sam Cook at short third. Shadab Khan clipped the next ball to square leg and Michael Burgess was lbw sweeping the hat-trick delivery, which would have hit middle stump.
It was Essex’s first hat-trick in the format since Shaun Tait against Nottinghamshire in the 2013 quarter-final at Trent Bridge.
With Bopara, opening in the absence of the injured Ali Orr, having picked out short-third off the fourth ball from Sam Cook, Sussex were 15 for 4 with their chase effectively over before it had begun.
James Coles (35), Tom Clark (31) and Ollie Carter (27) offered some resistance but Harmer returned to have Fynn Hudson-Prentice brilliantly caught one-handed by Tom Westley off a full-blooded reverse lap to claim the fourth four-wicket return of his T20 career.
The South African finished with 4 for 28 on a good night for Essex’s spinners with Matt Critchley (3 for 28) and Dan Lawrence (1 for 15) also picking up wickets as Sussex were dismissed for 138 with eight balls unused.
Earlier, Sussex seemed to have justified Bopara’s decision to field first against his former county, restricting Essex to 163 for 7 thanks to a disciplined performance by their seven-man attack.
Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab led the way with 3 for 28, all to catches in the mid-wicket region. Shadab had been unable to bowl on his debut in last Friday’s defeat to Somerset after colliding with team-mate Nathan McAndrew in the outfield and concussion protocols ruled him out of Sunday’s win over Surrey.
He made up for lost time here, picking up wickets off successive balls in his second over as Critchley top-edged a sweep to mid-wicket and Paul Walter flicked the next ball to Bopara. Shadab returned to remove Westley off another mis-timed leg-side swipe in his final over.
Essex were indebted to opener Feroze Khushi who held the innings together with 55 off 38 balls before he drove a slower ball from Tymal Mills to mid-off in the 13th over, having hit four fours and two sixes.
Lawrence, released from England’s Test squad to play this game and tomorrow night’s match against Hampshire in Chelmsford, looked in the mood when he drove his first ball onto the roof of the South Stand, but he mis-timed a pull off Mills who finished with 2 for 32 and mixed up his pace nicely.
Robin Das was dropped by Bopara on nine and ended up with an unbeaten 31, putting on 35 at the end with Harmer (21 not out). They were crucial runs by the Essex captain, but his major impact on proceedings was still to come.
Essex return to action tomorrow when Hampshire Hawks are the visitors to The Cloud County Ground. This game is sold out but you can watch the action on the Essex Cricket TV live stream with the broadcast beginning ahead of the toss.
The latest Members’ Forum which took place on Monday 22 May at The Cloud County Ground is available to view online below or via the Club’s Essex Cricket TV YouTube channel.
The panel on the night included Chief Executive John Stephenson, Head Coach Anthony McGrath, Chair of the Cricket Committee Jason Gallian and Interim Deputy Chair Anu Mohindru KC.
Please be advised that we experienced sound issues at the beginning of the event which were eventually resolved.
Essex v Surrey LV= Insurance County Championship The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford Thursday 04 – Sunday 07 May 2023
Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Matt Critchley, Michael Pepper (wk), Simon Harmer, Doug Bracewell, Shane Snater, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter. Surrey: Rory Burns (c), Dom Sibley, Ollie Pope, Will Jacks, Ben Foakes (wk), Cameron Steel, Sean Abbott, Jordan Clark, Gus Atkinson, Kemar Roach.
Match Details:
Umpires: James Middlebrook & Mike Burns
Match Referee: Dean Cosker
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to bat
Scorecard: View here
Result: Match Drawn, Essex take 10 points from the game
Day Four Highlights:
Day Four Interview: Anthony McGrath
Day Four Report:
Jamie Steel defied Essex for more than two and a half hours to help Surrey salvage a draw against the odds at Chelmsford.
The 22-year-old right-hander dug in after Surrey were reduced to 103-6 with 25 overs still to hold out and retain their unbeaten start to the LV= Insurance County Championship season.
Surrey had been asked to chase down a not inconceivable 273 in 54 overs. However, once Ollie Pope had departed for a 58-ball 47, the reigning champion’s hopes of victory evaporated, and they were happy to still be there at the close on 153-7, Smith unbeaten on 39 from 126 balls.
In setting the target Essex had collapsed alarmingly from 116-2 to 198 all out in 16 overs with Jordan Clark (4-58) and Sean Abbott (3-50) sharing the wickets.
On a day of sunshine after the rain, Surrey’s response got off to the worse possible start when Dom Sibley hung out his bat to Sam Cook’s second ball and Harmer claimed at second slip. It didn’t get much better.
Harmer took an even better catch in the same position to dismiss Rory Burns on the stroke of tea. Burns had played the anchor role, scoring 10 off 43 balls, but flashed at Doug Bracewell and Harmer grabbed at full stretch a ball that looked to have gone past him.
Pope made Bracewell pay with a towering six from an over that went for 15, but when he England batsman had reached 47 from 58 balls, he drove Snater to Nick Browne in the covers and suddenly Surrey needed exactly 200 from 34 overs.
Will Jacks reduced that by six from his third ball but fell soon after when he chipped Snater to short midwicket for nine.
Harmer was not called upon until the 29th over, much later than usual, at which point Sean Abbott’s eyes lit up and he promptly lofted the first ball to wide mid-on. Two balls later Ben Foakes was caught in two minds, withdrew his bat and was lbw.
Smith and Cameron Steel produced a sterling rearguard action for an hour, scoring just 25 runs between them, before Steel was trapped on his crease by Bracewell. Smith then kept Clark out of the firing line as the game ebbed towards its inevitable conclusion.
The day started with Surrey on the front foot as Kemar Roach completed his rain-interrupted over from 23 and a half hours earlier and knocked over Sir Alastair Cook’s off-stump with the second ball.
The introduction of Clark seemed to unsettle Tom Westley, and after narrowly avoiding getting a touch to several outside off-stump, he did finally got a nick to one and was caught behind.
While Westley and Browne had taken a safety-first approach while adding 38 in 14 overs, the incoming Dan Lawrence showed a contrasting approach, advancing down the wicket and depositing his fifth ball out of the ground over long leg.
The third-wicket partnership accelerated the run-rate with 54 runs in 10 overs before Lawrence stepped outside off-stump in an attempt to swat Atkinson over square leg and left all three stumps exposed. At that point Essex were 116-3 and a lead of 190 with 72 overs remaining.
Browne followed almost immediately for 47 when he went to pull Atkinson over extra cover but mistimed and picked out Will Jacks less than halfway back to the boundary.
With Surrey scattering their field to all points on the boundary’s edge in an attempt to stem the runs, Essex’s lower order fell on their own swords.
Michael Pepper’s brief cameo lasted six balls when he took a massive swipe at Abbott and holed out to deep third man. Matt Critchley perished when he pulled Clark over square leg where Jamie Smith ran in to take a tumbling catch.
Doug Bracewell attempted a big heave and skied Abbott into the covers where the bowler took the catch and Harmer handed Abbott a third wicket by picking out long leg. Clark wrapped up the innings with the last two wickets.
Day Three Highlights:
Coming Soon…
Day Three Report:
Essex and Surrey were left frustrated at rain-swept Chelmsford where only 28 balls were possible in two brief spells on day three.
Essex have now lost an accumulated 458 overs to the weather in their first four LV= Insurance County Championship rounds – the equivalent of an entire four-day match.
There were two interruptions inside the first half-an-hour, the second of which proved terminal. Just nine runs were added in the 22 minutes possible, though play was not officially called off until 4.23pm. The forecast, however, is more promising for the final day.
Play had started promptly at 11am as Essex looked to extend their 76-run first-innings lead after dismissing Surrey for 240 at the end of the second day.
Nick Browne turned the first ball from Kemar Roach to third man for three runs. Sir Alastair Cook saw out the next four balls before the players headed back to the pavilion as the first shower struck.
They were back six minutes later for a longer stint during which the Essex openers added a further six runs, largely made up with a typical Cook flick off his hip for four, taking them to 24 without loss, a lead of 98 runs.
However, the first-wicket partnership did not survive without alarm. Roach, who had bowled well without reward in the first innings, beat the outside of Browne’s bat on several occasion. And a mid-pitch mix-up between the pair could have resulted in a run-out with a more accurate throw.
Day Two Highlights:
Day Two Interview: Jamie Porter
Day Two Report:
A rejuvenated Jamie Porter claimed four wickets on a rain-interrupted day to pose the first serious questions about Surrey’s credentials of retaining their LV= Insurance County Championship title.
The Essex seamer took his season’s total to 18 in four Championship games after recording just 19 during the whole of the 2022 campaign. Porter’s four for 51 from 14.5 overs enabled Essex to dismiss Surrey for 240 and gain a 74 first-innings lead. This was extended to 89 by Nick Browne and Sir Alastair Cook in five overs before stumps.
Only the one-time England opener Dom Sibley showed any lengthy occupancy of the crease for the reigning champions, mixing a degree of purpose and elan as he passed 7,000 runs in his 10-year first-class career.
But Sibley’s toing and froing, backwards and forwards from the pavilion between showers, finally ended after 83 balls, 48 runs and three big sixes off Simon Harmer. Sean Abbott chipped in with a lower-order 31, but his colleagues made starts without going on to make larger contributions.
There were hold-ups for four rain showers during the day. Indeed, one stop-start over from Sam Cook was interrupted twice and spanned three-quarters of an hour.
Surrey survived two dropped chances during the first spell of playable weather, Matt Critchley spilling Sibley at leg-slip and Dan Lawrence failing to grasp at third slip to reprieve Rory Burns. Later Abbott was given a life when Harmer floored what would normally be a routine chance at second slip.
Burns added 16 runs to his total before edging Cook to first slip to depart for 27.
Sibley celebrated reaching his personal milestone by greeting the introduction of Harmer with a six over square leg. He followed that by launching the off-spinner for a second out of the ground over midwicket before lunch was heralded by thunder and lightning circling the ground.
Lightning struck metaphorically when play belatedly resumed with Pope and Sibley both lofting Harmer over long-leg for sixes.
Doug Bracewell started a Surrey mini-collapse when got extra lift off the pitch and induced a faint tickle from Sibley.
The New Zealander added a second wicket in his next over when he found some late movement to take the outside of Jamie Smith’s bat.
A third wicket fell inside a six-over spell for the addition of five runs when Porter’s first ball of a new spell and tucked up Pope.
Will Jacks hit 26 of the 39 runs scored for the fifth wicket before he also received a ball that kept low from Shane Snater and was lbw.
Cameron Steel fell into Harmer’s honey trap, pulling a shorter delivery straight into Sam Cook’s hands on the square-leg boundary.
Ben Foakes had hung around for 68 balls while scoring 24 while wickets fell at the other end before he got an inside edge to Cook and was bowled.
Porter wrapped up the innings accounting for Jordan Clark, another victim to one that kept low, then Abbott, caught spectacularly in the covers by Nick Browne, and finally Gus Atkinson pinned on his crease.
Day One Highlights:
Day One Interview: Tom Huggins
Day One Report:
Gus Atkinson claimed career-best bowling figures as he sliced through the Essex batting and wrested the initiative back Surrey’s way on the first day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Chelmsford.
The 25-year-old seamer, called in to replace rested leading wicket-taker Dan Worrall for only his 10th first-class appearance, claimed the prized scalp of Sir Alastair Cook among his maiden five-wicket haul to finish with figures of 6-68.
Essex had looked comfortable taking first use of a flat track under light cloud cover when Cook and Nick Browne put on 62 at a run-a-minute for the first wicket, and Tom Westley and Matt Critchley added 114 for the fourth wicket in 34 overs. Cook (51), Westley (62) and Critchley (60) all made hay before a mid-innings collapse in the face of a swinging ball in late afternoon.
The reigning county champions had been toiling before Atkinson and part-time spinner Will Jacks (2-24) combined to reduce Essex from 218-3 to 241-7 inside seven overs with three wickets falling in just 13 deliveries. Only a breezy ninth-wicket stand of 62 between Simon Harmer and Sam Cook enabled Essex to become the first team to take 300 runs off Surrey’s attack this season.
Surrey openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley survived two lively overs from Jamie Porter and Harmer before the close to reduce Essex’s advantage by one run.
It was not until Atkinson was called upon at the end of an uneventful first hour that Surrey finally made a breakthrough. With his second ball he had Nick Browne fencing at one that flew to third slip.
Cook, taking the more aggressive role in the opening partnership, was particularly strong through the covers which was where the majority of his seven fours came..
However, Cook’s 78-ball innings was not without alarm as he was dropped twice, once on 13 at backward point by Jamie Smith and just after passing his fifty when Ollie Pope failed to hang on at second slip. The latter reprieve did not prove costly as he perished almost immediately when Ben Foakes adjusted well to claim an inside edge low to his right and give Atkinson a second wicket.
Foakes took a second catch behind soon after lunch when Dan Lawrence shuffled awkwardly across his stumps and nicked a delivery from Sean Abbott.
With Westley largely on the back foot metaphorically during a profitable fourth-wicket partnership, Critchley took the initiative, pulling Atkinson for four and then lofting Cameron Steel twice over long leg for sixes.
Westley narrowly beat Critchley to fifty, though his milestone shot was less than memorable as it raced away to the fine-leg boundary from an inside edge. But while Westley required 127 balls to get there, Critchley reached his fourth fifty in six innings this season with a push into the covers from his 85th ball.
But after bringing up the century partnership when he hooked Abbott for four, Critchley chased a wide-ish ball from Jacks and Rory Burns took a stupendous one-handed catch, full-length to his right at slip. It precipitated a rush of wickets punctuated by a six over midwicket by Michael Pepper.
Westley followed when he dragged on against Jordan Clark and lost his off-stump before Pepper edged behind off an injudicious attempt to reverse-sweep Jacks.
Doug Bracewell launched Jacks for six over extra cover before he edged a ball from Atkinson into his stumps. Then Shane Snater played all over another one from Atkinson and was bowled.
It was left to Harmer and Cook to show their batting betters how it should be done. There was much amusement when Roach took evasive action as Cook hooked the ball towards him on the fine-leg boundary, the Barbadian citing a rare sighting of the sun. Cook and Harmer were the final two victims for Atkinson, who found extra bounce to dismiss Cook and then helped Foakes to a fifth catch behind to end Harmer’s resistance.
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