Search Results for: I

Lancashire v Essex Eagles

Royal London Cup

Sedbergh School, Tuesday 02 August

Team News:

Lancashire: N/A

Essex Eagles: N/A

Match Details:

Umpires: Steve O’Shaughnessy & Philip Mustard
Match Referee:Mike Smith
Toss: N/A
Result: Match Abandoned

Scorecard: View Here

Match Report:

Lancashire and Essex Eagle’s Royal London Cup campaigns got off to the soggiest of starts on Tuesday when no play was possible in the match at Sedbergh School.

Heavy overnight rain left the outfield very wet indeed but umpires Steve O’Shaughnessy and Phil Mustard gave the game every chance, holding inspections at 1:30pm and 2:15pm before eventually calling the game off at 2:30pm.

Huge efforts were made by the school’s groundstaff but despite all their work, no play was possible and both teams leave Cumbria with one point apiece.

On the eve of the Royal London Cup we teamed up with our new Principal Front of Shirt Sponsor for the competition, Ambassador Cruise Line to bring you Graham Gooch’s predictions for the cup.

You Deserve A Break

Essex Members qualify for an exclusive 10% discount when booking any cruise with Ambassador – simply quote ‘ESSEX10’ when booking (please note your Membership number will be required and checked when booking).

Not a member yet? Don’t worry! All supporters qualify for a 5% discount – simply quote ‘ESSEX5’ when booking. You can also call our dedicated telephone booking line on 0808 102 8635. Click here to explore destinations.

The question now is, where should you go?

Ambassador recently launched their 2023-24 cruise offering which includes a wide range of enticing sailings ranging from Iceland, Greenland and Canada to the warmer climates of the Mediterranean, Canaries and Cuba. And not forgetting their inaugural Round the World Cruise that sails to Cape Town, Melbourne and Sydney. Furthermore, in December their flagship, Ambience visits the popular German Christmas markets for a Cricket Themed Cruise which includes guest attendances with many of the game’s greats including our own Graham Gooch – who will be joined by Mike Gatting, David Gower, and many more – it is sure to be an experience to remember.

You too could join them by entering our prize draw below, or if you fancy a different type of voyage explore Ambassador’s collection of cruises.

Paul Walter has been drafted into this year’s Hundred competition and will be playing for Manchester Originals following an injury to Jamie Overton.

The all-rounder enjoyed a fantastic Vitality Blast campaign scoring 404 runs over 14 matches, whilst also leading the Eagles’ batting averages with 44.88.

Walter joins Essex teammates, Adam Rossington (London Spirit), Matt Critchley (Welsh Fire) and Dan Lawrence (London Spirit) in the second edition of the 100-ball competition, as well as Michael Pepper, who was recently picked up by James Foster’s Northern Superchargers as a replacement for Luke Wright who was unavailable due to coaching commitments.

Paul will miss the Royal London Cup campaign with Essex and has now joined up with his new teammates ahead of their opening match of the competition on Friday 05 August against Pepper’s Northern Superchargers.

Josh Rymell has good reason to relish the prospect of a second campaign in the Royal London Cup, which Essex kick off on Tuesday 2 August at Sedbergh School against Lancashire.

The 21-year-old rookie burst on to the scene 12 months ago with a spectacular sequence of scores that culminated in a match-winning century in the quarter-final against Yorkshire Vikings.

“To get that hundred was a massive, massive moment in my career to date,” says Rymell. “As the competition progressed I got more confidence. I learnt a lot from experience and I feel I’m a better player now because of it.”

Rymell only made it into the starting XI midway through the group stage, but his upward trajectory was such that his 331 runs from six innings took him within a run of opening partner Sir Alastair Cook in the Essex averages for the 50-over competition on 55.17.

With half the recognised first-team seconded to turn out for various franchises in The Hundred, and Simon Harmer away on Test duty with South Africa, the Royal London Cup provides an opportunity for up-and-coming players like Rymell to showcase their talents at senior level.

Rymell says: “The club have made it pretty easy for the young players like myself to come through so that when you are given your chance you are ready to take it. That’s something Essex are really good at.

“For me, it’s been great. It’s the best system when you’re having to push people for places. Healthy competition definitely makes the club stronger.”

Rymell benefited from the opportunity to move up from the middle-order to bat alongside Cook. The embryonic partnership with the former England captain laid the foundation for Essex’s successful tournament and included a century stand in the semi-final defeat by Glamorgan in Cardiff.

“I learnt lots of things from him if I’m honest,” says Rymell of Cook. “He takes a lot of pressure away from the young guys like me when we’re at the other end. Obviously, it depends on the scenario: if I’m struggling a bit he will definitely help me out. I try and help him out, too, but I don’t think he needs much help!

“It’s surreal: I’ve grown up watching this guy and now I’m out in the middle with him.”

Rymell also teamed up in last year’s competition with another of Essex’s young guns in Feroze Khushi. “The two of us have always batted really nicely together,” says the Ipswich-born player. “We’ve got five or six years’ experience batting together, having come through the academy, so we know each other’s game pretty well.”

Rymell has yet to grace the first team this summer but has shone in the second XI where he has a double-century and another three-figure score to his name as well as a red-ball average above fifty.

As for career ambitions, Rymell, who lost a year to an anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2019, says: “I’m more of a take-it-step-by-step sort of person. I tend to look in small brackets where I want to get to, so for me my next goal is to be a regular first-team player, hopefully in all three formats.

“Setbacks like the one I had only make you stronger. I think I definitely worked harder because of it. I’ve come through the other side and I haven’t really looked back. I just believed in the process and luckily it worked out all right.

“For me, the 50-over is my favourite format to bat in. I do enjoy the red-ball stuff, and the T20, but 50 overs is a nice balance between the two. You’ve got the benefits of playing with the white ball as well as having more time than in T20. Hopefully, I can kick on from where I got to last year and excel even more.”

Essex Eagles follow the competition opener against Lancashire with a day-night match against Derbyshire at Chelmsford on Friday with play beginning at 2pm.

Tickets for this season’s Royal London Cup are on sale now with a discount available when purchasing in advance – here.

Essex Eagles will get their Royal London Cup campaign underway tomorrow as they face Lancashire at the scenic grounds of Sedbergh School.

The Eagles will be looking to better their strong showing last year when they reached the Semi-Finals.

This year’s Royal London Cup will also give Eagles fans the opportunity to see a youthful Essex team in action with a number of young players making their mark last season.

Squad:

The Eagles welcome new overseas signing Grant Roelofsen to the playing squad with the talented South African batter expected to add some experience to the batting line-up. Familiar faces from last year’s campaign, Josh Rymell, Feroze Khushi, Luc Benkenstein and Will Buttleman are also included in the squad.

Alastair Cook and Ben Allison are continuing their respective injury recoveries while Sam Cook, Dan Lawrence, Adam Rossington, Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper are unavailable due to the Hundred.

Read more about the injuries to Alastair Cook and Ben Allison here.

The Opposition:

Lancashire will have the bit between their teeth after a disappointing exit at the hands of a Simon Harmer-inspired Essex last year.

Lancashire flew out of the gates in last year’s competition, winning 3 of their opening 4 games and, alongside Essex, looked early favourites to progress to the knockout stages.

However, a loss of form and an over of immense hitting from Simon Harmer relegated them to 4th in the table as they failed to win any of their last 4 matches.

Danny Lamb enjoyed an excellent season with bat and ball last season, topping the batting averages with 147 runs at an average of 49 and finishing joint-leading wicket-taker with alongside Tom Bailey with 10 wickets.

In absence of the coaching duo of Glen Chapple and Carl Crowe, Graham Onions and Karl Krikken will be in charge of the First XI Squad. The squad will also be without Jos Buttler, Richard Gleeson, Tom Hartley, Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, Phil Salt and Luke Wood who are all unavailable because of Hundred commitments and Dane Vilas who is yet to recover from a finger injury.

Lancashire have recently announced Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar as their overseas player for the campaign.

Lancashire squad: Keaton Jennings (c), George Balderson, George Bell, Jack Blatherwick, Josh Bohannon, Steven Croft, Liam Hurt, Rob Jones, Danny Lamb, George Lavelle (wk), Jack Morley, Washington Sundar, Luke Wells, Will Williams.

The Coach’s Preview

Last time out:

The two sides last met in the Royal London Cup in Manchester when a crunch match at the end of the group stages ended in a tie.

Going into the final game of the group stages, Lancashire needed a win to have any chance of progressing and they looked well set after posting 250-6 and reducing Essex to 227-8 with 10 balls remaining.

That Lancashire made it to 250 was largely down to Steven Croft, who made a brilliant 93 and was well supported by young keeper George Lavelle, who hit 52. Ryan ten Doeschate continued his good form with the ball and picked up a further 2 wickets, whilst there were also wickets for Aron Nijjar, Simon Harmer and Ben Allison.

In response, Alastair Cook (110) struck a peerless century at the top of the order, but wickets fell around him and it wasn’t until he was joined by ten Doeschate (45) that Essex mounted a recovery.

However, when both Cook and ten Doeschate fell, Wheater and Nijjar quickly followed leaving Essex with a seemingly impossible task of scoring 24 from the final 10 balls with just 2 wickets in hand.

It looked even more out of reach when Harmer took strike with 4 balls remaining and 21 runs still required. He then proceeded to strike the hero of earlier in the day, Croft, for 3 successive sixes and when he hit a 2 from the final ball, a dramatic tie was sealed.

How To Watch:

A free live stream of the game will be provided on The Essex Cricket Matchzone, which includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the game.

The broadcast can be accessed via the Essex Cricket Matchzone here.

Tickets

The Eagles play their first Royal London Cup fixture at The Cloud County Ground o Friday 05 August against Derbyshire. Tickets for this fixture and the three following home fixtures are available online via the Essex Cricket Ticketing Site. Ticket prices are from £15 for Adults, £10 for Students and Young Adults and £5 for Juniors. Essex County Cricket Club Members are able to attend home Royal London Cup matches free of charge.

On the eve of the Royal London Cup campaign, a number of players are returning to fitness after sustaining injuries in recent weeks.

Alastair Cook sustained a back injury in last week’s fixture against Somerset and is responding to the medical team’s treatment. While there is no immediate timescale on his return, he is aiming to be fit for the return of LV= Insurance County Championship cricket in September.

Ben Allison is continuing his recovery from a side strain and is hopeful of a return to cricket during the latter stages of the competition.

Meanwhile, Sam Cook has returned to match practice after a hamstring niggle and an x-ray has confirmed that there is no fracture to the finger Adam Rossington injured against Somerset. Both players will now join up with their respective teams in this year’s Hundred competition.