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Simon Harmer has won May’s PCA Player of the Month, receiving 62% of the vote following an outstanding month for the South African.

The 30-year-old was shortlisted alongside Warwickshire captain Jeetan Patel and Somerset pair Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton but the off-spinner blew away the field in the fans vote.

The nominees for the May award were selected via the PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings for the calendar month with the poll taking place on the PCA and Sky Sports websites. Harmer flew into contention after taking a staggering 19 wickets in two Specsavers County Championship fixtures to end the month, perfect timing for being fresh in the memory for the supporters vote.

Harmer ran through the Kent team on the final day of domestic cricket in the month by taking eight wickets for 98 runs from 32.5 overs to hand Essex a second consecutive Championship victory which moved them into fifth place in Division One.

With well over half of the vote, Harmer was a clear winner and while he admits it has taken a few red-ball games to get into the groove, he was pleased to win the accolade following Liam Dawson’s award for the April Player of the Month.

“My family are big supporters so I am sure they will have been calling some favours in to get some votes from South Africa,” said Harmer. “I am very grateful for everybody who did vote and it is always nice to get some recognition.

“Our four-day cricket started slowly for us but we have started to string some results together so it was nice to end the month with back-to-back four-day wins.

“We have a massive game against Yorkshire coming up which is the start of playing a lot of the teams who are above us in the table so hopefully we can build on the last two games. Yorkshire are a strong side so we are going to have to play some good cricket and hopefully our batters can cash in and who knows, maybe Jamie Porter will be top of the pops next month.”

Harmer is currently the top wicket taker in the Championship with 29 scalps to his name, which has taken him to second position in the Championship MVP and sixth in the Overall Rankings. The MVP formula was designed specifically by the players in conjunction with the PCA to reward match-winning performances, something Harmer is accustomed to in his role as the Eagles premier spinner.

“The pitches at Chelmsford have been quite spin friendly and it’s always nice to capitalise because you don’t know what will happen at Yorkshire this week. When there are wickets on offer then it’s nice to get stuck in.

“There are a lot of factors as to why I have been consistent, the pitches at Chelmsford do generally turn and if your batters are putting in good performances and big runs on the board then it is a lot easier for spinners to be attacking and look to take wickets so there are a lot of different factors.”

“For most counties the Championship is the top of the priority list and we have had a decent start but we are still only four games in and the thing is about the Championship is you cannot really afford to fall behind because when you do there is normally one team who runs away with it. We did it in 2017 and Surrey did it last season. Somerset have got off to a really good start but hopefully we can stick it to them when we play against them in a few weeks time.

Essex v Kent
Specsavers County Championship
Monday 27 May – Thursday 30 May
The Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford

Essex Team: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence, Ravi Bopara, Ryan ten Doeschate (c), Michael Pepper (wk), Simon Harmer, Peter Siddle, Jamie Porter, Sam Cook.

Kent Team: Sean Dickson, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly (c), Daniel Bell-Drummond, Heino Kuhn, Wiaan Mulder, Ollie Robinson (wk), Darren Stevens, Happy Podmore, Matthew Milnes, Imran Qayyum.

Toss: Uncontested – Kent elected to bowl

Umpires: Michael Burns & Robert Robinson

Result: Essex win by 113 runs

Day Four: Match Highlights

Day Four Reaction: Simon Harmer

Day Four: Close of Play Report

Simon Harmer spun Essex to a comfortable 113 run victory over Kent in their County Championship Division One clash at The Cloudfm County Ground.

The South African off-spinner returned figures of 8 for 98 from 32.5 overs in the visitors second innings, bowling unchanged from the 10th over.

Kent were left a target of 338 but never mounted a serious challenge as they were undone by Harmer’s variety and guile and were bowled out for 224 in the final session.

It was the 30 year-old’s third haul of five-wickets or more in an innings this season and earned him a match return of 11 for 169 from 67.5 overs.

He has now taken 29 wickets in the Championship this summer, the highest by any bowler in the country this season so far.

Only Daniel Bell-Drummond was able to defy him for a substantial amount of time. Coming in at the fall of the second wicket with the total on 50 in the 18th over, he batted resolutely to score 81 before he was the last man out.

Bell-Drummond’s valiant effort consumed 176 deliveries and included 10 boundaries and fittingly, it was Harmer who claimed his scalp by bowling him five minutes short of the final scheduled hour.

Harmer started on his course of destruction by removing Zak Crawley and Joe Denly before lunch as well as holding a slip catch to leave Kent 60 for 3 at the lunch break.

After the interval, Harmer continued to weave his magic even though Darren Stevens broke the shackles to strike two sixes while making 32 from 34 balls.

Kent’s most productive partnership featured Bell-Drummond and Heino Kuhn who put on 75 together in 23 overs for the fourth wicket, but Kuhn was given two lives before suffering the ignominy of falling lbw when offering no stroke whilst facing a Harmer delivery.

By tea, Kent had reached 188 for 6 still requiring a further 150 runs for victory with a minimum of 30 overs at their disposal.

But six overs after the interval, Stevens (32) drove to Dan Lawrence at mid-wicket to become another Harmer victim and within another eight overs, the match was over as Harmer completed his rout.

His match-winning contribution came after Essex had added another 25 runs in the morning session before deciding to declare on 206 for 7.

It was one that will send the County into their match with Yorkshire at Headingley next Monday with renewed confidence, having completed back-to-back Championship wins following their success against Nottinghamshire a fortnight ago in Chelmsford.

Day Four: Tea Report

Daniel Bell-Drummond and Heino Kuhn kept Essex at bay for 23 overs whilst putting on 75 to take the total to 126 before Kent lost their fourth wicket.

Kuhn departed in embarrassing fashion as he was given out leg before wicket to Simon Harmer without offering a stroke soon after the off-spinner had switched to bowling around the wicket.

Bell-Drummond went onto complete a fighting half-century containing seven fours, but was to lose two more partners before the tea break.

Ollie Robinson was snapped up at short leg by Ravi Bopara to give Harmer his fourth wicket and Wiaan Mulder fell to a fine catch by Michael Pepper without scoring to give Sam Cook his first success of the innings.

In the final over before tea with the score 188 for 6, Darren Stevens struck a four and a six from successive Harmer deliveries to reach the break on 19 not out. Bell-Drummond had made 67 from 135 balls with Kent needing a further 150 runs from a minimum of 30 overs to reach their victory target.

Day Four: Lunch Report

Simon Harmer was making the biggest impact as Essex pressed for victory against Kent in the Specsavers County Championship match at The Cloudfm County Ground.

After the visitors were set a target of 338, the off-spinner picked up two wickets and also held a slip catch as Kent reached lunch on 60 for 3.

Harmer struck in his second over with the total on 34 to separate the openers by trapping Zak Crawley lbw for 18, just four deliveries after Ryan ten Doeschate had failed to claim a catch at short-leg.

The spinner then had Joe Denly taken by Nick Browne at deep mid-wicket for 11 immediately after the 50 was reached. This was after Denly had earlier survived a stumping chance which would have provided Michael Pepper with his sixth victim.

Harmer is also recognised as one of the safest slip fielders and he underlined the point to get rid of Sean Dickson to provide Peter Siddle with his first wicket of the innings to leave Kent in serious trouble at 51 for 3.

Another wicket should have fallen immediately afterwards when Heino Kuhn was put down in the slips by Tom Westley when he edged Siddle, but he and Daniel Bell-Drummond survived the final minutes before lunch which arrived with the visitors thinking in terms of avoiding defeat rather than pushing for victory.

Earlier in the morning Essex added a further 25 runs after resuming play on 181 for 6, but the hosts lost Michael Pepper for 7 who was trapped in front of his stumps by Matt Milnes.

Harmer (20 not out) and Siddle (3 not out) were in the middle when the declaration arrived to turn the home sides attention from batting to claiming ten wickets for a second successive victory.

Day Three: Match Highlights

Day Three Reaction: Andre Nel

Day Three: Close of Play Report

A rain interrupted third day ended with Essex holding a lead of 312 over Specsavers County Championship Division One rivals, Kent with four innings remaining.

The day’s action at The Cloudfm County Ground finished with Essex on 175 for six after Alastair Cook again proving the mainstay of the innings.

The opener contributed 90 of those as he just missed out on claiming two centuries in a match for the first time in his career, having scored 125 on the opening day.

Cook was denied his back-to-back tons when he was the sixth batsman out, after being caught in the slips by Sean Dickson off Wiaan Mulder.

His latest effort spanned 160 balls, containing a dozen fours, in what was the type of disciplined knock that has characterised his career.

Nick Browne made 19 of an opening stand of 55, while Tom Westley and Ryan ten Doeschate perished in the 20’s.

Daniel Lawrence made 15 but Ravi Bopara failed to trouble the scorers. Both fell in successive deliveries from Harry Podmore as Zak Crawley held on to slip catches.

The second of those to send Bopara on his way was a magnificent one-handed effort from Crawley diving to his right, a dismissal which was followed by the first stoppage.

Podmore’s impact came with the last two balls of the 42nd over and when play resumed 25 minutes later with Essex 130-4, he was denied his hat-trick by Cook.

Shortly after Cook’s dismissal the arrival of more rain put paid to further play, on a day when 37 overs were lost to the weather.

Podmore has taken 2-48 from 13 overs while the remaining wickets were shared by Mulder, Darren Stevens, Matt Milnes and Joe Denly.

Essex will have been more disappointed by the adverse weather and, if the rain holds off tomorrow, they are likely to search for quick runs to leave themselves with enough time to go in search of a second Championship win of the season.

Day Three: Tea Report

Essex added 96 runs whilst losing five wickets in a rain-affected afternoon session.

Tom Westley departed soon after lunch with only four runs added when he fell leg before wicket to Matt Milnes for 20.

Alastair Cook, however, looked secure and unruffled. His seventh boundary took him to his half-century from 98 deliveries and he had moved into the 70’s when he lost two partners with the total on 130.

Dan Lawrence edged to Zak Crawley at third slip when facing Harry Pridmore after making 15 and with his next delivery, the bowler removed Ravi Bopara, again with the assistance of Crawley. Bopara edged an outswinging delivery and Crawley pulled off a magnificent one-handed catch in the slip cordon.

Those successes came with the last two balls of the 42nd over at which point, play was held up by rain for 25 minutes.

Cook was to deny Pridmore his hat-trick while Ryan ten Doeschate, his new partner, quickly moved into double figures with the help of two boundaries. But having made 22 and with Essex leading by exactly 300 runs, Doeschate fell to Joe Denly.

Cook was 10 runs short of his second century of the match when he was sixth out with the total on 175, caught in the slips by Sean Dickson off the bowling of Wiaan Mulder. The opener’s 90 included a dozen fours and lasted 160 balls.

Soon afterwards, rain emerged again and tea was taken with the score on 181 for 6 when the lead was 312.

Day Three: Lunch Report

Alastair Cook was amongst the runs again as Essex built up a substantial lead in their County Championship Division One duel with Kent at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Following his 125 in the first innings, he batted throughout the morning session to reach 49 runs from a total of 85 for 1 at which point the county held an overall lead of 216 runs.

Cook has so far found the boundary on 6 occasions and has faced 89 balls.

The only setback that the home side suffered before the interval was the dismissal of Nick Browne. He had got the scoreboard moving in the third over when he drove a ball from Harry Podmore to the boundary.

Browne was given an extra life early on when he was put down by Matt Milnes at cover point, attacking the bowling of Harry Podmore when he had made eight out of the 11 runs on the board.

But after an hour and 28 minutes at the crease, he fell leg before wicket to Darren Stevens for 19 with the total on 55 in the 22nd over.

Tom Westley replaced Browne and reached lunch on 16 with the assistance of two boundaries.

Day Two: Match Highlights

Day Two Reaction: Michael Pepper

Day Two: Close of Play Report

Michael Pepper claimed the major honours as Essex dominated the second day of the County Championship match against Kent at The Cloudfm County Ground.

The 20-year-old wicket-keeper, appearing in his first match since recovering from an appendix operation, picked up five catches as the visitors, who were replying to a total of 313, were bowled out for 182 with the final ball of the day.

The pick of his successes was an acrobatic dive to his right to get rid of Harry Podmore, but it was not all plain sailing for the youngster.

Just before the close, a delivery from Jamie Porter slipped through his gloves and struck him in the face, the game being held up for several minutes while he received medical treatment, but he resumed his position to see the last wicket pair of Matt Milnes and Imran Qayyum bat for 18 overs and put on 45, the best partnership of the visitors innings.

The final wicket partnership turned out to be vital as Kent avoided the follow-on and spared their side from real embarrassment.

Earlier in the day, resuming on 303 for 8, Essex lost their last two wickets of Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter for the addition of 10 runs. Their departures meant the county lost their last seven wickets for 38 runs.

However, Kent’s reply saw the visitors lose Sean Dickson in the first over as he edged Porter to Harmer at second slip, and from then on Kent were always struggling.

Their progress was slow, emphasised by Zak Crawley who needed 28 deliveries to get off the mark and consumed 67 deliveries in making 15 before turning Harmer into the leg trap where Ravi Bopara took the catch.

Joe Denly faced 49 balls whilst making 20 before becoming the first of Pepper’s victims, meanwhile Daniel Bell-Drummond needed 82 deliveries to compile 28 runs.

As Kent continued to crawl at the rate of two an over, Ollie Robinson stood firm for 85 deliveries for his 22 while Wiaan Mulder faced 58 balls for his 19 runs.

The accuracy of the Essex attack told its own story. Harmer sent down 35 overs, claiming 3 for 72 and Peter Siddle took 3 for 29 in 17 overs.

Porter and Sam Cook proved just as miserly while finishing with 2-34 and 2-28 from 20 and 16.2 overs respectively.

It was Cook, who conceded just one scoring stroke in his opening six overs, who brought the Kent innings to an end when he bowled Milnes for 23, leaving Imran Qayyum unbeaten on 14 in a last wicket partnership spanning more than an hour.

Essex will start their second innings on Day Three with a lead of 131 and nursing high hopes of pressing home their advantage to claim their second Championship win of the season.

Day Two: Tea Report

Having resumed after lunch on 42 for 3, Kent lost their next wicket to a Peter Siddle delivery with the score on 79.

The Australian paceman produced a delivery that cut back and had Heino Kuhn caught behind by Michel Pepper. He had contributed 20 of a stand that advanced the total by 37 in 13 overs.

Pepper was to pocket his third catch of the innings when Sam Cook collected a well-deserved wicket by removing Daniel Bell-Drummond whose 28 had spanned 82 balls.

That left Kent 98 for 5 before the 100 was eventually raised in the 50th over.
Ollie Robinson and Wiaan Mulder were now left shoring up the innings and they stayed together until tea with the score 118 for 5.

At that stage, Robinson had crawled to 13 from 71 balls while his partner had also progressed to 13.

At the break, Kent were still 195 runs behind in an innings that as so far spanned 58 overs.

Day Two: Lunch Report

After resuming on 303 for 8, Essex added just 10 more runs before their innings was brought to a conclusion by Kent in the County Championship clash at The Cloudfm County Ground.

But the home side’s bowlers then hit back to claim 3 wickets before lunch as the visitors reached 42 for 3 at the break.

Jamie Porter was trapped leg before by Harry Podmore for 1, giving the bowler his 100th first-class wicket, before Matt Milnes claimed a similar dismissal against Simon Harmer, who had scored10, to leave Essex 313 all out.

Then with the sixth ball of their first innings, Kent lost Sean Dickson when he edged Jamie Porter to Harmer at second slip without a run on the board.

It was not until the fifth over that the visitors scored their first runs when Joe Denly drove Porter to the boundary. Meanwhile opener Zak Crawley needed 28 balls to get off the mark.

He was lucky to survive on several occasions as Sam Cook beat the bat without reward during an opening spell of six overs, five of which were maidens.

He was replaced by Harmer and the arrival of the spinner had the desired effect.

Denly was caught behind by Michael Pepper when he edged an intended drive to the keeper and then Crawley fell in the final over before lunch.

He had made 15 from 67 balls when he turned a delivery from Harmer into the hands of leg slip where Ravi Bopara took a simple catch to leave Kent 42 for 3 after 23.1 overs.

Day One: Match Highlights

Day One Reaction: Ravi Bopara

Day One: Close of Play Report

Alastair Cook recorded the 65th first-class century of his career as Essex ran up a total of 303 for 8 after an uncontested toss on the opening day of their County Championship Division One match against Kent at The Cloudfm County Ground.

He struck 125 from 242 balls with 14 fours before he was run-out and in doing so collected his 22nd century for Essex in what was his 100th game for the county.

It was his first Championship hundred since his 193 against Middlesex in 2017 and there was an inevitability about it from the start of his innings.
Displaying a resolution and unflappable temperament that has been his trademark over the years, Cook never looked in any trouble against the six bowlers employed by the visitors.

He scored freely off his legs in typical style either whipping the ball in the arc of midwicket or deftly turning the ball off his hips.

So in control was he it came as a surprise when he was removed from the scene and then it needed a run out to send him on his way.

Attempting a second run, he was inches short of making his ground when Sean Dickson, running from the slips to square leg, threw the ball to keeper Oliver Robinson to complete the dismissal.

It was the first time he had been dismissed in this manner while playing first-class cricket for Essex and his partnership with Ravi Bopara yielded 130 after the pair came together at the fall of the third wicket on 145.

Bopara reached a fine half-century, containing 7 fours, from 97 deliveries but needed a slice of luck in doing so. He was dropped at first slip by Dixon on 35 and went on to make 61 before falling lbw to Darren Stevens.

Cook’s departure signalled a Kent fightback with the new ball and he was the first of 5 wickets to go down in 11 overs while 26 runs were added.

Ryan ten Doeschate, after having a let-off with a single against his name when Harry Podmore failed to accept a return catch, fell to the same bowler as Dickson held a slip catch.

And then Michael Pepper, appearing in his first game of the season following an appendix operation, edged Stevens to Robinson. Peter Siddle then departed with the total on 301, again Robinson holding an edge offered against Matt Milnes for a single.

Milnes finished the day with figures of 3 for 56 from 19 overs while Stevens picked up 3 for 53 from 24 overs. It was Stevens who made an impact in the morning session, first having Nick Browne caught behind for 24 and then pulling off a superb catch low down midwicket to get rid of Tom Westley.

Daniel Lawrence scored 42 out of a third-wicket stand of 74 with Cook, an effort including 7 fours, before he was bowled by Milnes with the first delivery of a new spell.

Simon Harmer, still to get off the mark, and Jamie Porter, who has a single, will resume the Essex innings in the morning.

Day One: Tea Report

Essex reached the tea interval on 197 for 3 having added 105 runs for the loss of Dan Lawrence in the afternoon session.

Lawrence survived a difficult chance to Zak Crawley in the slips but, on 42, he was bowled by Matt Milnes with the first delivery of the pace bowler’s new spell.

Cook meanwhile looked rock solid and after completing his half-century from 128 balls, having moved up a gear with two consecutive fours in an over from Milnes.

He had been joined by Ravi Bopara who quickly found the boundary with a powerful drive.

The 50 stand arrived with the help of two byes, it consuming 13 overs and at the interval, Cook and Bopara had accumulated an unbroken stand worth 52 runs in 14 overs.

Cook was then on 78, an innings that has so far spanned 175 balls while Bopara had moved to 23 from 50 deliveries.

Day One: Lunch Report

Alastair Cook batted throughout the morning session as Essex reached lunch on 92 for 2 after an uncontested toss in their County Championship Division One match with Kent at the Cloudfm County Ground.

He reached the interval on 35 and never looked in any trouble against the four bowlers used by the visitors.

Cook shared an opening stand of 41 with Nick Browne who had scored 24 when Darren Stevens found the edge as the batsman played forward to be caught by wicket-keeper Ollie Robinson.

Tom Westley survived a confident leg before wicket appeal in the same over before driving the same bowler to the boundary.

However, Westley fell victim to a superb catch by Stevens at mid-wicket to provide Matt Milnes with success.

Cook has so far faced 75 deliveries while Dan Lawrence brought a much-needed tempo to proceedings with three boundaries while arriving at the break with 14 having faced 23 balls.

Varun Chopra has been named the DeVines Player of the Month for April after picking up 68% of the votes, beating Peter Siddle, Tom Westley and Robbie White to the award.

The opening batsman was in lethal form during April, scoring back to back centuries in the Royal London One-Day Cup against Glamorgan and Middlesex, whilst scoring a further century against Gloucestershire later in the compeition.

In what was a disappointing campaign for The Eagles, Varun was the one of the shining lights and entertained the crowd at The Cloudfm County Ground with his strong batting performances, averaging an extremely impressive 84.20 in the One-Day Cup.

Essex have named a 14-man squad for the County Championship fixture with Kent which starts on Monday at The Cloudfm Ground.

The squad includes all-rounder Ravi Bopara who has recovered from the toe injury that kept him out of the team that beat Nottinghamshire. Wicket-keeper Michael Pepper also returns to the squad after recovering from an appendix operation which has kept him out of the Essex side so far this year.

Following a defeat to Hampshire and a draw with Surrey in their first two Championship matches, Essex Head Coach Anthony McGrath admitted that the win against Nottinghamshire was very welcome, saying: “It was good to get that first win on the board and hopefully we can build on from that with a solid performance when we meet Kent and get our Championship campaign really rolling.

“I was particularly delighted for the players with that win because it was reward for all their hard work. I know the amount of effort that they put in to achieve that result both in their preparation ahead of the game and during the match.

“Although we won by eight wickets, I felt it was much tighter than that. The game faded and flowed but over the three days, I thought we deserved our victory. On a pitch that wasn’t easy to bat on, we probably had the three telling partnerships which ultimately led to victory.

“There are moments in any game where there are fine lines and you have to win those crucial moments and that’s what we did. Once Simon Harmer got to work in the Notts second innings it changed the complexion of things helping us to take 6 wickets for 16 runs and firmly retrieve the initiative for us.

“If you keep doing the right things, you’ll get the results you want and if we keep concentrating on our skills levels and keep to our beliefs, then I’m sure we’ll be successful.

“Kent will offer us another stiff challenge, but we are fully prepared for that and looking forward to the game.”

Essex squad to face Kent:

Ryan ten Doeschate (captain) (27)
Ravi Bopara (25)
Nick Browne (10)
Alastair Cook (26)
Sam Cook (16)
Simon Harmer (11)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Rishi Patel (12)
Michael Pepper (wicket-keeper) (19)
Jamie Porter (44)
Matt Quinn (94)
Peter Siddle (64)
Tom Westley (21)
Robbie White (wicket-keeper) (4)

Michael Pepper was lying in a hospital bed on the opening day of the season, minus his appendix, when he heard the news that Adam Wheater had broken his thumb.

As the No. 2 wicketkeeper, Pepper should have been the next cab off the rank. However, he was in no position to take up the gauntlet. Not that there was any sympathy from his team-mates. “I woke up to messages saying I needed to come back,” he says. “They were the first messages I received: ‘Just get up and come back’.

“I couldn’t believe it at the time. It was only about a week between my appendix operation and Wheater getting injured. It was obviously unfortunate timing, but there was nothing you could do about it.”

Essex acted swiftly and used the loan system to bring in Robbie White from Middlesex, and he has played the last two Specsavers County Championship matches as well as the entire Royal London One-Day Cup campaign. However, he has been named in the Essex squad for the four-day game against Kent at Chelmsford following the lengthy recuperation.

“The goal was to get back in the first team as quick as I could,” he says. “Firstly, to get as fit as I could, then if I scored runs in the Seconds I knew I’d have a decent chance. It’s actually taken longer that I thought it would to come back, but I guess it always does with injuries.

“I needed to get back to full fitness, just little things like spending the whole day in the field, something my body needed to get used to again.”

The 20-year-old has hit form at the right time. Last week he scored back-to-back centuries in the 2nd XI’s three-day friendly against the Club Cricket Conference XI at Billericay. “It was important to get time in the middle,” he says. And he certainly got that: he took five hours over his 109 in the first innings, and just over half that for an unbeaten 101 in the second.

“The first innings was certainly a grind,” Pepper admits. “I felt I had to work quite hard for my runs. I broke it down into smaller sessions rather than try and bat the whole day. That helped me just bat time. It helped me get my confidence back up, too.”

He was involved in big partnerships in both innings: 214 for the sixth wicket in the first with Aron Nijjar, who contributed 118, and another 214, this one unbroken for the second wicket, with Varun Chopra, who was also 101 not out at the declaration.

“It took me about four and a half weeks after I came out of hospital to be able to run without any pain,” he says. “Even just light jogging took a good three weeks. The knock-on effects to my body were quite major. It took a while getting back in condition again.”

His appendix had started grumbling soon after he returned from Essex’s pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi and steadily got worse. It perforated on the morning he was due to play against Cambridge MCCU in late March and he spent the eight days in hospital following an emergency operation.

Things had been going well before that. He had spent the winter based in Cape Town playing for Western Province and receiving one-on-one tuition from Mark Boucher, the long-time South African wicket-keeper. “It was amazing to work with arguably one of the best keepers ever,” he says. “He taught me a lot.”

Pepper made his Essex debut last season in one of two Championship appearances as replacement for the injured Wheater, as well as turning out in four Vitality Blast matches. “It showed me what I needed to do to be able to play at that level,” he says. “It made me work harder and definitely whetted my appetite to play more.”

Michael has been named in the 14-man squad for the Championship match against Kent starting on Monday. View the full match preview including the squad announcement – here.

With the phenomenal success currently being enjoyed by spinner Simon Harmer, it is an opportunity to reflect on a few other top-class spin kings in the past 60 years who have made such an indelible impression to the Club over the years.

Even before that time, Essex have been blessed with some leading “twirlers” who served with such distinction. This includes the likes of cousins Peter and Ray Smith who claimed 1,610 and 1,317 wickets respectively, Bill Greensmith with a career haul of 720 victims for the county, Jack O’Connor who amassed 537 scalps and Joe Hipkin who had taken 518 wickets by the time his career had come to a close in 1931.

But looking back through time, starting with the 60’s, we focus on half-a-dozen more bowlers of outstanding talent and remembered with fondness and admiration but all those fortunate enough to see them play.

David Acfield (1966-1986)
Born in Chelmsford in 1947, David made his Essex debut against Kent at Westcliff in 1966 whilst a student at Cambridge University. He took 53 wickets that summer which included 25 for the County to establish himself as an integral member of the first team squad.

David was capped in 1970 and showed his value as a one-day player when he took 5 for 14 against Northamptonshire in a John Player League match. He toured East Africa with MCC three years later and then represented MCC against the Champion County, Hampshire, at Lord’s in 1974 and MCC against West Indies two years later.

He could count himself as very unfortunate not to win major international honours but he was able to play a significant part in helping the county win a string of trophies. Able to turn the ball sufficiently to unhinge batsmen, he also had the virtues of being able to bowl consistently with command of line and length.

The off-spinner played for the County from 1966 until 1986 and formed a highly effective spin partnership with Ray East.

His best year with the ball came in 1981 when he collected 76 first-class wickets @ 22.61 whilst he also produced an amazing spell of bowling two years later that led Essex to victory against Somerset at Taunton. Chasing 255 in three and half hours, the home side succumbed to David’s guile as the bowler enjoyed a remarkable spell of five wickets for one run in 13 deliveries to finish with 6 for 34 and provide the defining contribution in the 141 runs victory.

Although batting was not his forte, taking wickets certainly was. By the time he retired from playing in 1986, he had taken 855 first-class wickets @ 27.49 in 378 matches for Essex that included 10 wickets in a match on 4 occasions together with 30 instances of 5 wickets or more in an innings.

A talented sportsman, he represented the British fencing team at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won the Gold Medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. Following a role on the CLub’s Committee and Treasurer, he was named as the Club President in November 2017.

John Childs (1985-1996)
Born in Plymouth in August 1951, John had spent ten seasons with Gloucestershire taking 421 wickets for the West Country County but at the age of 33, he was released. He made the move to Essex where he suffered a poor first season taking only five costly wickets. The County though retained every faith and belief in the slow left-arm bowler. After spending much of the winter at Lord’s working with Fred Titmus, the former Middlesex and England off-spinner and the MCC Head Coach, Don Wilson, John was transformed into the most successful spinner in the country enjoying many successful seasons.

Explaining the change in his technique, the slow left-arm bowler said at the time: “Pitches have got slower in the 10 years since I started, and my basic problem in 1985 was that, without the confidence of taking wickets, I had been running up and just ‘putting’ the ball there. The result was that even when the ball was turning, it had so little pace batsmen could generally adjust and play it off the pitch.” Titmus described the flaw in a way which will strike a chord in all spin bowlers lacking confidence. “He was bowling as though he half expected the ball to come back
like a bullet!” he commented.

A quicker approach to the crease and a flatter trajectory brought John 89 wickets in 1986 becoming the leading English qualified bowler by some distance that summer. He continued to prove a formidable opponent for batsmen assisting Essex to three Championship titles as his performance with the ball proved so defining on so many occasions and he teamed up with Peter Such to forge one of the most effective spin partnerships in the country.

An orthodox spinner, John’s personal achievements were acknowledged in 1987 when he was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year having helped his county carry off another championship title. The following year, he became England’s oldest Test debutant for 41 years when, at the age of 36 years and 320 days, he made his international debut against West Indies before winning a second cap that summer. He was named in the party for the winter trip to Indian but the tour was cancelled on political grounds and he was not picked again, although he was named in the England XII at Headingley in 1992.

His career-best return with ball was 8 for 58 and on 6 occasions he took 10 wickets in a match whilst he could also boast of 31 occasions when he took five wickets in an innings for Essex. By the time he finally retired in 1996 well into his forties, this most popular of cricketers had taken 604 wickets in 214 matches for Essex and he then moved into a coaching role at Chelmsford and then became Academy Director.

Ray East (1965-1984)
Ray was a slow left-arm bowler with abundant ability who took 1,010 wickets @ 25.54 in his 19 seasons with Essex yet failed to win International recognition for his country. Born in Manningtree in 1947, he represented Essex from 1965 until 1984 and claimed 10 wickets-in–a-match hauls on 10 occasions and 5 wickets or more in an innings on 49 occasions with best figures of 8 for 30. He was also a useful batsman with a career aggregate of 7,103 runs during his 405 first-class matches for Essex. Add into those statistics 269 wickets in 280 List ‘A’ matches together with 1139 runs and that illustrates the value of this wonderful servant to the cause of Essex Cricket.

One of the most popular characters to ever play county cricket, Ray combined his on-field wit and antics with a series of superb performances with the ball and for many years he formed an effective ‘spin twin’ partnership with David Acfield that, in 1979, helped the County to finally unlock a trophy cabinet that had laid dusty and bare since its introduction to the County Championship back in 1895. Further silverware followed a-plenty with the fun-loving Ray playing a significant part.

His best Championship bowling return in a match was recorded against Warwickshire when he claimed match figures of 15-115 and although he only made one first-class hundred, he played many notable innings when runs were desperately needed.

In 1977, he took 8 for 30 against Nottinghamshire at Ilford which was to prove the best figures of any bowler that summer. Later in the season, at Leyton, he took 8 Derbyshire wickets for 57 runs during the only 45 minutes play that was possible on the first two days and in the second game of that festival, he demolished Glamorgan with figures of 8 for 90 and then 4 for 23.

Ray’s most successful season came in 1978 and coincided with his benefit year when he accounted for 92 batsmen yet he failed to win an England cap despite performing the hat-trick in a Test trial game. Unfortunately, his career corresponded with that of the brilliant Derek Underwood who was England’s first choice left-armer for more than a decade.

Ray proved to be a difficult bowler to face in one-day cricket as John Player League figures of 5 for 18 against Worcestershire at Harlow and 6 for 18 against Yorkshire at Hull testify although he once went for 79 in 8 overs in a Sunday League match. He also chipped in with welcome runs and in 1982; he and Stuart Turner set a new tenth wicket partnership record of 81 in the Nat West Trophy playing against Yorkshire at Headingley.

Ray retired from first-class cricket in 1984 and he took up a position with the County of coach and Second XI captain before becoming the County’s Youth Development Officer in 1988. He also played for Suffolk, in 1991 and 1992, and ultimately became cricket coach at Ipswich School

Robin Hobbs (1961-1975)
Robin first came to the attention of Essex when playing for Chingford and was offered a contract to play county cricket, Over the ensuing years, he became one of the most likeable and popular players to play for the County. He was a leg-spinner at a time when that absorbing style of bowling became something of a dying art and its cause was not helped by the introduction of limited-overs cricket. In fact, by the time Robin left Essex in 1975, he was the only genuine leg-break bowler in county cricket. He proved a very effective perform in both three-day and one-day cricket

Born in 1942, he made his Essex first team debut in May 1961and by the end of the season, 12 matches had produced 23 wickets for the young spinner. However, it was not until 1963 that he established himself in the senior side and soon began to attract the attention of the international selectors as his career progressed with some rapidity.

The following season of 1964 proved a highly-rewarding season for the player. He took 10 wickets against Leicestershire at Grace Road, was awarded his county cap and was selected by the MCC for the winter tour of South Africa.

Robin bowled flighted leg-breaks and well disguised googlies from a six pace run and was a fine and dependable county player. In 1966, he took 13 wickets in the match with Glamorgan at Swansea in a year that saw him claim 88 victims and two years later, at Ilford, the Welsh county’s bowlers were on the receiving end when Robin struck his maiden first-class century.

He took 12 wickets in his 7 Test appearances for England and continued to be a prolific bowler in the county game as illustrated in 1970 when he captured 102 wickets at 21.40 in all matches. He was a useful lower-order batsman who astonished everyone by recording the fastest first-class century for 55 years (44 minutes) when playing for Essex against the Australians in 1975. His second fifty took just 12 minutes.

On another occasion, he and Stuart Turner posted 192 for the eighth wicket at Ilford against Glamorgan in 1968 with both batsmen recording maiden centuries. Robin was also a fine fielder in the covers.

After retiring from Essex, he played minor county cricket with Suffolk before surprisingly re-emerging in 1979 to captain Glamorgan for a three-year spell. His final match for the Welsh side was against Essex at Colchester when he rounded off an excellent first-class career by taking 5 for 85 in the second innings.

During his first-class career, he took 10 wickets in a match on five occasions and five wickets in an innings 32 times illustrating his accuracy and skilful ability to vary the flight and pace. He was the last English leg-spin bowler to take 1,000 first-class wickets in his career. In all, he took 1,099 victims at an impressive 27.09.

He is still a regular and popular visitor to the County’s matches.

Peter Such (1990-2001)
By the time he announced his retirement from the game in 2001, the off-spinner had a Test and first-class career count of 886 wickets; 573 were in Essex colours. A native of Helensburgh, Scotland, Peter had previously played for Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire before making a career-changing move to Essex in 1990.

His career had somewhat stagnated before he opted to lay down his roots with the Chelmsford-based county but after a mediocre start in his new surroundings, his bowling started to flourish and he was an integral member of the side that went on to lift successive County Championships in 1991 and 1992. He was also an accomplished member of the Essex one-day attack assisting the county to their Benson & Hedges triumph in 1998 plus two NatWest Trophy Finals in 1996 and 1997.

His exploits with the ball caught the eye of the England selectors and he won the first of his 11 Test caps in the 1993 Ashes series with Australia. It was a dream debut for the bowler who returned figures of 6 for 63 at Old Trafford and became the highest England wicket-taker in the series. Such played in eight of the ‘home’ Tests spanning 1993 and 1994 but was then overlooked by the selectors until being recalled for the Ashes tour Down Under in 1998/9 where he played two further Test matches before his international career ended where it had started in Manchester. Even then, ‘Suchie’ was to sign off with a memorable performance although this was with the bat. Playing against New Zealand, he batted for 72 minutes without scoring a run, the second longest duck in English Test history and when he was finally dismissed, he left the field to a standing ovation.

Not noted for his batting, he is fondly remembered by Essex followers for hitting the winning boundary for the county on the second day of a NatWest Trophy semi final against Glamorgan in 1997. After play had been suspended the previous day due to bad light, it led to an episode that saw Mark Ilott and Robert Croft engaged in on-field confrontation and witnessed on BBC television.

However, it was as a bowler with nagging accuracy that Peter excelled achieving a 5-wickets haul in an innings against every county side – apart from Essex. His best bowling figures for Essex were 8 for 93 (11-160) in the match against Hampshire at Colchester in 1995, and the following summer, he took 82 wickets.

A year after finishing his playing career in 2001, he was appointed Essex Academy Director, a position he held for 5 years until making a career-change. However, in September 2009, he was appointed by the ECB as National Lead Spin Bowling Coach.

Essex v Nottinghamshire
Specsavers County Championship
Tuesday 14 May – Friday 17 May
The Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford

Essex Team: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence, Rishi Patel, Ryan ten Doeschate (c), Simon Harmer, Robbie White (wk), Peter Siddle, Jamie Porter, Sam Cook.

Nottinghamshire Team: Ben Slater, Ben Duckett, Chris Nash, Joe Clarke, Steven Mullaney (c), Samit Patel, Tom Moores (wk), Zak Chappell, Stuart Broad, Luke Fletcher, Matthew Carter.

Toss: Nottinghamshire won the toss and elected to bat.

Umpires: Jeremy Lloyds & Neil Mallender.

Result: Essex won by 8 wickets.

Day Three: Match Highlights

Day Three Reaction: Peter Siddle

Day Three: Close of Play Report

Alastair Cook underlined his patience and discipline as he guided Essex to an 8-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire in their County Championship clash at The Cloudfm County Ground.

After they had been left a target of 105, Cook refused to take any risks in his innings that spanned 109 balls and left him unbeaten on 40 when Dan Lawrence, who was 7 not out at the end, struck the winning run.

The former England captain’s cautious approach saw him only find the boundary on two occasions as he anchored the home side’s victory quest and he never looked in the slightest difficulty.

With the more aggressive Tom Westley, he shared in a stand of 85 before Westley pulled a ball from Samit Patel into the hands of Joe Clarke at mid-wicket, one short of his first half-century of the Championship season.

Westley had struck five boundaries after his partnership with Cook began when Nick Browne was run out for a single from the third ball of the innings. Browne failed to beat the throw by Luke Fletcher from backward square leg. The dismissal was celebrated wildly by the Nottinghamshire fielders but it was to be the only success until Essex were on the cusp of victory.

Any hope that they may have harboured of making a real fight of it quickly evaporated once Cook and Westley came together and they were in no mood to undermine the good work of their bowlers who were able to dismiss the visitors for 158 in their second innings.

Nottinghamshire had resumed on 90 for 6 but were soon plunged into further trouble as spinner Simon Harmer removed the overnight pair of Chris Nash and Tom Moores within the first hour of play to leave the visiting side 143 for 8.

The off-spinner also figured in the dismissal of Fletcher for 15 when he held a slip catch off the bowling of Jamie Porter.

Harmer finished with 6 for 60 from his 22 overs, his ninth five-wickets haul or more in an innings since he joined Essex in 2017.

It gave him match figures of 8 for 80 and took his haul of victims to 18 from the first three Championship games of the season.

Porter’s dismissal of Fletcher and Zak Chappell brought the Nottinghamshire innings to a close with the pace man ending with figures of 3 for 41 and match figures of 7 for 116.

Their efforts helped Essex collect 20 points from the game and their first Championship win of the summer as they achieved their success with more than four sessions to spare. It also enabled the hosts to redress the heavy 301-run defeat when the two teams met at Chelmsford a little under 12 months ago.

Day Three: Lunch Report

ESSEX were left a victory target of 105 to inflict defeat on Nottinghamshire at The Cloudfm County Ground and claim their first win of the County Championship season. At lunch, Essex had reached 18 for 1 with Alastair Cook on 10 and Tom Westley 6 not out.

After the visitors resumed on 90 for 6, the hosts claimed the remaining wickets for 68 runs with spinner Simon Harmer again playing a leading role in the opposition’s demise.

He removed the overnight pair of Chris Nash and Tom Moores to take his tally of wickets in the innings to six. Nash was caught in the leg trap for 32 before Moores was drawn forward and stumped for 22.

Harmer then held a smart slip catch to get rid of Luke Fletcher off Jamie Porter who brought the innings to a close at 158 by bowling Stuart Broad.

Harmer finished with 6 for 60 from 22 overs to take his haul of wickets to 18 in the first three Championship games.

Essex got off to a disastrous start in their pursuit of victory, losing Nick Browne to the third ball of the innings when he was run out by Fletcher’s throw from backward square leg for a single.

But Cook and Westley steered clear of further trouble before lunch which arrived with the home side requiring a further 87 runs for victory.

Day Two: Match Highlights

Day Two Reaction: Simon Harmer

Day Two: Close of Play Report

Essex were left contemplating their first County Championship Division One victory of the season after dominating the final hour on the second day of their clash with Nottinghamshire at The Cloudfm County Ground.

After they established a first innings lead of 54, they reduced the visitors to 90 for 6 at the close, a mere 36 runs ahead.

Their commanding position looked a distant dream when they lost their eighth wicket for 158 in response to a Notts total of 187.

But then they lost three wickets for a single run as Harmer spun them into dire straits.

He began his course of destruction by tempting Ben Duckett to drive into the hands of Jamie Porter before he found enough turn to have Joe Clarke taken at slip by Alastair Cook.

Then, with the total of 79, Harmer got rid of Steven Mullaney and Samit Patel with successive deliveries, both with the help of Ryan ten Doeschate catches at short leg.

Those four wickets came in the space of 21 deliveries at a cost of only three runs. He was to end the day with figures 4 for 32 from 12 overs and leave Essex contemplating an easy triumph.

Porter, who picked up the wicket of opener Ben Slater with an lbw decision, and Peter Siddle picked up the other wickets to leave the visitors in utter disarray.

Amazingly it was Notts who were in the driving seat early on. After Essex had resumed their first innings at 68 without loss, they lost Alastair Cook, a victim of Stuart Broad for 31 and then struggled to come to terms with the Nottinghmshire bowling.

At one stage they lost five wickets in the space of 46 deliveries for 22 runs, including that of Nick Browne who made 67, containing seven fours, before he was caught at backward point attacking spinner Matt Carter.

But Essex were revived by Harmer and Siddle in what could prove the match winning partnership.

Without taking any risks they added a priceless 81 in 23 overs, the highest stand of the match, before the arrival of the new ball in the hands of Luke Fletcher quickly brought the innings to a close.

With the fourth delivery he trapped Harmer lbw for 43 and two overs later breached the defences of Sam Cook for a duck to finish with 5 for 50 from 24.1 overs.

Siddle finished unbeaten on 40 and just how valuable his contribution was became more apparent later in the day.

Only the intervention of the weather or something remarkable from Notts can now deny Essex their first Championship win of the season – and neither seems likely.

Day Two: Tea Report

Essex lost four wickets soon after lunch as they fell to 158 for 8 within 8 overs of the restart.

Nick Browne added just 4 runs to his lunch score of 63 before he was caught at backward point attacking spinner Matt Carter, and the same bowler was to have both Robbie White and Jamie Porter smartly taken at forward short leg by Ben Slater after both batsmen had scored 2 runs each.

In between those dismissals, Ryan ten Doeschate fell leg before wicket to Luke Fletcher for a duck without playing a shot.

Including the dismissal of Rishi Patel to the last ball before lunch, it meant that Essex had lost five wickets for 22 runs in the space of 46 deliveries.

But the home side were to be revived by Simon Harmer and Peter Siddle, who never looked in trouble while putting together a half-century stand in 75 balls.

In between bouts of aggression that sent the ball racing to the boundary, they kept the score moving steadily by pushing the ball into the gaps on a regular basis.

It was not until they had put on 81 in 23 overs that the partnership was broken when Fletcher struck with the fourth delivery with the new ball, when he beat the defence of Harmer to remove him for 43 with the total on 239.

Two runs later, Fletcher brought the innings to a close when bowling Sam Cook for a duck to finish with 5 for 50 from 24.1 overs.

Tea was then taken with Essex having established a first innings lead of 54 runs.

Day Two: Lunch Report

Alastair Cook became an early victim of Stuart Broad, his former England teammate when Essex resumed their County Championship battle against Nottinghamshire at The Cloudfm County Ground.

Only 10 runs had been added to the overnight score of 68 for 0 when Cook edged a comfortable catch to Steven Mullaney in the slips.

The opener had added just 2 runs to his overnight 29 and it was not long before his replacement, Tom Westley, was making the same walk back to the Pavilion.

He did stay long enough to despatch Broad to the boundary twice in an over but with his score on 12, he was trapped leg before wicket by the England paceman.

That left Essex 98 for 2 in pursuit of Nottinghamshire’s 187 all out and it was left to Nick Browne to hold the reply together. From 34 overnight, he moved to his first half-century in 8 Championship matches and when he reached 56, it signalled his 5,000th first-class run.

Soon afterwards, Dan Lawrence was caught behind off Luke Fletcher for 19 and in what proved to be the final delivery before lunch, the same bowler accounted for Rishi Patel who had scored 5 when was caught by Matt Carter at second slip.

It left Essex 136 for 4 from 50.1 overs at the interval with Browne 63 not out having faced 163 balls and collected 6 boundaries.

Day One: Match Highlights

Day One Reaction: Jamie Porter

Day One: Close of Play Report

With Jamie Porter playing a starring role with the ball, Essex dominated the opening day of their County Championship fixture against Nottinghamshire at The Cloudfm County Ground.

The paceman claimed 4-75 in 18 overs as the visitors, who won the toss, were tumbled out for 187. Nick Browne and Alastair Cook responded with 68 as Essex finished the day with all 10 wickets intact.

At one stage Notts looked poised for a healthy total as they recovered from the loss of two early wickets to go past 100 without further loss, but the game was to take a turn as Porter found his rhythm.

He removed both Ben Slater (45) and Joe Clarke (48), who shared in a stand of 80, during a spell in which Nottinghamshire lost four wickets for 21 in the space of nine overs.

That left them 137 for 6 and they were never able to launch a meaningful recovery.

Despite 24 from Luke Fletcher, who was the only batsman of the last seven to top a dozen runs, they lost their last three wickets for four runs in the space of 20 deliveries, with Sam Cook, Peter Siddle and Simon Harmer all collecting two wickets each.

In reply, Nick Browne and Alastair Cook were to blunt the Notts attack to put the Essex innings on a firm foundation.

Both batsmen caught the eye with some forceful drives as the side established a firm grip on the contest, with Browne resuming on 34 tomorrow morning whilst Cook has 29.

Day One: Tea Report

Nottinghamshire resumed after lunch on 76 for 2 but it was the home side who enjoyed the better of the second session capturing four further wickets as 81 runs were added.

Ben Slater and Joe Clarke had put on 80 in 33 overs for the third wicket before both were dismissed by Porter. Slater was caught behind by Robbie White for a painstaking 45 while Clarke was bowled two runs short of a half-century.

That left Notts 131 for 4 and they were to lose two more wickets quickly as Essex took control.

Cook removed Steven Mullaney for 6 when Nick Browne took a fine catch at cover point, whilst the return of Peter Siddle reaped reward when Samit Patel was caught behind for 3.

That left Notts struggling at 137 for 6, with the last four wickets going down for 21 in the space of nine overs.

Essex strengthened their grip further when, with the total on 155, Porter returned to claim his fourth wicket.

He did so as Browne held a superb catch at backward point to get rid of Tom Moores for 10.

But Luke Fletcher and Stuart Broad stayed together until tea which was taken on 157 for 7, at which point, Porter had figures of 15-2-65-4.

Day One: Lunch Report

On the opening day of the first County Championship fixture at The Cloudfm County Ground, Nottinghamshire had reached 76 for 2 after 31 overs with a wicket apiece for Jamie Porter and Sam Cook.

Porter wasted little time in finding the breakthrough after the visitors had won the toss, when he trapped Ben Duckett in the fifth over of the match with only 9 runs on the board. Duckett had scored 7 when he moved across his stumps and was pinned in the crease.

New batsman, Chris Nash helped himself to four boundaries which saw Porter given a break to be replaced by Peter Siddle.

However, Nash’s innings was to come to an end soon after when, having made 26, he clipped a ball from Cook to square leg where substitute fielder Jack Plom took a smart catch.

The departure of Nash led to a drop in the tempo and the introduction of Simon Harmer into the attack saw the spinner start with four successive maidens.

Lunch arrived with Ben Slater and Joe Clarke both on 20 having faced 87 and 61 deliveries respectively.

Porter has taken 1 for 40 from 9 overs, Cook 1 for 16 from 8, Siddle 0 for 6 from 6 overs, Harmer 0 for 6 from 7 and Ryan ten Doeschate, who bowled the final over before lunch, 0 for 7.

BBC Essex’s ‘Around The Wicket’ is set for it’s return this weekend. The opening show starts at 2pm on Saturday (11 May), running until Saturday 27 July, so tune in on BBC Essex or listen on BBC Sounds.

The special studio guest this week will be wicket-keeper, Adam Wheater.

This will be the fourth season and a new presenter is also taking the reins this year who is an avid fan of cricket and her county club!

Twenty-five-year-old broadcast journalist Victoria Polley, who has an immense knowledge of cricket, is presenting the Saturday round-up of the Club, as well as in-depth coverage at club level. Victoria plans to get under the skin of the sport and bring listeners a unique perspective.

Victoria grew up in Colchester, listening to BBC Essex sport. Now the sports fanatic has achieved her dream of being a cricket and sports presenter in a historically male dominated field. Aged just 14, Victoria knew that she wanted to make a career in sport, even leaving school early one day to get Sir Alastair Cook to sign her copy of his autobiography at the local Waterstones.

Victoria said: “I’m hugely proud to be a part of programme that offers so much for fans of cricket in Essex; from news and analysis of our county side to the remarkable stories of people who shape the sport in Essex. BBC Essex Sport has been a part of my life for so long, first as a listener and now as the place I’ve built up my career over the past 8 years. The team care so much about what they do and it’s always so exciting – it never feels like work and I love being a part of it.”

Lou Birt, Editor at BBC Essex, added: “Everyone at BBC Essex is proud of Victoria, a local girl who grew up loving our output, and we are excited for her to get started on Around the Wicket. She is incredibly passionate, and will bring that enthusiasm to the Saturday afternoon show. She is an amazing role model to other young sports fanatics, and I’m keen to see more talented women given opportunities in playing and presenting sport.”

The Essex Eagles make the short journey to The Kia Oval to face Surrey in the Royal London One-Day Cup on Tuesday, and are looking to get back to winning ways following the home defeat by Middlesex at The Cloudfm County Ground on Good Friday.

After their comprehensive success in their opening match in the competition against Glamorgan last Wednesday, the Eagles suffered defeat by 38 runs two days later after Middlesex rattled up 366 for 8 from their 50 overs.

Essex Head Coach, Anthony McGrath said: “We saw the two sides of Essex Cricket in the space of those 48 hours last week with a superb performance against Glamorgan and then that disappointing effort on Friday against Middlesex.

“We knew that Middlesex would be a tough side and so it proved, they have a really good batting line-up but even so, we were disappointed with our bowling and that’s something we’ll need to address. It was extra disappointing that in front of an excellent Chelmsford crowd, we let both them and ourselves down.

“I also felt sorry for Varun (Chopra) who top-scored in the game with his second century in as many matches only to end on the losing side. Tom (Westley) supported him well but we needed another batter to step forward.

“The games come thick and fast though in this competition though and Tuesday’s match with Surrey gives us a chance to show what we can do. Surrey have lost both their opening matches and so they will be extra keen to get their first win on the board and we’ll need to be at the top of our game with both bat and ball if we want to get the win.”

The Eagles have named the following 15-man squad for the match with Surrey that is scheduled to start at 11am.

Essex Eagles squad to face Surrey:

Ryan ten Doeschate (27), (captain)
Ravi Bopara (25)
Varun Chopra (6)
Alastair Cook (26)
Sam Cook (16)
Simon Harmer (11)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Aron Nijjar (24)
Rishi Patel (12)
Jamie Porter (44)
Matt Quinn (94)
Peter Siddle (64)
Paul Walter (22)
Tom Westley (21)
Robbie White (4), (wicket-keeper)

The summer of women’s cricket is set to begin this month, starting with the Essex Women’s taking to the field at The Cloudfm County Ground on Sunday 21 April.

The 50-over clash against Middlesex Women starts at 11am in the Royal London Women’s County One-Day Championship competition and entry is free for all spectators.

The Essex Women’s fixture list has now been released with One-Day and T20 matches scheduled from April through to June.

Women’s cricket continues later this year at The Cloudfm County Ground with the return of International Women’s cricket, as England take on the Windies in a Women’s Royal London One-Day International. Entry is free for Essex Members, with general public unallocated tickets priced at £10 Adults and just £2 Students/Young Adults (18-25) and Juniors (U18s).

Allocated tickets are available to purchase for an additional £5 cost to all Adult and Students/Young Adults.

Is your child an All Stars Cricket player? Tickets for all participants can attend this match for £1.

England Women return to The Cloudfm County Ground on Friday 26 July for an Ashes duel against Australia.

This match is your chance watch Women’s Vitality International T20 cricket under the floodlights at Chelmsford in what is certain to be an exciting evening of cricket.

Prices for this game are £5 Members, £15 Adults, £10 Students/Young Adults (18-25) and £5 for Juniors (U18s).

Allocated tickets available at an additional cost of £5 for Members, Adults and Students/Young Adults.

Hospitality:

Packages for both of these games are available now, priced from just £79 + VAT per person, including our Bottomless Bubbles offering. Enjoy unlimited Prosecco along with a meal, snacks and refreshments. For more information – visit here.

Tickets:

Tickets for the England Women’s games, and all fixtures at The Cloudfm County Ground are on sale now online;