Essex Cricket are delighted to announce the furthering of our rewarding partnership with Trade Nation. This year, Trade Nation are pledging their support to the Club’s charity foundation. The leading trading services provider will donate £50 at the end of the season for each ‘6’ hit by the players across all tournaments.
The decision marks Trade Nation’s determination to build on their existing accomplishments with the Club and signals their strong desire to deepen the connection between county cricket and local communities. Essex Cricket is intensely passionate about creating unforgettable experiences for its thousands of members and supporters while giving it all on the green. This ambition is mirrored by Trade Nation, who put customer experience at the heart of what they do — the continued support from the broker further cements the shared values at the heart of this partnership.
The Club’s foundation run a variety of different initiatives across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The Club are working hard to increase inclusivity in cricket, with plans to establish two new Women’s Premier Leagues to make Essex the number 1 region for the sport in the UK. Alongside this, the Club aims to enhance facilities across London and boost opportunities for schools, putting well-being and health at the centre of the campaign.
Trade Nation’s CEO, Stuart Lane said: “Trade Nation is very proud to be offering this new series of donations for the Essex Cricket Foundation. The dedication they have to their local community proves to us that they share our emphasis on the importance of giving back, supporting both their members and the wider community. We’re excited to take our partnership with Essex Cricket further this year by locking in these donations for fans and charities, and we’re thrilled that our collaboration with the Club through the foundation has let us connect with their fans and local community, and promote greater inclusivity through the foundation”.
John Stephenson, Chief Executive & Interim Chair for Essex Cricket said:
“We are so pleased that Trade Nation has selected the Essex Cricket Foundation as their charity to support this year.
After a global pandemic, it is so important to bring the community together and enjoy team sports once more. We wish to encourage new faces of all ages and abilities into the world of cricket and offer them the inclusive support they need to develop a true passion for the game.”
About Trade Nation:
Trade Nation is an online trading platform where individuals can trade shares, commodities, and foreign currencies on their own terms. The company offers a self-serve trading experience with low, fixed charges and no confusing terminology. This simple-to-use service is delivered alongside a friendly and knowledgeable customer success team who are there to support and engage with customers 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday. Trade Nation offers a better trading experience and is making the world of online trading a brighter and more trustworthy environment for all.
The countdown is nearly over to the 2022 Vitality Blast campaign with the Eagles making the trip to Canterbury to face Kent this Friday.
Four days later, they’ll walk out to ‘Chase The Sun’ for the first time in 2022 as T20 action reaches Chelmsford. Tickets for that game against Hampshire Hawks are still available and what better way to celebrate Half-Term than to see the Eagles into the new season of the shortest format of the game.
The first of our Friday night fixtures against Middlesex on June 10 is now sold out and there is very limited availability remaining for other two Friday night fixtures against Sussex Sharks (June 17) and Surrey (June 24) respectively.
Watch: T20 Nights Under Lights are Back
10 for the price of 8
Fancy a night of T20 cricket with your mates? Get ten tickets for the price of eight with our group-saver offer. To claim this deal, book your tickets with our Ticketing Office over the phone on, 01245 254010.
Available for: Tue 31 May, Hampshire Hawks | Tue 07 Jun, Kent Spitfires | Sun 19 Jun, Somerset | Sat 02 Jul, Glamorgan.
The Eagles Area
Get closer to the Eagles with our on-pitch seating area. As well as being just inches from the action the Eagles Area is also the only section of unallocated seating in the stadium, so make sure to arrive early and pick your seats.
Family Fun Day
T20 cricket at Chelmsford is family-friendly and with allocated family and alcohol-free stands, The Cloud County Ground is a safe and friendly place for families to come and enjoy the cricket.
On Sunday 19 June, Essex Eagles take on Somerset at The Cloud County Ground, a fixture which has been nominated as our annual Family Day. Coinciding with Father’s Day, there will be extra activities for families to enjoy and the earlier start time of 2:30pm means the game will be wrapped up by 6pm.
Essex Cricket are excited to reveal Ramsay Health Care UK as our T20 shirt sleeve sponsor for the 2022 season.
Leading global healthcare provider, Ramsay Health Care will feature across the Essex squads and worn by the Essex Eagles in this year’s Vitality Blast, which begins on May 27 against Kent Spitfires.
Ramsay operates a comprehensive network of private hospitals and treatment centres in the UK, with a number of facilities in the region including Oaks Hospital, Rivers Hospital and Springfield Hospital, located here in Chelmsford.
Amy Simpson, Hospital Director of Oaks Hospital, said: “It is an absolute pleasure to support Essex Cricket. Going into the 2022 season, it is wonderful to feature on the ever-popular Vitality Blast shirt.”
Our Chief Executive and Interim Chair, John Stephenson, said: “The Club are so grateful for Ramsay Health Care’s incredible support over the last five seasons and it’s fantastic that they are extending their partnership to feature on the Club’s T20 shirts this season.
“The Cloud County Ground has become synonymous with T20 cricket, and we can’t wait to welcome full crowds once again for the competition 20th anniversary season of the Vitality Blast at the end of May.”
About Ramsay Health Care UK:
Ramsay Health Care UK is a leading independent healthcare provider in England, operating 37 facilities including hospitals, decontamination hubs, and a mobile MRI and CT diagnostic fleet. Ramsay has a strong reputation for providing exceptional care and quality services to patients who are privately insured, self-paying, or are referred by the NHS in a variety of clinical specialties.
To learn more about Ramsay Health Care, please visit their website: www.ramsayhealth.co.uk
Vitality Blast Returns for 2022:
The Essex Eagles’ Vitality Blast campaign begins on May 27 for a ‘Battle of the Bridge’ clash against Kent Spitfires at Canterbury.
The opening home of this year’s competition takes place on May 31 against Hampshire Hawks with tickets and hospitality packages on sale now for all 7 home fixtures at The Cloud County Ground.
Jamie Porter has been selected to the First-Class County Select XI squad that will play New Zealand in a four-day match at The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford from Thursday.
Ollie Robinson and Dom Sibley are also named in the team and are the two England capped players set to feature in a 12-man squad that will be overseen by ECB Elite Performance Pathway Coach, Richard Dawson.
Kent opening batter Ben Compton, who leads the run-scoring in Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship this season with 878, has been rewarded with a place following his start to the summer.
The squad was selected from the pool of available players following consultation with the first-class counties.
Richard Dawson said: “We have selected a strong squad of players who are in form and who deserve the opportunity to test themselves against high-class international opposition.
“Matches like this provide a valuable opportunity to see how the selected players handle a step up from county ranks and I am looking forward to working alongside them.
“I would also like to thank the first-class counties for their collaborative approach during a busy period.”
County Select XI squad: Jack Blatherwick (Lancashire), Michael Burgess (Warwickshire), Ben Compton (Kent), Ben Gibbon (Worcestershire), Nick Gubbins (Hampshire), Tom Haines (Sussex), Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire), Ryan Patel (Surrey), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Jamie Porter (Essex), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire).
Members can apply for a free ticket to all four days of this match with public tickets also on sale now. Members must apply for a match ticket before the fixture and can do this by phone on 01245 254010 (Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm) or via their online account by simply logging in and adding a ticket to the basket.
Public tickets are priced at £15 Adults, £10 Students/Young Adults (18-24) and £5 Juniors (U18s). These can be purchased by phone, in person or online now via essexcricket.org.uk.
Surrey Disability Cricket Scheme v Essex County Ability
D40 Quest, Sunday 22 May
Trinity Fields
Team News:
Essex Ability: Ronnie Jackson (Capt), Alexander Welby, Joe Freestone, Andrew Mowatt, Matthew Edwards, Lee Wheeler, Ben Aust, Martyn Doe (WK), Issac Elles, Benny Fryatt, Alfie Jeeves
Surrey Disability Cricket Scheme: Asif Abbasi (Capt), James Grindrod, Hayden Bishop, Saul Allison, Joe Fisher, Bradley Cooper, Jamil Khan, Umar Khan, Jack Lofthouse (WK), Ed Harvey, Frazer Fowler
Match Details:
Scorers: Mike Stephenson and Jonathan Gale Toss: Essex Ability won the toss and elected to bat Result: Surrey won by nine wickets
Match Report
Battling Essex found the going tough against a strong Surrey side at Trinity Field in their latest D40 Quest fixture.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, the visitors came up against a fluent Surrey attack headed by Jamil Khan, who claimed three wickets for 17 during his eight-over spell. Meanwhile, Ed Harvey (2/7) and Joe Fisher (2/26) were impressive with the ball for the home side.
Ben Aust provided the highlight of the Essex innings, hitting 34 off 51 balls – a knock that included four boundaries.
Wicketkeeper/batter, Martyn Doe looked good for his 22 from 34, while Matthew Edwards (16) and Issac Elles (10) helped Essex to a modest 123.
Surrey reached their target inside twenty-eight overs. Surrey captain, Asif Abbasi scored a quickfire 79* off 89 balls. Hayden Bishop also finished unbeaten on 33.
Essex skipper, Ronnie Jackson was rewarded for his toil with the wicket of James Grindrod, trapped lbw without scoring.
Emirates Old Trafford, Thursday 19 – Sunday 22 May
Team News:
Lancashire: Luke Wells, Keaton Jennings, Josh Bohannon, Steven Croft, Dane Vilas (c), Phil Salt (wk), Luke Wood, Tom Bailey, Hasan Ali, Matt Parkinson, James Anderson.
Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Adam Rossington (wk), Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.
Match Details:
Umpires: Steve O’Shaughnessy & Peter Hartley Match Referee: James Whitaker Toss: Essex, who elected to bat Result: Essex won by an innings and 56 runs
Essex’s bowlers took just 21 balls to wrap up an innings and 56-run victory over Lancashire on the final morning of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
Needing just one wicket to complete their comprehensive win, Tom Westley’s bowlers achieved their goal in the fourth over of the morning when Luke Wood was caught behind by Adam Rossington off the bowling of Jamie Porter for 27, thus leaving Lancashire 232 all out in their second innings.
In the 13 minutes’ of cricket, Wood hit three boundaries off Sam Cook and Simon Harmer before a good ball outside off stump from Wood induced him to fence fatally. Harmer ended the innings with figures of 5/89 and Sam Cook returned match figures of 6/62.
Essex earned 22 points for the victory and move into the top half of the Division One table, whilst the hosts took two points from the game.
It was a dominant display from Essex, which inflicted Lancashire’s first home defeat since 2018 and their fifth innings defeat this century; the first since they lost to Yorkshire in August 2014.
Day Three Match Highlights:
Day Three Match Report:
The Essex attack led by Sam Cook and Simon Harmer took 14 wickets on the third day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford and a second victory of the season is now within touching distance tomorrow.
After dismissing the home side for 103, with Cook taking 4/18, Tom Westley enforced the follow-on with Lancashire 288 runs behind.
Lancashire reached the close of play at 7pm on 213-9 and still needed 75 to make Essex bat again.
Harmer bowled unchanged from the Brian Statham End after lunch and ended the day with 5/85 from 40 overs and Essex were only prevented from completing their victory by James Anderson and Luke Wood, who blocked the last few overs.
Essex began the third morning as successfully as they had ended the second afternoon. Wood hit a couple of fours but was then caught behind by Adam Rossington when attempting to drive Sam Cook; Tom Bailey was leg before to the same bowler for a single; and Hassan Ali lasted two runless balls before being well caught at second slip by Harmer off Shane Snater.
At that point, Lancashire were 60-8 but Phil Salt and Matt Parkinson then moved into a more attacking mode, adding 43 for the ninth wicket before Salt was lbw for 44 to a ball from Matt Critchley that hurried on off the pitch. In the next over, Parkinson pulled Harmer straight to the substitute fielder, Aaron Beard at deep square leg and Westley did not hesitate about enforcing the follow-on, the first time this indignity had been suffered by Lancashire since September 2017.
Lancashire’s openers, Luke Wells and Keaton Jennings negotiated four maidens before lunch but it did not portend a revival by the home side. Jamie Porter bowled Jennings with the eleventh ball after the resumption and two further wickets had fallen by tea.
After resisting for just over an hour, Josh Bohannon was caught off bat and pad for 14 by Nick Browne to give Harmer his eighth wicket of the season. Wells then pulled Cook straight to a tumbling Paul Walter at square leg and departed for 19.
Steven Croft and Dane Vilas then shared a gritty 74-run stand for the fifth wicket but Croft was dismissed by Harmer for 39 midway through the evening session when his top-edged sweep lobbed a catch to Sam Cook, who was positioned 45 degrees behind square on the leg side.
Salt then batted very positively for his 31 runs but was dismissed half an hour before the scheduled close of play when an attempted cut off Critchley only edged a catch to Rossington, meaning that Salt had been dismissed by the leg-spinner twice in a few hours.
Three overs later Vilas’s long duel with Harmer was ended when the Lancashire skipper was lbw on the back leg for 62. Parkinson was then caught at short leg by Browne, also off Harmer, for six and this late fall of wickets prompted the umpires to allow the extra half-hour to be claimed. Essex marked the occasion by taking the new ball.
Lancashire’s rapid decline continued when Bailey’s top-edged pull was caught on the deep square leg boundary by Walter and Hassan was also caught in the deep off Harmer.
Wood and Anderson stood firm to see out the day but it will be Essex looking to make the final blow on Sunday with play resuming at 11am.
Tom Westley said:
“One more wicket would have been nice but if you had offered us that at the start of the day, let alone the game, we would have snapped your hand off. It was a great day for Simon Harmer as well because he’s toiled away this year and hasn’t had much luck. He deserved more than he got, so credit to him and credit to all the bowlers.
“When you have a world-class spinner like Simon, you just let him bowl and he’ll create plenty of chances. On another day he’d have got seven or eight but it was a brilliant effort from the lads after a whole day in the dirt.
“We managed to build partnerships with the bat in the first innings and we’ve been outstanding with the ball in our hands. Sam Cook is one of the best seamers in the country, Jamie Porter has come back to some brilliant form and Shane Snater has gone from strength to strength. Matt Critchley is the second change spinner and he’s not used to that but he’s picked up useful wickets.”
Day Two Match Highlights:
Day Two Match Highlights:
Day Two Match Report:
Essex’s new-ball bowlers, Sam Cook and Jamie Porter, left Lancashire’s first innings in tatters on the second afternoon of this game and the visitors ended a rain-shortened day completely in control of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
Replying to Essex’s 391, in which Dan Lawrence made 120 and Shane Snater 72, the home side were 32-5 and the only solace for home supporters was that the rain prevented any play after Tea.
The morning’s play was also interrupted for over an hour by rain but Essex took the session’s honours by scoring 61 runs in 12 overs, the majority of them coming from the bat of Snater, who completed his third first-class fifty early in the afternoon.
There was, however, bad news for the visitors when Lawrence was forced to use a runner after pulling up when completing a quick single and it appeared to be a similar injury to that which sidelined him for a month before this game.
Three overs later Lawrence was caught by James Anderson off the bowling of Luke Wood for 120 but that was the only success the Lancashire bowlers enjoyed before Snater was leg before to Hassan Ali for an 82-ball 72 nearly an hour into the second session. Porter was run out for nought by Josh Bohannon’s brilliant pick up and direct hit from midwicket but Essex’s score looked a creditable effort and seemed even more so an hour or so later.
Lancashire’s innings could barely have got off to a worse start. Keaton Jennings was lbw for 4 when coming only half-forward to Cook in the fifth over and Bohannon fell for a duck in similar fashion when playing across the line to Porter in the eighth.
Next ball Steven Croft edged the ball low to Alastair Cook’s left but the former England skipper made no mistake with a two-handed catch. Three overs later Luke Wells was leg before to Sam Cook for 6 when playing no shot and Lancashire’s torment was completed when Dane Vilas tried to take the bat away from a ball from Snater but only managed to inside-edge the ball on to his stumps.
That left Lancashire on 24-5 in the 14th over and the only consolation before Tea arrived a few balls later when Phil Salt hit Simon Harmer for the first fours of the innings. Cook currently has figures of 2/5 from 7 overs and Porter 2/19 from 6.
Day One Match Highlights:
Day One Match Report:
Dan Lawrence made exactly 100 not out and Nick Browne returned to form with 71 as Essex shared the spoils with Lancashire on the opening day of their Division One LV= Insurance County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
Lawrence, who was playing his first match after nearly a month out with a hamstring injury, reached his century in the penultimate over of the day but Lancashire took 4 wickets in the final hour or so to leave the Tom Westley’s men 280-7 at the close.
In the first session Browne and Tom Westley enabled Essex to recover after the loss of Alastair Cook for only 2 in the ninth over of the day. The former England Captain was caught behind by Phil Salt when Tom Bailey got a ball to straighten sufficiently to take a thin edge. However, the second-wicket pair coped with Lancashire’s four seamers in relative comfort and the visitors were 74-1 after 30 overs at Lunch.
The scoring rate increased on the resumption with Browne milking Lancashire’s attack for a quartet of fours in the first half-hour and reaching his 50 off 107 balls. The best of the opener’s strokes was a straight drive off Luke Wood but just when Essex seemed about to take the initiative, Westley tried to slog-sweep a ball from Matt Parkinson that was too wide outside the off-stump for the shot and top-edged to Salt.
Undeterred by the loss of his skipper for 30, Browne continued to bat well and the batter’s obduracy prompted Anderson to bowl a succession of bouncers. This tactic hardly unsettled his target but the England seamer still dismissed the opener for 71 in an extraordinary fashion when a firm back-foot drive hit Dane Vilas at silly point, only for the Lancashire Captain to clutch the ball, claim the catch and leave Essex on 134-3.
Lawrence, meanwhile had already played himself in although his task was eased by Parkinson virtually gifting him 8 runs by bowling a couple of short balls outside the leg stump with no protection backward of square. By Tea he was unbeaten on 40 and Essex were 169-3.
The first half of the evening session belonged to Essex as Lawrence and Walter extended their fourth-wicket partnership but the balance of the day changed markedly when Lancashire took the new ball.
In the second over of his final spell, Bailey bowled Walter between bat and pad for 34 and then had Matt Critchley caught behind by Salt for a four-ball 0. From the other end, Anderson was equally as penetrative but wicketless.
The England bowler induced an edge from Lawrence on 71 but the ball flew at catching height between Luke Wells and Keaton Jennings in the slips. He then had a very tough chance off Adam Rossington put down by Steven Croft at fourth slip before the same batter had another let off on 5 when Jennings dropped a more straightforward catch off Anderson.
Lancashire’s attack in the final few overs was entrusted to Wood and Hassan Ali, Lawrence however continued to bat coolly until, on 99, he played the ball to the substitute fielder, George Balderson at mid-off and called Rossington for a tight single.
The non-striker was run out for 21 and after Lawrence had reached three figures off 178 balls, Simon Harmer was caught behind by Salt off a vicious lifter from Wood.
Chelmsford will welcome the World Test Champions on Thursday (26 May) for four days of red-ball cricket.
The match will be a chance to see New Zealand in action before their opening Test match against England at the beginning of June.
The Blackcaps have named their touring party, which includes the likes of Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Kyle Jaimeson, and they will be facing a First-Class County XI that is yet to be announced. Play begins at 11am on each day with gates open from 10am.
There will also be a chance to welcome back former Eagles, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee and County Champion, Neil Wagner who are all part of the travelling group.
Members can apply for a free ticket to all four days of this match with public tickets also on sale now. Members must apply for a match ticket before the fixture and can do this by phone on 01245 254010 (Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm) or via their online account by simply logging in and adding a ticket to the basket.
Public tickets are priced at £15 Adults, £10 Students/Young Adults (18-24) and £5 Juniors (U18s). These can be purchased by phone, in person or online now via essexcricket.org.uk.
New Zealand squad for the tour of England:
Kane Williamson (c)
Tom Blundell (wk)
Trent Boult
Michael Bracewell
Devon Conway
Colin de Grandhomme
Jacob Duffy
Cameron Fletcher
Matt Henry
Kyle Jamieson
Tom Latham
Daryl Mitchell
Henry Nicholls
Ajaz Patel
Rachin Ravindra
Hamish Rutherford
Tim Southee
Blair Tickner
Neil Wagner
Will Young
On the day that Colchester was awarded city status, it is an opportunity to look back at first-class cricket staged at the two venues in the north of the county, primarily the Castle Park Cricket Ground but also the Garrison ‘A’ Cricket Ground.
Lying to the north of the High Street, and below the level of the town and castle itself, the park is bordered by the remains of the Roman perimeter wall and the old Colchester by-pass. Colchester CC first opened the ground in 1908 and after returning from the war, Essex first staged their opening first-class game in 1914.
However, due to constant flooding of the River Colne, Essex had to move to the Garrison ‘A’ Ground in 1966 before returning in 1974 for regular cricket festivals. Usually taking place around August, festival cricket continued to be staged the venue until 2016. These festivals were suspended from 2017 due to a change in the ways in which fixtures are arranged by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
A total of 117 first-class matches were staged there with Essex victorious on 40 occasions.
Colchester Castle Park in 2016
The first Essex fixture took place in 1914 and witnessed a winning start following a 193-run win against Worcestershire.
In a game which saw over a thousand runs, there wasn’t a single century scored in the match with Essex’s entire middle order of Percy Perrin, Frederick Fane, Johnny Douglas and Walter Turner all scoring 50s to set up a comfortable first win at Castle Park, as they bowled out Worcestershire twice for 214 and 216.
Colchester Castle Park in 1908
The dominance of Essex between 1979-1984 was also on show for the people of Colchester, in particular a nervy Championship fixture against Glamorgan in 1981.
The visitors held a first-innings lead of 87, before opening batters, Graham Gooch and Brian Hardie both scored 113 & 114* respectively. This was supported by Allan Lilley who struck 88 to give Essex a lead of 324 going into Glamorgan’s second innings.
However, 5-62 from the legendary John Lever left Javed Miandad stranded on 200* as Essex secured a 13-run win.
The highest first-class score ever hit in a first-class game at Castle Park is 662-7 in 1995, with three of the opening four batters hitting hundreds against Hampshire. Graham Gooch opened the scoring with 142, followed by Nasser Hussain who top-scored with 145 and 136 from the overseas star, Mark Waugh.
This was reinforced by Ronnie Irani and Robert Rollins who scored 78 & 85, respectively, putting Essex in the perfect position for a comfortable win by an innings and 254.
The only T20 game to be played by Essex in Colchester was in 2014 against Kent Spitfires. Essex Eagles didn’t get off to the greatest start losing both openers, Jesse Ryder and Mark Pettini departing within the first seven balls. However, this bought Tom Westley to the crease who would go on to score a century in what is his best-ever T20 campaign to date.
Westley scored his 105 off 58 balls, including 10 fours and 6 sixes. His innings helped to guide the Eagles to over 200, with the support of James Foster (36) and Ryan ten Doeschate (37). It was Jesse Ryder who starred with the ball, taking 5/27 with the Spitfires were bowled out for 146 to give Essex a 63-run victory.
Westley celebrates reaching a century against Kent
The last Essex game played at Castle Park to date was in 2016, which turned out to be a momentous moment for Graham Napier. Napier, who is arguably Essex’s greatest player to come from Colchester, was playing in his final match at Castle Park following his impending retirement at the end of that season.
Graham Napier walking off after scoring 124
The Championship fixture ended in a draw but was overshadowed by Napier, who showed his brilliance one final time in festival cricket. Napier took 5-114 off 30 overs as Sussex were bowled out before scoring a beautiful century with the bat, which included 17 fours and 4 sixes, to top off his farewell.
Colchester Moments:
August 2016: General view during Essex v Sussex.
August 2000: Jack Russell of Gloucestershire tries unsuccessfully to run out Ronnie Irani.
July 2014: Jesse Ryder celebrates taking a wicket in the NatWest T20 Blast match v Kent Spitfires.
August 2013: Ravi Bopara in Yorkshire Bank 40 batting action v Derbyshire Falcons.
August 2013: Gautum Gambhir and mark Pettini take to the pitch to open the batting for Essex in the Yorkshire Bank 40 v Derbyshire Falcons.
August 2016: General view of play looking towards the Pavilion
August 2013: Inside the scoreboard at Castle Park.
August 19: The scoreboard operator watches the match through his viewing window.
July 2014: Ravi Bopara and Greg Smith sign autographs.
August 2015: Mark Pettini on his way to a century v Surrey.
August 2015: Ryan ten Doeschate and James Franklin at the coin toss in the Royal London One-Day Cup match v Middlesex.
July 2014: Tom Westley after hitting a T20 century against Kent Spitfires.
August 2016: Jofra Archer in bowling action for Sussex.
August 2010: Marcus Trescothick cuts the ball away en route to his double century.
August 2013: Gautum Gambhir in batting action during the Yorkshire Bank 40 v Derbyshire Falcons.
August 2013: Gautam Gambir and Monty Panesar the Championship game v Northamptonshire.
August 2010: Ryan ten Doeschate during Championship match against Somerset.
August 2016: Local road named after Trevor Bailey and unveiled ahead of Essex v Sussex.
Essex Second XI: MS Pepper (wk), JS Rymell, ASS Nijjar (c), JA Richards, C Allison, BMJ Allison, Z Akhter, WEL Buttleman, RJ Das, JH Plom, V Hassen
Hampshire Second XI: TJ Prest, TE Albert, FS Middleton, RA Whiteley (c), C Mumford (wk), ARJ Fairfax-Ross, DC Kelly, H Broderick, H Petrie, K Khanna, J Croom
Match Details:
Umpires: S Shanmugam & R Patel Toss: Hampshire 2nd XI won the toss and elected to bowl Result: Essex 2nd XI won by 4 runs
Match Report
The first game of a double header against Hampshire Second XI bought great excitement, with it going down to the last ball and Essex coming away with a 4 run win.
After Hampshire had chosen to bowl, Will Buttleman got Essex off to a flyer but fell early; half way through the second over with the score on 25-1. This bought keeper Michael Pepper to the crease, looking in good form from ball one and bringing up his half-century off just 14 balls and the Essex hundred with the first of two consecutive reverse sweep sixes.
But as wickets fell around him, being shared by the Hampshire bowlers, Michael Pepper bought up his rapid century off just 36 balls, which was followed by consecutive sixes before sweeping straight to the man as he fell for 117 off 41 balls. Jamal Richards added runs to aid Essex past 200, as we finished on 234-7 off the 20 Overs.
The second innings saw Hampshire get off to a decent start with both openers getting to 50 before Hassen produced a wonderful caught and bowled to remove the dangerous Tom Prest; adding to this just 2 balls later as he bowled Middleton.
As Hampshire kept up the pressure, Jack Plom would take timely wickets of both Albert and Whiteley to slow the runs. As Hampshire had to rebuild and when Jamal Richards bowled the set batter (Mumford).
Essex looked to be in control but late six hitting from Kelly took the game to the last ball. Hampshire needed to find the boundary off the last ball however Richards bowled a fast legal bouncer through to the keeper to win the game for Essex.
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