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Hampshire v Essex Eagles

Vitality Blast (South Group)

The Ageas Bowl, Wednesday 16 September

Team News:

Hampshire: James Vince (c), George Munsey, Sam Northeast, Joe Weatherley, James Fuller, Lewis McManus (wk), Ian Holland, Chris Wood, Ryan Stevenson, Mason Crane, Shaheen Afridi.

Essex Eagles: Cameron Delport, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper (wk), Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (c), Matt Quinn, Jack Plom, Aron Nijjar, Sam Cook.

Match Details:

Umpires: Billy Taylor & Ben Debenham
Match Referee: Peter Such
Toss: Essex Eagles who elected to bat
Result: Essex Eagles won by 54 runs

Match Highlights:

Match Reaction: Jack Plom:

Match Report:

Aron Nijjar produced a superb spell of slow left-arm bowling to support solid batting contributions with the bat by Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence assisting the Eagles to a 54 runs victory against Hampshire in their Vitality Blast contest at The Ageas Bowl.

The 25-year-old Nijjar bowled his four permitted overs straight off from the Pavilion End that included the first three during the powerplay when he only conceded 21 runs and took two wickets as the visitors defended a total of 168 for three.

And when he sent down his final over, Nijjar grabbed a third wicket and conceded just a single to cap an excellent performance as Hampshire found themselves 38 for 6 after seven overs and their hopes in tatters.

Jack Plom, Matt Quinn and Sam Cook had also taken a wicket apiece at that stage and the Eagles continued to retain their grip as the home side limped to a sorry 114 for 9 at the conclusion of their 20 overs.

Having won the toss, the Eagles openers Cameron Delport and Westley reached 57 in 6.5 overs before Delport was caught in the deep for 31 to pave the way for Lawrence to join Westley in a stand worth 38 in little more than five overs.

During that partnership, Westley recorded his best score of the season with 51, his half-century arriving from 35 balls with 6 boundaries before edging a ball from Ryan Stevenson behind the wicket.

Monday’s hero Lawrence was again impressive although somewhat more reserved than down at Hove. Although he lost Michael Pepper for 5, he and Ryan ten Doeschate raised the tempo posting a 50-run stand in 29 balls.

Lawrence again struck the ball sweetly and powerfully for an unbeaten 49 from 34 balls whilst ten Doeschate was 29 not out from 20 balls when the Eagles innings closed.

Nijjar struck his first blow with the fourth ball of the Hampshire innings when George Muncey’s reverse sweep was brilliantly caught one-handed by Sam Cook.

Three balls later, Plom strangled James Vince down the leg side to claim his first senior wicket for Essex and the 21-year-old fast bowler later picked up another to finish with a very satisfactory 2 for 18 from 4 overs.

From 4 for 2 after seven balls, Hampshire continued to suffer against the Eagles incisive attack reeling to 38 for 6 in the seventh over.

The highest partnership of the innings (25) was created by Chris Wood and James Fuller before the latter was caught in the deep off Paul Walter who also sent down maiden over when Wood swiped at five successive deliveries missing each one before finally laying bat on ball without reward.

Walter ended with figures of 1 for 21 from his allotted spell.

Stevenson and Wood added 22 before Harmer chipped in with a wicket and when Plom had Stevenson caught for 17, Hampshire were 94 for 9 and still one run short of equalling their lowest score in T20 cricket against Essex.

Mason Crane and Shaheen Afridi avoided that ignominy in an unbroken liaison of 20 for the final wicket but the Eagles took the honours with a comprehensive win to keep faint hopes of qualification alive.

The Essex Eagles travel to the 1st Central County Ground on Monday to face Sussex Sharks in the Vitality Blast, with the fixture set to commence at 2pm.

The Eagles were left still seeking their first win in the competition after they suffered defeat to Surrey by 4 wickets at The Cloudfm County Ground on Friday night.

Cameron Delport and Adam Wheater became the first players to post half-centuries in the competition for the Eagles this season combining for a first wicket partnership of 105 to lay the foundations of a total of 195-8 in a thrilling clash.

However, Surrey responded to the challenging target despite losing South African Test player Hashim Amla to the first ball of the innings and then finding themselves 59-3 just before the end of their powerplay. But Laurie Evans, with 88 not out, and Gus Atkinson, who struck the winning runs off the final scheduled delivery of the match, saw Surrey to victory.

Delport’s View

Cameron Delport top-scored for the Eagles hitting 64 from 32 balls with 3 sixes and 8 fours and admitted that it was frustrating to end on the losing side.

He said: “We are very disappointed with the result and the boys are hurting in the changing room. I think unfortunately we were about 20 runs short and we lost a few quick wickets at one stage.

“Personally, it was nice for me to get some runs, it’s been coming for a while so that was good.

“We’ve got to bounce back, we’ve got some big games coming up next week but it’s obviously getting tougher and tougher for us to qualify for the next stage, but it is what it is.”

Squad News

The Eagles have no new injury concerns and will select their starting XI from a 16-man squad that includes 21-year-old fast bowler Jack Plom and 22-year-old batsman Michael Pepper.

Plom made his T20 debut for the Eagles on Friday whilst Pepper made his first appearance in the format since 2018.

The Opposition

The Sharks beat Kent Spitfires by 8 wickets on Saturday to go top of the South Group with 9 points, 1 more than Surrey and Kent Spitfires, who dropped to third place.

Their squad includes two former Essex players, all-rounder Ravi Bopara and fast bowler Tymal Mills. Mills has made 5 T20 International appearances and also represented England Lions, and is one of the fastest bowlers to play for Essex. He joined Sussex in 2014 but following the diagnosis of a degenerative back problem, he now concentrates on T20 cricket.

Bopara became a cult figure at Essex and, after making his debut in 2002, recorded 19,620 runs and 503 wickets for the Club across all formats until leaving at the end of last season. He has 13 Test caps for England, made 120 ODI appearances and played in 38 T20I matches.

Although Sussex and Essex are at opposite ends of the table, Sharks skipper Luke Wright is not under-estimating the threat the Eagles pose.

He commented: “They are one of those teams where things have not quite gone their way in T20 this season.

“I think they’ve had a tie and a couple of games that have gone down to the wire and they have lost off the last ball, so they have not been far away.

“They are certainly not a team to be taken lightly, they won it last year so there are a lot of good cricketers in there but at the moment, they’ve just got the wrong side of results.”

Sussex Sharks Squad

Luke Wright (C), Will Beer, Ravi Bopara, Danny Briggs, Ben Brown (WK), George Garton, Calum MacLeod, Stuart Meaker, Tymal Mills, Delray Rawlins, Ollie Robinson, Aaron Thomason, David Wiese.

Record Between The Sides

The two teams have met 26 times in T20 fixtures of which The Sharks have won 14 contests and The Eagles 12.

The Eagles welcome Surrey to The Cloudfm County Ground for their penultimate home match in this year’s Vitality Blast competition with the fixture set to start at 2pm.

The Eagles are the only side in the South Group yet to win a T20 match having now played half of their 10 matches. The 2019 titleholders have accrued just 2 points and prop up the South Group. Surrey meanwhile have won 2 of their 5 matches and are 2 points behind leaders Kent Spitfires.

McGrath’s View

Eagles Head coach Anthony McGrath gave an honest assessment of his side’s form in the first half of the T20 season.

He commented: “We just haven’t been on the game so far. The first game was rained off and then the next 2 games we thought we should have won, certainly the game at Chelmsford against Hampshire but in the games at Lord’s and The Oval, we were very poor.

“There will certainly be changes, some of those performances were not acceptable. Everyone is trying without doubt and obviously, we want to try and get to the latter stages but it’s going to be difficult now. We’ve put catches down, haven’t scored enough runs and on trickier wickets, we’ve not bowled as well as we should.

“We’ve got 5 games left and we saw what happened last year so I’m certainly not ruling anything out but we have to win on Friday, it’s as simple as that.”

Squad News

The Eagles have no injury worries ahead of the match and have a 17-man squad.

The Opposition

Former Essex wicket-keeper batsman Ben Foakes masterminded Surrey’s latest success in the competition when they beat Middlesex on Saturday.

He arrived at the crease with his side deep in trouble at 23-4, but played superbly and with authority to guide Surrey over the winning line with 60 not out.

Surrey Squad

Gareth Batty (C), Hashim Amla, Gus Atkinson, Scott Borthwick, Rory Burns, Matt Dunn, Laurie Evans, Ben Foakes (WK), Will Jacks, Daniel Moriarty, Jamie Overton, Reece Topley, Jamie Smith, Mark Stoneman.

Record Between The Sides

When the teams met a couple of weeks ago at The Kia Oval, the match ended in a tie. The Eagles posted 143-6 with Ryan ten Doeschate and Adam Wheater top-scoring with 35 and 32 not out respectively.

Surrey then lost 8 wickets in matching the Eagles total after losing 2 wickets to the final 2 deliveries as they desperately searched for the winning run.

The sides have clashed 30 times in T20 cricket, with Essex enjoying 17 successes and Surrey 10 whilst, apart from that tied game, 1 match was abandoned and another declared a no result after the weather again took a decisive hand.

Essex County Cricket Club are delighted to announce that wicket-keeper batsman, Adam Wheater, has signed a contract extension that will keep him at The Cloudfm County Ground until at least the end of the 2022 season.

The 30-year-old rejoined Essex from Hampshire in 2016 and has played an integral role in the side’s recent success, with the Club claiming two Division One titles and a maiden T20 title in the last three years.

The Academy graduate has also been ever-present during the 2020 campaign, leading the batting averages for Essex with 50.20 in the Bob Willis Trophy, with his highest score of 83* coming against Middlesex earlier in the week.

Essex Head Coach, Anthony McGrath, commented: “Adam is an experienced campaigner and has consistently shown his quality both behind the stumps and with the bat.

“He’s a great influence in the dressing room and always wants what’s best for the team, so I’m really pleased that he’s extended his stay.”

Essex v Middlesex

Bob Willis Trophy (South Group)

The Cloudfm County Ground, Sunday 06 – Wednesday 09 September

Team News:

Essex: Paul Walter, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Feroze Khushi, Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater (wk), Simon Harmer, Aaron Beard, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Middlesex: Sam Robson, Max Holden, Nick Gubbins, Steve Eskinazi (c), Robbie White, Martin Andersson, John Simpson (wk), Blake Cullen, James Harris, Thilan Walallawita, Tim Murtagh.

Match Details:

Umpires: Russell Warren & Paul Pollard
Match Referee: Peter Such
Toss: Middlesex, who elected to bat first
Result: Essex win by 9 wickets

Day Three Match Highlights:

Anthony McGrath’s Day Three reaction:

Day Three Close of Play Report:

Essex are through to the final of the Bob Willis Trophy. They made sure of their Lord’s date later this month by completing a 9-wicket triumph over Middlesex at The Cloudfm County Ground with a day and two sessions to spare and extended the Essex winning run in red-ball cricket at Chelmsford to 11 matches.

They needed only 14.5 overs to collect the remaining Middlesex wickets after they had resumed on 123 for 6 and knocked off the 53 required for victory in 13.5 overs for the loss of Alastair Cook.

Paceman Sam Cook struck with his second delivery by bowling James Harris without addition to the overnight score and followed it up by dismissing Blake Cullen as wicket-keeper Adam Wheater claimed his sixth catch of the match.

Thilan Walallawita then had his off-stump knocked out of the ground by Aaron Beard before Simon Harmer brought the innings to a close when he had Tim Murtagh stumped, leaving John Simpson stranded on 26 out of a total of 150 all out.

Beard finished with a career-best 4-21 from 10 overs while Cook’s 3-28 from 20 overs gave him a match haul of 7-55. Harmer, as accurate as ever, finished with 3-54 from 28.5 overs.

Essex were quickly into their stride when they set off for victory. Paul Walter found the ropes in the first over and Alastair Cook was soon finding the boundary either side of the wicket.

The introduction of Cullen into the attack was greeted by Walter who picked off three boundaries in one over, but it came as something of a surprise when Cook was castled by Murtagh for 21 with the score on 41 in the 11th over.

However, Walter and skipper Tom Westley reached the winning post as they finished on 20 not out and 10 not out respectively.

It all added up to an impressive team performance by Essex with Wheater leading the way. He has established himself as a very fine wicket-keeper, confirmed by claiming a total of seven victims in the match, but it was his batting that proved the defining factor after he arrived at the wicket with his side in serious trouble at 87 for 5.

Displaying caution and controlled aggression, Wheater battled throughout the remainder of the innings to finish with an unbeaten 83 and guide Essex to an all out total of 236 and a substantial first innings lead of 98.

Walter is probably the surprise package amongst the batsmen, having enhanced his reputation, first in the middle-order and again when he was promoted to open the innings. He has so far collected 245 runs in five completed innings full of discipline and determination.

On the bowling front, Harmer confirmed he is the best spinner in the country, his guile and variation earning him 34 wickets while the three-pronged pace attack of Jamie Porter, Sam Cook and Aaron Beard have proved themselves a potent force with a haul of 42 wickets between them.

Day Two Match Highlights:

Aaron Beard’s Day Two reaction:

Day Two Close of Play Report:

Essex were closing in on a victory against Middlesex at The Cloudfm County Ground that could take them to the final of the Bob Willis Trophy at Lord’s later this month.

After being bowled out for 236 to earn a first innings lead of 98, they had the visitors struggling at 123 for 6 at the close of the second day.

Their position of strength owed much to the efforts of Adam Wheater who followed up his five catches in the Middlesex first innings with a superb 83 not out.

The morning did not begin well for Essex after they had resumed on 108 for 5. With only 14 added, Ryan ten Doeschate was forced to leave the field with a back muscle spasm despite receiving lengthy treatment from physiotherapist Chris Clarke–Irons before retiring.

But his departure heralded the arrival of Simon Harmer to share with Wheater, what was to prove an invaluable liaison.

It yielded 72 runs in 16.3 overs to carry the total to 194 but then Harmer, who had struck six boundaries in his 32, fell leg before wicket to the medium-pace of Martin Andersson.

That was the start of a profitable spell by Andersson who got rid of Aaron Beard and Sam Cook with the score on 203 to pave the way for ten Doeschate to resume his innings after retiring on 31. With Dan Lawrence acting as a runner, ten Doeschate was to add another dozen runs before Andersson had him caught behind.

Soon afterwards, Tim Murtagh brought the innings to an end, again with John Simpson’s help, to leave Wheater stranded with a century in sight.

Wheater combined caution with several pugnacious pulls and well-timed strokes through the offside in a 142-ball effort the brought him 11 boundaries and further enhanced his reputation as a gutsy middle-order batsman.

Middlesex started their second innings on an encouraging foundation raising the 50 for only the loss of Sam Robson who was caught at slip by Harmer off Sam Cook for 6 to give the bowler his fifth wicket of the match.

Off-spinner Harmer then removed Nick Gubbins, leg before with the last ball before tea, taken with the visitors on 58 for 2.

And after the interval, Beard was to plunge Middlesex into deep trouble by capturing three wickets at a cost of four runs in 5.1 overs.

He started by bowling Steve Eskinazi for 5 before also breaching the defences of Max Holden, who had made 37, and then having Andersson edging to Harmer at second slip for 3.

That left the visitors on 84 for 5 but Simpson and Robbie White put together a gutsy stand of 34 to ensure the match went into a third day. The partnership was broken just before the close when Harmer returned for a second spell to trap White lbw for 23 leaving John Simpson 16 not out and James Harris 3 not out.

Both batsmen were able to survive until the close with a lead of just 25 and will return to the crease tomorrow morning with the score on 123-6.

However, it will take something bordering on the miraculous to deny Essex victory on Day Three.

Day One Match Highlights:

Sam Cook’s Day One reaction:

Day One Close of Play Report:

Paul Walter and Sam Cook shared the honours as Essex found themselves involved in an intriguing Bob Willis Trophy clash against Middlesex on a day when 15 wickets fell at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Cook enjoyed his best figures of the season returning 4 for 27 in 15 overs as the visitors, who won the toss, were bowled out for 138 before Walter held the Essex batting together whilst the rest of the top-order were blown away. By the close, the home side trailed by 30 runs with five wickets intact.

Walter struck the top-score of the match so far when making an impressive 43 to take his aggregate to 225 in the competition following six trips to the middle. And it was just as well the tall left-hander confirmed his growing reputation as a reliable performer.

Alastair Cook, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence and Feroze Khushi could only manage 15 runs between them as the home side slumped to 44 for 4 in 16 overs against a three-pronged pace attack.

After Cook edged a drive to Steve Eskinazi at first slip to provide Blake Cullen with success, Westley and Lawrence were both caught by wicket-keeper John Simpson to give Tim Murtagh a double success.

Khushi then became an lbw victim of James Harris, the four wickets going down in the space of 8 overs.

But Walter was to find a resolute partner in the evergreen Ryan ten Doeschate. He may be in his 41st year but he remains an integral part of the side, particularly when it comes to getting his teammates out of tricky situations.

Like Walter, he treated every ball on its merits and their partnership was worth 43 before Walter’s defences were breached by Harris after the opener had spent just over 2 hours at the crease. He had faced 79 deliveries sending six of them to the boundary land his departure left the home side 87 for 5.

Tendo was still breathing defiance at the close with 28 against his name from a total of 66 deliveries and he will resume a sixth-wicket partnership with Adam Wheater who has scored 18 of the 21 runs added spanning 46 balls.

Earlier the pinpoint accuracy and hostility of Sam Cook plus fine support from Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer combined with five catches for wicket-keeper Adam Wheater resulted in Middlesex’s demise.

They lost half their side for 50 with Cook and Porter sharing four wickets before Harmer claimed his first of the innings and the trio continued to cause problems a-plenty for the batsmen.

Only Harris with 34 managed to get beyond 20 but he fell leg before wicket to Cook and the guile and variation from off-spinner Harmer proved too much for the lower order.

The South African emerged with 3 for 34 in 18.3 overs to take his tally of wickets in the Bob Willis Trophy to 31 so far while Porter claimed his three wickets at a personal cost of 55 runs.

Essex County Cricket Club are pleased to announce that promising young batsman, Feroze Khushi, has signed a contract extension running until the end of the 2021 campaign.

The 21-year-old made his first-class debut against Kent earlier in the year, and has averaged 31 with the bat with his highest score of 66 coming against Surrey at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Upon signing his extension, Khushi said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to sign a new deal with Essex.

“I’ve really been enjoying my cricket and I feel like 2020 has been a good year for me so far. I’ve managed to break into the First Team and score some runs and show people what I’m capable of.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to carry on doing so and learning from all the great coaches and players around me.”

Essex Head Coach, Anthony McGrath, added: “Feroze is an exceptionally talented player who has really benefitted from the truncated season.

“We’ve had to mix things up a bit with the lack of Overseas player this year but he’s come into the side and really performed, scoring some vital runs and helping us with some games of cricket.

“It’s great news that he’s signed an extension and we’re all excited to see how he carries on progressing and developing.”

Essex entertain Middlesex at The Cloudfm County Ground starting on Sunday (10:30am) in the final qualifying Bob Willis Trophy match.

The home side, who remain unbeaten after winning three of the four matches, currently lead the South Group with 70 points; six ahead of Kent.

However, only two of the three group winners will contest the final at Lord’s with the deciding factor being the pair with the highest points totals. Entering the final round of matches, there is fierce competition to make it through to the final at the home of cricket.

Kent host Hampshire at Canterbury in their concluding match and elsewhere Somerset, who head the Central Group with 76 points meet Worcestershire at New Road. Somerset start the match with 76 points, six ahead of the home side.

Meanwhile, Derbyshire lead the North Group with 71 points, five more than closest pursuers Yorkshire. Derbyshire face Lancashire at Liverpool in their last match, whilst Yorkshire take on Leicestershire at Headingley.

Westley looks ahead to Bob Willis Trophy decider:

Head Coach’s View:

Head Coach Anthony McGrath is hoping that victory over Middlesex will secure a place in the Lord’s Final.

“If we can get the win, then it should put us in a good position to achieving one of those two places,” he said.

“Hopefully, we can get some batting bonus points on the board with the bat and then our attack can do what it’s been doing regularly and take 20 wickets.

“I think we should have got more runs in both games at Chelmsford but it was much more like our true form at Arundel when we played Hampshire.

“The way that our openers Paul Walter and Alastair Cook played was fantastic to see and then followed by Alastair and Dan Lawrence helped us to get into a really good position and we were 249 for 3. If we’d batted out the 120 overs we would have got a lot more bonus points, so that was frustrating.

“But we will look to take that form we showed at Arundel into Sunday’s game.

“We have shown a very high level of consistency in our red-ball cricket over the past few years and as I have said on a number of occasions, I still think that we can improve further, particularly with the bat.

“And that’s a really exciting prospect.”

Squad News:

Essex can boast a clean bill of health ahead of the game and have named a 15-man squad.

Youngsters, Rishi Patel and Jack Plom are not available for this match after joining Leicestershire and Surrey, respectively for this final round of games.

21 Tom Westley (C)
65 Ben Allison
14 Aaron Beard
10 Nick Browne
26 Alastair Cook
16 Sam Cook
11 Simon Harmer
23 Feroze Khushi
28 Dan Lawrence
44 Jamie Porter
27 Ryan ten Doeschate
22 Paul Walter
31 Adam Wheater (WK)

The Opposition:

Middlesex come into the game placed in third position after a 5-wicket victory over Sussex during the last round of Bob Willis Trophy fixtures.

Middlesex Squad:

Stephen Eskinazi (c), Martin Andersson, Ethan Bamber, Miguel Cummins, Jack Davies, Nick Gubbins, James Harris, Max Holden, Tim Murtagh, Sam Robson, John Simpson (wk), Nathan Sowter, Robbie White, Thilan Walallawita.

Injury/Absentees News:

Toby Roland-Jones is an absentee for the visitors having been sidelined with a persistent shoulder problem that will rule him out of the remainder of the season.

Tom Helm is being rested for this match following the block of Vitality Blast matches so misses this clash.

Last Meeting:

Since the first meeting back in 1895, Essex have won only 38 of the clashes with Middlesex enjoying 55 victories.

The last time that the two teams clashed in red-ball action came back in June 2017, a season that saw Essex lift the County Championship title for the first time since 1992.

Playing with a pink ball in the experimental day/night game at The Cloudfm County Ground, Middlesex were dismissed for 246 with spin-king Harmer claiming 5 for 77. The Essex openers Nick Browne and Alastair Cook then set a new first-wicket partnership record for the county of 373 before being parted when Cook was dismissed for 193. Browne made 221 and then Varun Chopra struck a quickfire century allowing Essex to declare on 542 for three late into day three.

By tea on the final day, Middlesex appeared to have saved the game going to the interval on 211 for 4 and when the last hour commenced at 8pm, they were looking comfortable at 247 for 5.

However, magician Harmer continued to weave his magic striking twice in four balls to reduce the opposition to 261 for 8 and all Harmer victims. Dan Lawrence ended the South African’s hopes of going through the card with all ten wickets by claiming Toby Roland-Jones leg before but amidst great tension, Harmer had the final word when, with 8 balls of the match remaining, he trapped Steve Finn in front of his stumps.

The last four wickets had fallen in 27 balls and the phenomenal Harmer ended the game with second-innings figures of 9 for 95.

How To Watch:

Our Live Stream service will be available across all four days of this game from 10:30am, which also includes player stats, scorecard and clips throughout the day. Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone which is available – here.

Essex County Cricket Club can today announce that Jack Plom has signed a contract extension with the Club and immediately joined Surrey on loan for their final Bob Willis Trophy fixture.

The 21-year-old, who signed his first professional contract back in 2018, has penned a new deal until the end of the 2021 campaign and will head to The Kia Oval for Surrey’s final red-ball match of the year against Sussex, starting on Sunday 06 September.

Ahead of the loan move, Plom said: “I’m really pleased to sign a new deal with Essex and I’m grateful to the Club for showing faith in me.

“My playing time has been limited this year so going to Surrey is a great opportunity to get some cricket under my belt and show everyone what I can do.

“Hopefully I’m able to take full advantage of this and get some valuable experience before coming back to Chelmsford.”

The Eagles are still looking to record their first victory in the Vitality Blast after their opening 2 matches provided them with a point from each.

The opening home game finished as a no result after heavy rain ended any attempt to chase down Middlesex’s 184-5.

Then on Sunday, a nail-biting conclusion to the match with Surrey at The Kia Oval ended in a tie after the Eagles defended a score of 143-6.

The hosts looked to be on course for victory but the final 2 deliveries of the match produced wickets with the Surrey innings closing on 143-8 and the points shared.

Hampshire are also seeking a first win of the Vitality Blast season. Following a no result in their opening match, they suffered defeat at Hove on Sunday where the Sussex Sharks prevailed with 1 ball to spare.

Walter’s View:

All-rounder Paul Walter continues to enjoy a rewarding season for Essex with his latest contribution with bat and ball playing a significant part in the tied match with Surrey.

After hitting an unbeaten 23 from 13 balls to raise the tempo during the closing stages of the Eagles innings, he removed the dangerous Jamie Smith and Laurie Evans in excellent figures of 2/13 from his 2 overs.

He admitted he was content with his input, saying: “It was good for myself to get runs at the end and a couple of wickets and I’m just trying to go from game to game at the moment and enjoy contributing.

“It was a game which ebbed and flowed quite a bit all the way through, but we knew in the field it was important for us to keep on taking wickets and thankfully that’s what happened.

“It wasn’t a bad performance by ourselves but there is still room for improvement in both the batting and bowling departments. The stand between Ryan ten Doeschate and Adam Wheater was important, as it meant we got to a total that we could look to defend.”

Squad News:

The Eagles have no injury worries ahead of Tuesday’s match and have named a 16-man squad.

The Opposition:

The visitors have been badly hit by COVID regulations, which has denied them the services of Rilee Rossouw and Kyle Abbott.

Liam Dawson continues to be sidelined having ruptured his achilles in a Bob Willis Trophy match with Middlesex, whilst James Vince remains unavailable as a precautionary measure until after the impending birth of his second child.

Hampshire Squad:

Sam Northeast (C), Brad Wheal, Tom Alsop, Ian Holland, James Fuller, Lewis McManus (WK), George Munsey, Felix Organ, Scott Currie, Ajeet Dale, Joe Weatherley, Mason Crane, Ryan Stevenson, Chris Wood.

Record Between The Sides:

In the 31 T20 clashes between the two sides, the honours are evenly shared with 12 wins each and 3 matches tied. The remaining games failed to provide a result.

The Eagles will be looking to avenge defeat in last year’s match at Chelmsford when Hampshire recorded victory by 7 wickets.

Simon Harmer’s side were dismissed for 133 in 16.4 overs with Tom Westley top-scoring with 44, before Hampshire eased to victory with James Vince striking an unbeaten 87.

The Sunrisers will make their competitive debut on Saturday at The Cloudfm County Ground for the start of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

The new women’s 50-over competition will be played between the eight newly formed regions who make up the women’s elite domestic structure.

The Sunrisers comprise of players from Essex, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Berkshire and Kent, and will be playing all three home games of the competition at Chelmsford, starting on Saturday (29 August) against Southern Vipers.

Essex Women’s side will be representing the team with Scarlett Hughes, Katie Midwood, Mady Villiers and Captain, Kelly Castle all featuring this season.

Watch the Sunrisers This Season

A live stream will be available for all Sunrisers matches played at The Cloudfm County Ground this season. Play begins at 10:30am on Saturday and will be available via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.

You can find out more on the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – here.