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This week’s Cult Heroes looks far back into the history books to a player who 19 years at the Club and played one Test for England.

Jack O’Connor was a real Cult Hero for the Club and played alongside some of the other greats in the Club’s history such as Tom Pearce, Morris Nichols and Hopper Read.

This series is supported by Allen Ford and we thank them for their continued support.

Essex Career Stats (1921-1939)
Debut: 14 May v Worcestershire (County Championship)
Appearances: 516
Runs: 27,722
First Class Average: 35.18
Highest Score: 248 v Surrey at Brentwood in 1934
Centuries: 71
Fifties: 127
Wickets: 537
Average: 32.63

Footage of Jack O’Connor in action during the 1934 season at Castle Park, Colchester. The match was a draw against Sussex in the County Championship where he scored 63 and 8 – view scorecard.

Born in Cambridge on November 6, 1897, Jack O’Connor was an attractive stroke maker and proved to be the outstanding Essex batsman for two decades preceding World War II. A right-handed batsman and spin bowler, he made his debut for the County aged 23 when he was selected to play against Worcestershire at Leyton in May 1921 but was run out for thirteen. His career started modestly with just four matches that year and for a player that was to prove such an accomplished and illustrious servant to Essex cricket, his early experiences in the first team were quite unspectacular.

Initially, he seemed nothing out of the ordinary playing somewhat carefully and although he often laid solid foundations for his side, his dour approach lacking enterprise was not the style that got people talking fondly about his entertainment value as a batsman.

However, having become an established member of the team in 1922, and with a first century to his name when scoring an unbeaten 102 against Northamptonshire, the confidence began flowing into his game and correspondingly he started to attract favourable comment from the Essex public as he blossomed into a stylish batsman always looking to impose himself on opposition attacks.

With a quick eye and nimble footwork, he added power into his shots and, using exemplary technique, he was brilliant when facing spin bowling. However, despite being a fine driver and hooker of the ball, he failed to disguise his dislike for fast bowling.

He was the first professional to captain Essex when he took over against Somerset in 1938 and he accumulated 71 centuries for the county, including ten against old adversaries Kent, during a career which saw him become a cornerstone of the batting. He first reached 1,000 runs for a season in 1923 when aggregating 1,218 as his career started to blossom. Known as the ‘Laughing Cavalier’, it was in August that year, when Jack started to attract the headlines having complied scores of 111 not out, 128, 93 and 99 in consecutive matches.

Although he failed by just 3 runs to reach the four-figure mark in 1924, he cleared the milestone the following year and continued to do so for the next fourteen seasons until first-class cricket ceased with the outbreak of World War II. His most productive summer came in 1934 when he scored 2,350 runs including nine centuries at an average of more than 55.

Known as the ‘Laughing Cavalier’, Jack was born with cricket in his blood. His father was a leg-spinner with Derbyshire, his uncle, Herbert Carpenter, was for years one of the mainstays of Essex batting while his great uncle, Robert Carpenter, had been one of the leading batsmen in England in the 1860s.

Jack was also a fine bowler and took a hat-trick at Worcester in 1925. He just missed out on the “double” the following season when he scored 1,402 runs and took 93 wickets. Three years later, he aggregated 2,256 runs at an average of 47.44 including six centuries whilst during the following summer; he accumulated 2,288 runs at 44.86 with nine hundreds. One of those came at Folkestone against Kent where he scored 116 of which 92 runs came in boundaries. The old adversaries included the formidable leg-spinner ‘Tich’ Freeman, a bowler whom Jack considered as “the finest leg-spinner that I ever faced and there were a lot of good ones in those days.

His run scoring for the county was prolific. In 1934, he scored 2,350 runs at just under 56. During this season, he recorded his highest score of 248 against Surrey at Brentwood. Although this was the fourth and final time that he as to pass the 2,000 runs mark in a season, he continued to be a thorn to opposition attacks.

For years, he was on the verge of Test selection. He played once against South Africa in 1929 and that winter, took part in three matches for the M.C.C. in the West Indies, which Wisden then called Representative Matches, but which are now included in the Test records, though the English side could not possibly be described as more than England A. In 1939, Jack scored 1,716 runs in 1939 at an average of 37.30, the fifteenth successive year that he had topped the 1,000 runs milestone.

In 516 first-class matches for Essex, he scored 27,722 runs from his 864 innings at an average of 35.18. A small man who bowled slow right-arm, his repertoire included leg-breaks and off-spin and allowed him to capture 537 wickets at 32.63 which included 17 five-wickets hauls and two 10-wickets hauls.

In all first-class cricket, he made 28,917 runs with an average of 34.79, scored 72 centuries, including at least one against every other county and both Universities. He considered that his best innings for Essex was the 111 not out against Hampshire at Leyton in 1923 after the county had been set 185 to win. O’Connor apart, not one batsman reached 17 but he steered the side to victory hitting 18 fours in an innings spanning three hours and we won the match with two boundaries in the final over.

Jack made a hundred against every other first-class county of the time and also the Cambridge and Oxford University teams, but the Second World War brought an end to his career. His final match for the county came at Clacton where he signed off with an unbeaten 54 in his final innings before Ken Farnes took 6 for 47 as Essex beat Northamptonshire by 210 runs.

After his retirement he was for many years coach at Eton and in 1946 and 1947 played for Buckinghamshire. Later, he coached at Chigwell.

He died in the Forest Hospital; Buckhurst Hill on February 22, 1977 aged 79.

We delve back into the magical 70’s and 80’s again this week to reminisce the cricket career of another Cult Hero and a true legend of the Club. His record with the ball speaks for itself, which helped the county to a number of honours during the ‘golden era’.

John Lever has a long and distinguished career at Essex and his bowling was savoured by supporters. There are a number of special moments during the 22-year spell, including Surrey’s final wicket in the Benson & Hedges Cup Final, where he bowled Peter Wilson to secure the first piece of silverware for the Club in 1979.

This series is supported by Allen Ford and we thank them for their continued support.

Essex Career Stats (1967-1989)
Debut: 29 April 1967 v Cambridge University (First-Class friendly)
Appearances: 874
Wickets: 2,089
First-Class Average: 23.53
Best Bowling: 8-37 v Gloucestershire at Bristol in 1984
5-wickets in an Innings: 77
10-wickets in a match: 11

John Lever was one of the finest new-ball bowlers to pull on an Essex shirt and a major factor to the domestic honours during the 1970’s and 80’s golden era.

When he retired from the game in 1989 after 22 years, he could point to 1,722 first-class wickets at an average of 24.26. A total of 1,473 were captured while on duty with the county from 1967 to 1989.

During that time, he also collected 616 victims in the one-day game for his county as Essex carved out a reputation as being the team counties feared most in the limited-overs game.

John Kenneth Lever was born in Stepney in 1949. Boasting one of the smoothest of approaches to the wicket and who predominantly swung the ball into the right-handed batsmen, “JK” as he was known was rightly judged to be the finest left-arm pace bowler in the country although sharp rather than genuinely quick.

He was a captain’s dream in that he would never shirk work even on the blandest of tracks and performed with the same verve and enthusiasm at the end of a hot day as at the beginning.

In contrast to his friendly disposition off the field that made him such great company, he was a fierce competitor on it. He was only 18 when he made his Essex debut playing against Cambridge University at Fenner’s and at a time when the county was regarded as “easy meat” by opponents because of their skeleton staff and the relatively inexperienced band of players.

His first Championship match came three weeks later when Essex faced Worcestershire at his home club ground of Ilford. His victims included Test batsmen Don Kenyon and Tom Graveney and Lever became a fixture in the Essex line-up.

He took 100 wickets in a season four times, the first occasion in 1978 when he ended the summer with 106 victims @ 15.18. He was twice elected the Cricketer’s Cricketer of the Year by his fellow professionals.

Spearheading an attack that won the county honours for the first time in their history when they carried off the Benson & Hedges Cup and the County Championship in 1979, ‘JK’ enjoyed another prolific campaign that saw him top 100 championship wickets. His impressive performances that summer included figures of 7 for 27 against Lancashire at Valentine’s Park Ilford, match figures of 13 for 117 v Leicestershire at Chelmsford and 13 for 87 at Edgbaston versus Warwickshire. It was also the year when he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year.

During 1983, when Essex lifted another Championship title, he claimed another 100 wickets haul despite missing part of the summer when having to undergo minor surgery. The following season, he took 116 wickets as his county retained their title during a season in which the bowler recorded career-best figures of 8 for 37 when playing against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Later that year, he became the first bowler to reach a total of 300 wickets in the John Player League.

On 11 occasions, he took 10 or more wickets in a match for Essex whilst his tally of scalps included 77 hauls of 5-wickets or more in an innings.

He could prove a useful batsman in the late order with his highest contribution made in 1970 when playing against Glamorgan at Cardiff where he scored 91 as a night-watchman during a stay at the crease which spanned five hours and 35 minutes. He was awarded his county cap that summer.

Not only was ‘JK’ a wonderfully effective left-arm fast-medium bowler but he also possessed a very safe pair of hands in the deep – he took nearly 300 catches in all forms of the game – and had the ability to swoop on the ball and throw accurately in one movement.

He was also an outstanding performer in one-day cricket. In 1972, playing in the Gillette Cup Second Round, he took 5 for 8 at Westcliff where Middlesex were skittled out for 41 and other outstanding returns in limited-overs cricket included 5 for 13 at Ebbw Vale versus Glamorgan and 5 for 18 v Warwickshire at Edgbaston (both John Player League matches). He also returned 5 for 16 v Middlesex at Chelmsford during a Benson & Hedges Cup match in 1976.

He made 21 Test appearances for England, the first of which saw him burst upon the scene in dramatic style in 1976. Not only did he emerge with match figures of 10 for 70 against India in Delhi but also scored 53, just one of only two half-centuries he collected at first-class level.

He claimed 73 wickets during his Test career and also made 22 one-day international appearances between 1976 and 1986.

By the end of a magnificent 22-year career, ‘JK’ had achieved legendary status. In his final first-class match, against Surrey at Chelmsford, he left a reminder of his effectiveness as a new ball bowler signing off with 7 for 48. As he left the field, he was afforded a guard of honour by the visitors, convincing proof of his stature and the respect held by his peers. Only Maurice Nichols, Peter Smith and Trevor Bailey had taken more first-class victims for the county.

One of ‘JK’s greatest admirers was Aussie captain Allan Border, who spent a couple of seasons with Essex in the 80’s. “His record over the years speaks for itself and I’m surprised that he did not play more often for England,” he said. “If we had his type of bowler achieving his sort of success year after year in Australia, I’m sure we would have seen him in the Test side more often.”

Awarded the MBE for services to cricket, after his retirement, John took up a position at Bancroft School.

Under normal circumstances, the Eagles would have already commenced the Vitality Blast title defence with an eagerly anticipated Battle of the Bridge clash against Kent Spitfires due to take place today.

The scheduled fixture list had offered an early opportunity to make amends for one of the few disappointing performances last season, in particular Somerset who were due to visit in the Blast last weekend.

Essex failed to make half of the 226-run target set by Somerset, losing the last eight wickets in just five overs. At the halfway point of the group stage, the prospects of further progress had looked remote.

“We were just terrible,” admitted Head Coach Anthony McGrath as he reflected this week on an ultimately successful campaign.

“It got to a stage after that game where we knew if we lost another game, and other results didn’t go our way, we were out.

“We had a long chat after the Somerset game, saying, ‘Look, we really need to be operating as a team. Whatever role you’re in, do it to the best of your ability, don’t worry about individual games, do it as a team’. From that point forward we played some very, very good T20 cricket.”

Though the next three matches were washed out – bringing some much-needed points and time for contemplation – it was the solitary Specsavers County Championship game that interrupted the T20 block, the visit to Canterbury, that proved to be the seminal moment of the season.

The hangover from the Somerset defeat looked to be continuing as Essex were bowled out for a meagre 114 in reply to Kent’s 226. However, on an extraordinary third day, Sam Cook took career-best figures of 7 for 23 as Kent subsided to 40 all out and Essex won by three wickets.

“We then travelled down to Hove straight after that to play another must-win T20 game, and the atmosphere on the bus was electric,” McGrath recalls. “The way we had turned the Kent game around, and Somerset [rivals for the Championship] looked as though they were struggling against Warwickshire, it gave everyone a lift. To then beat Sussex, who were normally very, very good at home, that was a big shot in the arm confidence-wise. Suddenly we thought, ‘We have a chance here’.”

From the Somerset thrashing onwards, Essex remained undefeated in 14 games in both red and white-ball formats while completing the Championship–T20 double.

Suddenly key performances were coming from unexpected quarters as players stepped up to the plate. “We really began playing as a team,” said McGrath.

“Jamie Porter came in when there was an injury and excelled; Shane Snater did well when he got an opportunity; Matt Quinn was leading wicket-taker before he got injured; Aron Nijjar, to bowl like he did on Finals Day on his debut; and Aaron Beard – Mohammad Amir goes home and Beardy gets to open the bowling and gets Liam Livingstone out up at Emirate Riverside in the quarter-final.”

It was all orchestrated by Simon Harmer in his first season as captain. “Simon took to it straight away,” says McGrath. “He made his plans pretty clear. We knew it might take a bit of time because we were moving guys around a bit, but throughout the tournament he was very clear that it would come right. And I think that shone through to the lads even when we were getting beaten.

“In addition to that Somerset game, we had also been beaten badly by Hampshire, but Simon was still sending out the same message to the guys. That’s really important as a leader. If it doesn’t go right, and then you’re saying a completely different thing to what you were saying a couple of days before, then guys can get confused.

“I think Simon knew what we needed to do and once we started to win you could see his confidence grow. The way he captained in the quarter-final and on Finals Day, he just got better and better. Everything he did in terms of his bowling changes, field placings and at the tosses, came off.”

With the players currently on furlough, and the timing of a return to action uncertain, McGrath says: “Everyone’s frustrated. We’d love to be playing, but it’s an opportunity just to have a reset and reflect on what we’ve done before.”

Article written by Martin Smith for the ECB Reporter’s Network

This week’s focus in our Cult Heroes series is on one of the world’s best who we were fortunate enough to enjoy watching over 15 years at the Club.

Mark Waugh showed is class both on the domestic and international stage and joins the likes of Stuart Law, Ken McEwan and Ryan ten Doeschate in the list of Club greats from overseas.

This series is supported by Allen Ford and we thank them for their continued support.

Essex Career Stats (1988-2002)
Debut: 14 August 1988 v Nottinghamshire (Refuge Assurance League)
Appearances: 175
Runs: 9,682
First Class Average: 59.73
Highest Score: 219* v Lancashire
Centuries: 27
Fifties: 47
Wickets: 115

When Allan Border had to return to Australia in August 1988 to prepare for his country’s forthcoming international series in Pakistan, he recommended Mark Waugh to the county as his Overseas replacement. Waugh was a virtual unknown with the Essex faithful but he was to soon become one of their adopted sons.

He produced a stunning performance on debut when he scored 103 off 94 balls in the Sunday League match against Nottinghamshire at Colchester with his second fifty coming in just 28 deliveries. When the opposition batted, he then claimed the wickets of international batsmen Tim Robinson and Derek Randall at a cost of 16 runs. And Waugh then admitted that it was his first game in four and a half months.

A star was born in Castle Park.

The county wasted no time in recruiting him as their overseas player for the next three years and he proved a wonderful signing.

England and Essex fast bowler Neil Foster recalls the arrival of the budding illustrious player. “He turns up, gets 100 on his Sunday League debut, so we were pretty well sold straight away,” he reflected.

“To come in and do that as a 23-year-old was a huge achievement really. He was a pretty quiet fella, a real homebody who wasn’t interested in the drinking or the nightlife. Certainly, when he came to Essex, he didn’t really seem interested in drinking and the English game had perhaps more of a drinking culture than Australian cricket. So he seemed pretty straight on the way he was going to run his career.

“He was very unassuming, but put him on a cricket field and you’d see the other side of him he was very, very competitive. He really fitted in with us ever so well.”

Mark Edward Waugh was born in Campsie, New South Wales on 2 June 1965. A quite brilliant batsman, his style was a joy to watch – all elegance rather than brute power. He was a more than useful medium-pace bowler and wonderfully athletic fielder who also took some brilliant catches in the gully or at slip and is rightly considered as one of the greatest fielders of all time. Many of his catches were simply breath-taking and made to look so easy.

He went on to establish himself at Test level winning 128 caps as Australia ruled the world for several years with Waugh contributing 8,029 runs @ 41.81 to play a key part in their successful reign. Twin brother Steve, older by 4 minutes, captained his country from 1997 to 2004 and the siblings proved a formidable double act in world cricket

Mark was an undemonstrative presence at the crease but his commanding batting boasted clean hitting and superbly timed strokes to work the ball around – and through – the field. His manner in the middle contrasted with his somewhat quiet and retiring public persona off the field.

Mark ended his first full season with Essex as the county’s leading run-scorer and then in 1990, aggregated more than 2,000 Championship runs that included eight centuries, two of them double hundreds. It was little surprise that he won the first of his 128 Baggy Green caps for his country that year.

He was named as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year in 1991, although he was unable to play county cricket that year due to commitments for Australia but he returned to Essex for four months the following season. Playing with trademark pomp and authority, he scored 1,253 Championship runs at an average of 78.31. Those included his highest score for the county when he hit a wonderfully entertaining and unbeaten 219 against Lancashire at Ilford during which he and Nasser Hussain shared an unbroken partnership of 347 in 64 overs setting a county record for the third wicket. Waugh then left at the end of July to link up with Australia for their Test series in Sri Lanka.

But to the delight of every Essex cricket fan, he returned in 1995 to resume his county career when he thrilled the crowds once again aggregating a combined 2,000 runs in Championship and One-Day League matches.

Ronnie Irani acknowledges the tremendous respect and fondness that everyone associated with Essex had for Mark Waugh. “Everyone warmed to him not just the players but the members and supporters as well, he was a real win at all costs player,” he said.

“He’d get up in the morning, get to the ground and all he thought about was winning. And the guy had plenty of practise, he’s been a winner throughout his career. He was fantastic as a player, sheer class. Just watching him whip the ball through leg side from off stump was fantastic. Just a total natural. Natural eye, natural flair. And he did it all simply. He said to us a lot of times, ‘If a ball comes down and I fancy hitting it I will.’ He was brilliant.”

Increasing Test match calls deemed that he would be unavailable for future county stints although there was to be a surprise a final swansong at the end of the 2002 season. With Andy Flower on duty with Zimbabwe in the ICC World Cup and Essex on the threshold of promotion back to Division One, Waugh agreed to play the final two Championship matches and two one-day fixtures.

He scored 117 against Durham in the first of those Championship matches then revealed immediately afterwards that it was the first time he had played a competitive innings since April. He then followed up with 49 and a defining 76 against Nottinghamshire at Chelmsford helping his adopted county to clinch the Division Two title and return to the top-flight.

In his 82 first-class matches for Essex during which he scored 22 centuries, Mark totalled 6,690 runs @ 69.73 whilst he also recorded five hundreds amongst his 2,292 runs from 93 List A outings. Those statistics speak volumes for his enormous talent and the impact he had on Essex.

Upon retirement, Waugh became a Test selector and is now a cricket commentator.

The Club will be hosting a virtual Members’ Forum for the very first time on Thursday 28 May.

The following Club representatives will take part in the panel discussion over the Zoom Conferencing platform, with opportunities to submit questions both in advance and during the event:

• John Faragher, Chairman

• Peter Northfield, Deputy Chairman

• Derek Bowden, Chief Executive

• Ian Patterson, Treasurer

• Ronnie Irani, Chairman of the Cricket Advisory Board

• Philip George, Essex Cricket in the Community Chair

The virtual forum will begin at 6pm and exclusively for 2020 Members, with a unique link and instruction sent via email prior to the meeting.

You can submit questions in advance of the event by 6pm on Wednesday 27 May, emailing: [email protected]

All Members with a valid email address would have now received an email from the Club with the virtual Forum announcement. This email address will also receive the unique access link ahead of the event, so please check your online Membership account if you have not received this.

Annual General Meeting Update:

Due to the exceptional circumstances which prevail as a result of COVID-19, the Club has taken the decision to defer its AGM this year.

The AGM is normally held prior to 31 May in any given year. Currently, the Club feel it is appropriate to defer until July.

No fixed date has yet been identified but it is hoped within the next three to four weeks that we should be in a position to specify a date and time.

Our next Cult Hero is regarded as one of the Club’s greatest Overseas players with over 500 appearances and a host of trophy wins during our ‘Golden Era’.

Relive some of the best moments from South African, Ken McEwan as we look back on his career at the Club.

This series is supported by Allen Ford and we thank them for their continued support.

Essex Career Stats (1974-1985)
Debut: 1 May 1974 v Nottinghamshire (County Championship)
Appearances: 556
Runs: 26,439
First Class Average: 43.37
Highest Score: 218 – 1977 v Sussex
Centuries: 65
Fifties: 129

Born in Cape Province, South Africa in 1952, the exceptionally talented batsman arrived in England in 1972 intending to play for Sussex after Tony Greig had recommended him to that county having coached the young right-handed schoolboy.

McEwan played several Second XI matches for Sussex after a brief experience with Northamptonshire but surprisingly neither of those counties pursued his services.

It proved a bad error of judgement on their part.

Essex were looking to recruit another batsman following the decision of opener Bruce Francis to remain in his Australian homeland and McEwan was invited to play in a friendly against Scotland in Perth in July 1973. His only innings in that match brought 45 runs against a far from hostile attack but the way he made them prompted Essex to offer him a contract.

He made his championship debut the following season against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge although a duck and 4 masked the wealth of talent and runs that were to subsequently become unfurled. The catalyst came with his first hundred, 119 not out against Middlesex at Ilford, and from thereon he never looked back ending the season with 1,056 runs at an average of 30.58.

In 1976 he scored 1,821 runs averaging just under 50 and was justly recognised as one of the most exciting and stylish of batsmen, entertaining crowds around the shires and having become a warm favourite with Essex followers. In 1977, his ranking went up to world-class during an astonishing run which brought him five successive centuries.

He began stealing the headlines on June 26 at Edgbaston against Warwickshire, taking 104 in a John Player League game. The following day, at Chelmsford, he scored 218 Sussex attack that ironically included Greig in its ranks who was able to admire his protégé at close quarters. It was the first time in nine years that an Essex player had scored a double-century.

He then scored a century in each innings of the match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston (102 and 116) before he completed the sequence with an unbeaten 106 not out at the expense of Gloucestershire at Southend.

Talking of style, was there ever a better exponent to have donned an Essex sweater than Ken McEwan who was sadly denied the opportunity to play Test cricket for South Africa because of the country’s political problems? A wonderful player who had the gift of making batting look so easy, his unbeaten 100 in 1977 in the Australian tourists match still ranks as one of the most outstanding innings with Test spinner Kerry O’Keefe subjected to a merciless onslaught.

McEwan eventually finished the season with eight first-class hundreds and a first-class aggregate of 1,702, an average of 51.57.

In 1979, Ken recorded his highest score, 218, against Warwickshire during a marvellous period that saw him amass 836 runs in 13 innings that helped take the county to the top of the Championship table, a position they never relinquished on their way to completing their first-ever Championship title.

He was also a wonderful one-day player and in that same year, he featured in a 124 runs partnership in 95 minutes with Graham Gooch with the South African stroking ten boundaries in his 72 helping Essex to achieve their first piece of silverware as they lifted the Benson & Hedges Cup.

McEwan always chose to dictate the bowling from the start, stylishly gathering runs rather than concentrating on defensive strategy to play himself in. Majestic at the crease and timing the ball superbly against all types of bowling, he would send it racing to the boundary particularly through mid-wicket and cover, apparently with the minimum of effort. His ability to use his feet allowed him to prove the mastery of the wiliest of spin bowlers illustrating his rich vein of talent to contend with any form of attack.

Those fortunate enough to witness McEwan at the crease will never forget his pomp and imperious presence in his successful quest of accumulating a plethora of runs for the county.

It was tragic that McEwan was unable to showcase his prowess to a wider audience via the international arena as his native South Africa were banned for Test cricket because of their political stance although their loss was Essex’s benefit for 12 summers.

He played 282 first-class matches scoring 18,088 runs at an average of 43.37 that included 52 centuries and 197 half-centuries. Ken also played in 180 Sunday League matches scoring 5531 runs at 34.78 (9 hundreds) whilst in 63 Benson & Hedges appearances he posted 1925 runs at 35.64 whilst 27 Knockout Cup matches brought him 842 runs at 35.08

His last match in an Essex sweater was against Yorkshire at Chelmsford on 15th September 1985 when he top-scored with 62 helping the county to a two wickets victory with one ball to spare that clinched their second successive Sunday League title.

Then at a relatively young age, Ken decided to go back to South Africa to return to farming leaving a wealth and host of outstanding memories for those fortunate to witness his aesthetically delightful batting prowess.

The Cult Heroes series continues with another player who was idolised by the county’s fans, and represented Australia. He joined the Club as an overseas player before having stints at Lancashire (2002-08) and Derbyshire (2009). Our latest piece profiles the Essex career of Stuart Law…

This series is supported by Allen Ford and we thank them for their continued support.

Essex Career Stats (1996-2001)
Debut: 26 April 1996 v Glamorgan (Benson & Hedges Cup)
Appearances: 213
Runs: 12,587
First Class Average: 58.88
Highest Score: 263 – 1999 v Somerset
Centuries: 41
Fifties: 51
Wickets: 61

Born in October 1968 in Herston, Queensland, Stuart Law was a prolific right-hander and a veritable run-machine in his time at Chelmsford having joined Essex in 1996.

In 92 first-class matches for the county, he scored 8,538 runs with an average of 58.88, and often carrying the batting. He played 121 List A matches and totalled 4,049 runs at 36.15.

The wonderfully consistent batsman finished his time at Essex with 30 first-class hundreds and 26 half-centuries to his name. He was also a fearless and excellent close to the wicket fielder, who could produce useful medium-pace/leg-spin bowling on occasions.

Recalling his time with Essex, he admitted that he has special memories of those years.

“I look back fondly at my time with the Club and I’ve still got some really close friends there, great friends at Essex,” he said.

“I remember the Essex faithful so well and I like to think that I repaid them in some small way for the support they gave me.

“I do hold all that time I had with the Club dearly and without that experience, I probably wouldn’t have become a better player. They gave me an opportunity and I remain ever grateful for that.

“I learned a lot about batting from guys like Graham Gooch Paul Prichard taught me a lot about the county cricket system and how tiring it is and how hard it can be. Gooch taught me how to play spin and I would be standing at second slip asking him question after question.

“As far as outstanding memories of matches, I remember the cup finals we played at Lord’s and the fans coming out in droves to support us. Throughout my time at Essex, I just wanted them to be entertained and for them to be able to walk away at the end of the day thinking that they had seen a good day’s cricket. I scored the runs I did, and I enjoyed myself both on and off the field, but I think that part of my release was to stay relaxed.

“If I wasn’t relaxed, I was never going to do any good.

“So yes, I look back fondly at my time with the Club. Every time I go back there, I’ve got a smile on my face and the memories come flooding back whenever I drive down the A414.”

It was suggested that the parting of the ways between Essex and Law at the end of the 2001 season came about in somewhat acrimonious circumstances but he commented: “People have talked about how my time at Essex ended but that was only a small part of it and it didn’t affect me as much as it affected others. Contrary to what people may say, I didn’t upset too many people.

“I went out and played cricket as hard as I possibly could and wore my heart on my sleeve. But then again, if I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been true to myself.

“The one thing that did disappoint me was that was I didn’t play in a Championship winning team because winning Division One would have been the icing on the cake. Essex did get promotion from Division Two when we finished runners-up in 2000 but in my eyes, that only made us the 11th best team in the country, that was the reality.

“But there are a lot of really good memories. I look back really at the time we played Lancashire at Old Trafford in 2001. I got two hundreds in the Championship match, the same time as Muttiah Muralitharan took 10 wickets in the game for them, and then I followed it up with a century in the one-day match.”

It’s worthwhile just recalling those particular innings. In the County Championship fixture, he scored 116 out of 226 and then 123 out of 257 before posting another century (108 in a total of 217) in a National League match that followed a day later.

“Those innings are right up there in my special memories,” he acknowledged. “There are plenty of others, such as the innings against Somerset at Chelmsford when I got my highest first-class score of 263 for example. However, the favourite is the 80 not out I scored when we beat Warwickshire by 9 wickets in the 1997 NatWest Final.

“To do that in front of a full house at Lord’s was something special and to hear the Essex faithful in full voice was just great.”

“So, yes some great times with Essex that I’ll never forget.”

Following his time at the Club, Stuart spent seven successful seasons a Lancashire where he was also named captain for the 2008 campaign.

He has now established himself as top coach with international Head Coach roles at Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and West Indies. After leaving his post with the Windies in 2019, Law was appointed Head Coach of Middlesex last year.

Following James Foster last week, we follow up the legendary wicket-keeper with undoubtedly the Club best player. The Cult Heroes series is supported by Allen Ford and this week’s profile’s the career of Graham Gooch.

Essex Career Stats (1973-1997)
First-Class Debut: 18 July 1973 v Northamptonshire
Appearances: 847
Runs: 47,237
First Class Average: 49.01
Highest Score: 275 – 1988 v Kent
Centuries: 128
Fifties: 249
Wickets: 453

No-one will dispute that Graham Gooch is the greatest batsman Essex has produced. His world-class status is confirmed by the mountain of runs he scored all around the globe and there was no more thrilling sight in the world than watching Goochie annihilate attacks with his brutal power.

He has scored more runs for Essex than anyone else. He amassed 30,701 at first-class level for the county in a 24-year career dating from 1973, and that included 94 centuries, the first being an unbeaten 114 against Leicestershire at Chelmsford when the county won by two wickets with an over to spare.

At Test level, too, he was a gigantic figure. He featured in 118 games, 34 as captain, and scored nearly 9,000 runs, including 20 centuries, at an average of 42.59. He is the only batsman to have scored a triple hundred and century in the same Test (333 and 123 against India at Lord’s in 1990) but probably his two greatest knocks were against the most fearsome attacks in the world.

Both of them were at Headingley when conditions favoured the bowlers. The first of them was in 1991 when he carried his bat for 154 in a total of 252 against a pace attack of Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Malcolm Marshall and Patrick Patterson.

A year later in another low scoring match that England won by six wickets, Essex’s favourite son struck 135 when Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed were striving to remove him.

Yet his Test career did not get off to the best of starts, being dismissed for a ‘pair’ by the Australians on his debut at Edgbaston. He was removed third ball by Max Walker in the first innings and undone by a vicious Jeff Thomson lifter in the second.

Gooch would have substantially added to his total of Test appearances had he not been banned for three years at the beginning of the 1980s for taking part in the rebel tour of South Africa.

It only served to make him readily available for Essex as he set about imposing his will on the domestic scene.

His highest Championship score was 275 against Kent at Chelmsford in 1988 but while his first-class record for the county may never be surpassed, his deeds at one-day level were also phenomenal.

He scored 8,573 runs in the Sunday League, including a dozen centuries with a top score of 176 against Glamorgan at Southend in 1983, amassed 5,176 runs in the Benson & Hedges Cup and carried off a record 22 Gold Awards in the competition. He also won nine Man of the Match awards in the NatWest Trophy in which he totalled 2,547 runs with a personal best 144 against Hampshire at Chelmsford in 1990.

But the one-day innings that gave him and Essex supporters the greatest satisfaction was the one in the Benson & Hedges Final at Lord’s. In becoming the first player to hit a century in the final, his 130 laid the foundation for victory against Surrey and signalled the county’s first trophy after a wait of 103 years.

“Obviously, there was a great relief at the end that we’d finally won a trophy after falling short of the line many, many times but on this occasion, we finally got over that line,” he relates.

“It all came together in 1979 because of not only winning that trophy but going on to win the Championship comfortably way before the end of the season. And that was the launchpad for many years of success.”

While Goochie will always be remembered for his great performances with the bat, he was also more than a useful medium-pace bowler. He captured 200 wickets for Essex at first-class level, his 7 for 14 against Worcestershire at Ilford being his best return, and 253 wickets in List A cricket.

He also proved himself a superb slip fielder.

At England level he played 125 one-day internationals, scoring eight hundreds while amassing 4,290 runs.

Since retirement from playing, Gooch has been heavily involved in a variety of posts with both Essex and England and is currently a Club Ambassador and also serves on the Cricket Advisory Group.

The first of our new Cult Heroes series, supported by Allen Ford, looks at one of the Club’s best in recent times, James Foster.

Essex Career Stats (2000-2018)
First-Class Debut: 06 September 2000 v Northamptonshire
Appearances: 638
Runs: 18,231
First Class Average: 38.05
Highest Score: 212 – 2004 v Leicestershire
Centuries: 21
Fifties: 91
Catches: 1,076
Stumpings: 155
A total of 839 first-class dismissals, second to only Brian Taylor (1,231) in the Essex record books

Today, 15 April, marks the birthday of James Foster who was born in Leytonstone in 1980. A richly talented sportsman as a youngster, at one time he was faced with the dilemma of pursuing either cricket or tennis as a career.

Cricket was his choice and after progressing through the Essex youth system, he made his bow for the county in the National League match at Derby on August 13, 2000. This was soon followed with a first-class debut at Southend against Glamorgan later that month.

And from thereon, he was to become a fixture in Essex teams across all formats soon earning his county cap in 2001.

Widely acclaimed as one of the best wicket-keeper/batsman to have played county cricket, he amassed 839 first-class dismissals, second only to Brian Taylor (1,231) in the Essex record books. He skippered the county between 2010-2015 during which time he was awarded his benefit year in 2011.

His wicket-keeping ability and the continuously sustained high-standards over his career were without equal. The only surprise was that his international calls were minimal for such a superb technician where the ball seemed attracted to his gloves like metal to a magnet.

He had no equal, particularly when standing up to the stumps. Asked by the media for the umpteenth time if he knew why he was being overlooked once again from another international squad that just had been announced, he shrugged his shoulders. “The selectors must have their reasons”, he responded. That brought a reply from one well-respected hack, “It’s a pity they don’t share them with you and the rest of us, then.”

Incredibly Foster only won seven Test caps in addition to five T20 and 11 ODI appearances for England, featuring on tours of Australia, India and Sri Lanka, as well as the 2009 ICC World Twenty20.

However, England’s loss played into the hands of Essex for whom Foster played a total of 638 games across all formats, This included scoring 18,321 runs @ 33.39, with 21 centuries and the highest score of 212 against Leicestershire in 2004.

Foster was an integral part of the Club’s success during the noughties, including the Pro40 League in 2005 and 2006, Friends Provident Trophy win in 2008. Towards the end of his playing career at the Club, the icing on the cake was his role in securing the County Championship title in 2017.

“The Friends Provident Trophy triumph and the Championship title win are really special memories,” he said. “It’s a great occasion to play in a Final and win, so the euphoria of winning made it a super experience and it’s a real treasured memory- unrivalled. Then the title success in 2017 was unbelievable, another really special time.”

One of the matches on route to that 2017 triumph holds a special place in his personal memory bank.

“The win against Middlesex at Chelmsford ranks amongst the best victory that I’ve ever been involved in,” he said proudly. “Taking six wickets in the last session and the final one with only 8 balls to spare was breath-taking.

“We had to work hard throughout the Middlesex second innings but the relief when we got that tenth wicket was amazing. You could sense the tension amongst the crowd as we started to chip away at the wickets after tea and that created a brilliant atmosphere, so to get that last wicket at the death was brilliant. We had lost a day to rain earlier in the match but the euphoria at the end was something I don’t think I’d experienced before in County Cricket.

“It was also a day/night game played with a pink ball so that was different. Overall, fantastic memory and will always be my favourite victory that I’ve ever been involved in during in my career. We had a little bit of a break in our fixtures afterwards, so we had a nice time to go and celebrate that one!

In 2018, Fozzy left the club. “ It has been a real privilege to play for my home county and I am extremely proud to have represented England,” he stated.

“Thank you to all the Essex players for making it such an enjoyable changing room. What I appreciated most at the club was the way coaches, management, support staff, stewards and supporters have always made my family feel so welcome at the club, for that, I am truly grateful.

He has now carved out a successful career in coaching across the globe in major competitions such as the Big Bash and Pakistan Super League.

Cult Heroes will feature on essexcricket.org.uk each week, looking at those players who delighted the crowd in their own special way. Next Wednesday will be a chance to look back on the career of Stuart Law in an Essex shirt…