Essex County Cricket Club - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county

Historic counties of England

The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...

clubs which make up the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

and Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

national cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

structure, representing the historic county of Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.

The club plays most of its home games at the County Cricket Ground

County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford

The County Cricket Ground, is a cricket venue in Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is home to Essex County Cricket Club.Chelmsford is a small ground, and therefore suits big-hitting batsmen. Essex stalwart Graham Gooch scored many of his runs here and Graham Napier scored 152 of 58 balls in a...

, Chelmsford

Chelmsford

Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...

. It also plays some games at Lower Castle Park in Colchester

Colchester

Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

, and at Garons Park

Garons Park

Garons Park is a cricket ground in Southend, England. The ground was first used by the Essex 1st XI in 2005. The ground will host two games in 2008, against Glamorgan in the County Championship and Northamptonshire in the Pro40 League....

in Southend

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...

. The club has formerly used other venues throughout the county including Ilford

Ilford

Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...

, Leyton Cricket Ground

Leyton Cricket Ground

Leyton Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in Leyton, London.-Cricket ground:...

, Romford

Romford

Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...

, and Billericay

Billericay

Billericay is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, has a population of 40,000, and constitutes a commuter town east of central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces...

.

Essex C.C.C. is presently captained by James Foster

James Foster (cricketer)

James Savin Foster is an English cricketer: a wicket-keeper who played seven Tests and 11 One Day Internationals in 2001/02 and 2002/03. Foster played his club cricket at Ilford Cricket Club and then Wanstead & Snaresbrook Cricket Club...

, and has a very strong limited-overs team, which has won the National League in both 2005 and 2006, won the Friends Provident Trophy final in 2008, and reached the current Twenty20 Cup

Twenty20 Cup

The Twenty20 Cup was a cricket competition for English and Welsh county clubs.In 2010, it has been replaced by Friends Provident t20 as the domestic Twenty20 competition.-History:...

finals day.

Honours

County Championship (6) - 1979, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1992

Division Two (1) - 2002

Sunday/Pro 40 League (5) - 1981, 1984, 1985, 2005, 2006

Division Two (1) - 2008

Gillette/NatWest/C&G/Friends Provident Trophy (3) - 1985, 1997, 2008
Twenty20 Cup (0) -
Benson & Hedges Cup (2) - 1979, 1998

Second XI honours

Second XI Championship (1) - 1973; shared (0) -
Second XI Trophy (0) -
Minor Counties Championship (0) - ; shared (0) -

Records

Most first-class runs for Essex

Qualification - 20000 runs http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/England/Firstclass/Essex/Batting_Records/Most_Career_Runs.html

Player	Runs
Graham Gooch Graham Gooch Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...	30,701
Keith Fletcher Keith Fletcher Keith Fletcher is a former English cricketer, who played for Essex and England. He later became England's team manager. His nickname was "The Gnome of Essex", so christened by his Essex team-mate, Ray East, because Fletcher's winklepickers had begun to curl up at the toes due to wear...	29,434
Peter Perrin	29,172
Jack O'Connor Jack O'Connor (English cricketer) Jack O'Connor was an English cricketer who played in four Tests from 1929 to 1930....	27,722
Jack Russell	23,606
Gordon Barker Gordon Barker Gordon Barker was an English first-class cricketer who played for Essex. Born in Yorkshire, Barker was a right-handed opening batsman and made his Essex debut in 1954 against the touring Canadians, scoring a century....	21,893
Trevor Bailey Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey CBE was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster.An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting...	21,460
Doug Insole Doug Insole Doug Insole CBE is a former English cricketer, who played for Cambridge University, Essex and in nine Test matches for England, five of them on the 1956-57 tour of South Africa, where he was vice-captain to Peter May...	20,113

Most first-class wickets for Essex

Qualification - 1000 wickets http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/England/Firstclass/Essex/Bowling_Records/Most_Career_Wickets.html

Player	Wickets
Peter Smith Peter Smith (cricketer) Peter Smith, was an English cricketer, who played for Essex and England. Smith was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1947. An all-rounder, Smith played for Essex from 1929 to 1951.-Life and career:...	1,610
Stan Nichols Stan Nichols Stan Nichols was the leading all-rounder in English cricket for much of the 1930s.-Career:In his youth primarily a football goalkeeper who played for some time with Queen's Park Rangers,...	1,608
Trevor Bailey Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey CBE was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster.An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting...	1,593
John Lever John Lever John Lever MBE is an English former cricketer, who played in twenty one Tests and twenty two ODIs for England from 1976 to 1986...	1,473
Walter Mead Walter Mead (cricketer) Walter Mead was the principal bowler for Essex during their first two decades as a first-class county. As a member of the Lord’s ground staff, he was also after J.T...	1,472
Johnny Douglas Johnny Douglas John "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...	1,443
Ray Smith	1,317
Ken Preston	1,155
Ray East Ray East Raymond Eric East was an English cricketer who played for Essex County Cricket Club.One of the most popular characters to play county cricket in recent times, East is remembered as much for his on field wit as his fine slow left arm spin bowling...	1,010

Earliest cricket

It is almost certain that cricket reached Essex by the 16th century and that it developed during the 17th century with inter-parish matches being played.

The first definite mention of cricket in connection with the county is a highly controversial match in 1724 between Chingford and Mr Edward Stead’s

Edward Stead

Edward Stead was a famous patron of English cricket, particularly of Kent county cricket teams, in the early 18th century.-Cricket career:...

XI, which is recorded in The Dawn of Cricket by H T Waghorn

H T Waghorn

Henry Thomas Waghorn , was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: The Dawn of Cricket and Cricket Scores: 1730 - 1773....

. The venue is unknown but, if it was at Chingford, it is also the earliest reference to cricket being played in Essex as well as by an Essex team. The game echoed an earlier one in 1718 as the Chingford team refused to play to a finish when Mr Stead's team had the advantage. A court case followed and, as in 1718, it was ordered to be played out presumably so that all wagers could be fulfilled. We know that Lord Chief Justice Pratt presided over the case and that he ordered them to play it out on Dartford Brent

Dartford Brent

Dartford Brent was an extensive area of common land on the outskirts of Dartford in Kent. In history, it was the scene of a confrontation between King Henry VI and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York in 1452; and in 1555 thousands of spectators were to witness the burning to death at the stake of...

, though it is not known if this was the original venue. The game was completed in 1726.

See : History of cricket to 1696

History of cricket to 1696

The history of cricket to 1725 traces the sport's development from its perceived origins to the stage where it had become a major sport in England and had been introduced to other countries....

and History of cricket 1697 - 1725

History of cricket 1697 - 1725

Little is known about English cricket from the earliest known "great match" in 1697 to 1725 as few records were kept. Newspaper reports about the sport became more common after 1725 and gradually provided greater detail. By the end of the 17th century, English cricket had developed to the point...

The earliest reference to a team called Essex is in July 1732 when a combined Essex & Herts team played against the famous London Cricket Club

London Cricket Club

The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...

.

In July 1737, there was London v Essex at the Artillery Ground

Artillery Ground

The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London's most centrally located cricket grounds, situated just off the City Road immediately north of the City of London...

, London winning by 45 runs. In a return game at Ilford on 1 August 1737, Essex won by 7 runs.

References are then occasional until 1785 when the Hornchurch Cricket Club became prominent. This club had a very strong team that was representative of Essex as a county. However, the sources differed among themselves re whether the team should be called Essex or Hornchurch. But there is no doubt that Essex was a first-class county from 1785 until 1794, after which the county strangely and abruptly disappeared from the records for a long time.

For information about Essex county teams before the formation of Essex CCC, see : Essex county cricket teams

Essex county cricket teams

Essex county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. It is almost certain that cricket reached Essex by the 16th century and that it developed during the 17th century with inter-parish matches being...

Club history

Little was heard of Essex cricket from 1794 until the formation of Essex CCC on 14 January 1876 at a meeting in the Shire Hall, Brentwood. The new club did not become first-class until 1894.

Essex CCC played its inaugural first-class match on 14, 15 & 16 May 1894 versus Leicestershire CCC at Leyton. It was the initial first-class match played by either club, and Essex failed to win a match. In 1895, both of these clubs and Warwickshire CCC joined the County Championship

County Championship

The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...

. In the club's first championship match, of their first championship season, James Burns

James Burns (disambiguation)

James Burns may refer to:* James Burns , Australian businessman* James Anderson Burns , founder of the Oneida Baptist Institute* James MacGregor Burns , American biographer...

scored 114 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston

Edgbaston Cricket Ground

Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England...

and this was the first-ever century for Essex in the County Championship. GF Higgins scored the second championship century for Essex in the same match putting on 205 with Burns for the 4th wicket. The club made an extraordinary score of 692 against Somerset

Somerset County Cricket Club

Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...

, in which Burns made 0 but the most notable feat was by Walter Mead

Walter Mead (cricketer)

Walter Mead was the principal bowler for Essex during their first two decades as a first-class county. As a member of the Lord’s ground staff, he was also after J.T...

who took 17-119 against Hampshire CCC at Southampton.

Essex improved rapidly from 1895, so that by 1897 they were in the running for the Championship, only losing it when Surrey

Surrey County Cricket Club

Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...

beat them at Leyton. They fell off after this despite beating a fine Australian team on a dubious pitch in 1899, never finishing higher than sixth between 1899 and 1932. Their batting on Leyton's excellent pitches was generally good with the "Essex Twins" of Perrin

Percy Perrin

Percival Albert Perrin , known as either "Percy" or "Peter", was an English cricketer, who played for Essex as a right-handed, middle-order batsman for more than thirty years from 1896.Perrin was a Tottenham publican and a property developer who organised his considerable business...

and McGahey and the sound and skilful Jack Russell

Jack Russell (Essex cricketer)

Charles Albert George "Jack" Russell was one of the leading batsmen in county cricket during the period after World War I...

, but the bowling depended too much on Mead, Buckenham

Claude Buckenham

Claude Percival Buckenham, , was a cricketer who played for Essex and England....

and later Douglas

Johnny Douglas

John "Johnny" William Henry Tyler Douglas was a cricketer who was captain of the England team and an Olympic boxer.-Early life:...

and when available Louden

George Louden

George Louden was an Essex cricketer who was for a period after World War I almost certainly the best hard-wicket bowler in England...

.

With the decline of these players, Essex fell to some of their lowest levels ever during the late 1920s. Their bowlers conceded over 40 runs a wicket in 1928 - about the highest ever with uncovered pitches. The emergence of Jack O'Connor

Jack O'Connor

Jack O'Connor may refer to:*Jack O'Connor *Jack O'Connor , Australian cricketer*Jack O'Connor , English cricketer...

, Stan Nichols

Stan Nichols

Stan Nichols was the leading all-rounder in English cricket for much of the 1930s.-Career:In his youth primarily a football goalkeeper who played for some time with Queen's Park Rangers,...

and when available, the amateur

History of English amateur cricket

The history of English amateur cricket describes the concept and importance of amateur players in English cricket.-Co-development of amateur and professional cricket to 1800:...

fast bowlers Ken Farnes

Ken Farnes

Kenneth Farnes was an English cricketer. He played in 15 Tests from 1934 to 1939.Farnes was born in Leytonstone, Essex, and was educated at the Royal Liberty School in Gidea Park. He made his first-class debut for Essex in 1930, aged only 19. He took 5-36 in his second county match against Kent...

and Hopper Read

Hopper Read

Holcombe Douglas 'Hopper' Read was an English cricketer who played in one Test in 1935....

, though, made Essex during the 1930s a dangerous if inconsistent side. They finished as high as fourth in 1933, and owing to their pace bowling maintained almost as high a standard up to the outbreak of war. The batting, however, tended to depend too much upon O'Connor and a number of amateurs who were rarely available, and Essex lost too many games to break the North's stronghold on the Championship.

After the war, however, Essex fell off, taking their first wooden spoon in 1950. During ths period it was left to Trevor Bailey

Trevor Bailey

Trevor Edward Bailey CBE was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster.An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting...

to do all the pace bowling, and he was often unavailable due to Test calls. Not until 1957 did Essex come back into the top half of the table, but Bailey and Barry Knight never had support of sufficient class to permit them to reach the top of the table, even when Robin Hobbs

Robin Hobbs

Robin Nicholas Stuart Hobbs is a former English cricketer, who played in seven Tests for England from 1967 to 1971. He played first-class cricket for both Essex and Glamorgan....

became England's last successful leg-spinner late in the 1960s.

In the 1970s, with overseas players now permitted, Essex were able to gradually strengthen their team to achieve much more than they ever had before. This decade saw the advent of Graham Gooch

Graham Gooch

Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...

, one of England's finest ever opening batsmen, even though he began his Test career with a pair against Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

in 1975. He didn't return to the England team until 1978, but after a slow start began to assert his dominance over Test bowlers as he had on the county scene. Dedicated to training, he forced his burly physique through a tough regime to prolong his career long after some of his contemporaries had retired.

Along with Gooch, county captain and England batsman Keith Fletcher

Keith Fletcher

Keith Fletcher is a former English cricketer, who played for Essex and England. He later became England's team manager. His nickname was "The Gnome of Essex", so christened by his Essex team-mate, Ray East, because Fletcher's winklepickers had begun to curl up at the toes due to wear...

built a powerful eleven in the late 1970s that dominated domestic cricket from 1979 to 1992, when Essex won six of thirteen County Championship titles. The bowling in the first half of this period was borne by tireless left arm seamer John Lever

John Lever

John Lever MBE is an English former cricketer, who played in twenty one Tests and twenty two ODIs for England from 1976 to 1986...

and spinner and prankster Ray East

Ray East

Raymond Eric East was an English cricketer who played for Essex County Cricket Club.One of the most popular characters to play county cricket in recent times, East is remembered as much for his on field wit as his fine slow left arm spin bowling...

. The South African Ken McEwan

Ken McEwan

Kenneth Scott McEwan, born at Bedford, South Africa on 16 July 1952, was a cricketer who played principally for Eastern Province and Essex.A right-handed middle-order batsman, McEwan's cricket career coincided almost exactly with the period in which South Africa was banished from international...

and Fletcher were the best batsmen after Gooch. As Lever declined, England all rounder Derek Pringle

Derek Pringle

Derek Raymond Pringle is an English former Test and ODI cricketer for England, and is now a cricket journalist.He was educated at Felsted School and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University.-Life and career:...

and fast bowler Neil Foster

Neil Foster

Neil Foster and educated at Philip Morant Comprehensive, Colchester, is a former English cricketer, who played in twenty nine Tests and forty eight ODIs for England from 1983 to 1993. He played for Essex from 1980 to 1993, earning his county cap in 1983...

took over, whilst John Childs crossed from Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....

to take over as the chief spinner.

In the 1990s, Essex had more internationals, including Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...

, who captained England in several series. Bowlers Mark Ilott

Mark Ilott

Mark Christopher Ilott is an English cricketer. Ilott played his first Test in the third match of the 1993 Ashes, a match in which England gave debuts to four players , Ilott took four wickets in the match but only four more in his next two matches and was subsequently left out of the side...

and Peter Such

Peter Such

Peter Mark Such is an English cricketer. A hard-working county off-spinner, Such was brought into the Test arena in 1993 as a replacement for John Emburey but, despite taking 6 for 67 on debut, only played an initial 4 Tests before having to wait 5 years before his next appearance.Such enjoyed a...

earned caps, as well as wicket keeper James Foster. Ashley Cowan

Ashley Cowan

Ashley Cowan was an English cricketer between 1995 and 2005. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler....

toured the West Indies in 1997/98 without playing an international match. Essex were also able to sign England fast bowlers Darren Gough

Darren Gough

Darren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 234, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him...

and Alex Tudor

Alex Tudor

Alex Jeremy Tudor is an English cricketer who has spent two spells with Surrey as well as playing for Essex. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler. He was awarded the NBC Denis Compton Award during the 1997 and 1998 season...

, after they left Yorkshire

Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....

and Surrey

Surrey County Cricket Club

respectively.

Enjoying a new sponsorship deal at their Chelmsford home, and a pitch which is always full of runs, Essex, led by combative all rounder Ronnie Irani

Ronnie Irani

Ronald Charles "Ronnie" Irani is a former England cricketer who spent most of his career at Essex County Cricket Club, latterly as captain. He is of Irani descent, the Iranis being a community of Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India during the British Raj...

and boasting the excellent Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

-born batsman Andy Flower

Andy Flower

Andrew "Andy" Flower OBE is a former international cricketer for Zimbabwe and is currently the England coach.-Playing career:...

in their ranks, currently have a young team with the talent required to relive their glory days. Recent use of overseas international players including Danish Kaneria

Danish Kaneria

Danish Prabha Shanker Kaneria is a Pakistani cricketer . Danish Kaneria has continued the tradition of great Pakistani leg spin bowlers and possesses a very well disguised googly...

and Andre Adams

Andre Adams

Andre Ryan Adams is a New Zealand cricketer of Caribbean descent who has played one Test and 42 One Day International, taking 53 wickets at a bowling average of 31. He has also scored over 400 ODI runs with a batting strike rate above 100...

has also increased the overall strength of their squad. They fulfilled their promise by winning the National League

National League (cricket)

The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect the fact that large numbers of matches were played on days other than Sunday.-Sunday League:The...

Division 1 title in 2005

2005 English cricket season

Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began, a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by...

, their first major title in eight years.

The future looks bright for Essex, especially with the breakthrough of young talent. Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook

Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...

has become a regular England batsman, having previously been the England Under 19s captain, and after scoring a famous double century against the touring Australians in 2005. Ravinder Bopara

Ravinder Bopara

Ravinder Singh Bopara is an English cricketer who plays for Essex and England. He is the second Sikh to play cricket for England, after Monty Panesar. Originally a top-order batsman, but with his developing medium pace bowling, he is becoming a vital all-rounder...

is another promising youngster, who is widely tipped for success.

2006 Season

In 2006, Essex successfully defended their National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

title in the newly rebranded Pro40 format by the narrowest of margins, having tied for the title on points.

The club missed out on promotion in the County Championship only on the last day of the season, losing to Leicestershire

Leicestershire County Cricket Club

Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....

while their rivals Worcestershire

Worcestershire County Cricket Club

Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...

beat Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...

.

In the Twenty20 Cup

Twenty20 Cup

The Twenty20 Cup was a cricket competition for English and Welsh county clubs.In 2010, it has been replaced by Friends Provident t20 as the domestic Twenty20 competition.-History:...

Essex beat Yorkshire

Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....

to reach the semi-finals at Trent Bridge

Trent Bridge

Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...

, although they were beaten in the semi-finals by eventual tournament winners Leicestershire

Leicestershire County Cricket Club

. Essex also had Twenty20 success in the first floodlit Twenty20 Tournament, held between the four teams with permanent floodlights, in a series of 2 legged matches. Essex beat Derbyshire 1-0, after the first leg was washed out, and they won the second leg convincingly.

Notable and strange facts:

-In the Championship Essex were the only county who Mark Ramprakash

Mark Ramprakash

Mark Ravin Ramprakash is an English cricketer, playing for Surrey and England. A right-handed batsman, he initially made his name playing for Middlesex, and was selected for England aged 21...

did not score a fifty against.
-The 150/9 scored against Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

in the Twenty20 Cup

Twenty20 Cup

The Twenty20 Cup was a cricket competition for English and Welsh county clubs.In 2010, it has been replaced by Friends Provident t20 as the domestic Twenty20 competition.-History:...

semi-final was the lowest total scored by Essex when they batted the whole innings
-Essex's 2nd XI did better than the England cricket team by beating Sri Lanka in a one day match

Success in 2008

Despite regularly losing Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook

and Ravi Bopara on England duty, the 2008 season was the most successful season in the history of Essex in the limited overs format.

After being relegated in the Pro40 competition the year before, as well as suffering the retirements of veterans Ronnie Irani

Ronnie Irani

and Andy Flower

Andy Flower

Andrew "Andy" Flower OBE is a former international cricketer for Zimbabwe and is currently the England coach.-Playing career:...

, Essex made valuable signings in Jason Gallian

Jason Gallian

Jason Edward Riche Gallian is a former English Test cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman, he originally hails from Australia and captained their Under-19 side for two Under-19 Tests in 1989 and 1990. He played three Test matches for England, but disappointed, with a highest score of 28 in six...

from Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club

Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...

, David Masters

David Masters

David Masters is an English cricketer who has played for the cricket teams of Kent, Leicestershire and Essex.David is a very accurate seam bowler who bowls at speeds around 75–80 miles per hour...

from Leicestershire

Leicestershire County Cricket Club

and also Chris Wright

Chris Wright (cricketer)

Christopher Wright is an English cricketer.Chris Wright made his first-class debut for Middlesex in 2004, as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler...

from Middlesex

Middlesex County Cricket Club

Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...

. These pre-season signings, notably Masters, would prove to be crucial in the various trophy campaigns.

Friends Provident Trophy

Essex came runners up to Kent in the group stage, but still comfortably qualified for a quarter-final fixture away at Leicestershire

Leicestershire County Cricket Club

. Essex inflicted a crushing victory on the hosts, with the margin at 118 runs. The match can also be remembered for Ravi Bopara's 201 not out off just 138 balls.

This meant Essex would host the semi-final against Yorkshire

Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....

at Chelmsford

County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford

, in which the hosts posted 285-8 off the 50 overs thanks to a 95 off Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook

and 61 off big-hitting Graham Napier

Graham Napier

Graham Richard Napier is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium fast bowler....

. Impressive bowling from Danish Kaneria

Danish Kaneria

Danish Prabha Shanker Kaneria is a Pakistani cricketer . Danish Kaneria has continued the tradition of great Pakistani leg spin bowlers and possesses a very well disguised googly...

and Ryan ten Doeschate

Ryan ten Doeschate

Ryan Neil ten Doeschate is a South African-born cricketer who plays internationally for the Netherlands due to his Dutch ancestry. He has played cricket for Essex since 2003....

left Yorkshire all out for 198, thus ensuring Essex would proceed to a Lord's

Lord's Cricket Ground

Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...

final against Robert Key's

Robert Key (cricketer)

Robert William Trevor Key is an English cricketer. He is the captain of Kent County Cricket Club, and a former member of the England Test match and One Day International sides....

Kent

Kent County Cricket Club

Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...

.

The final on August 16 drew fans from both sides of the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

and filled the 30,000 capacity ground (a huge crowd for domestic cricket). Kent

Kent County Cricket Club

Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...

won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision which many pundits suggested eventually cost Kent the final. Kent were left limping after losing openers Joe Denly

Joe Denly

Joseph Liam Denly is an English international cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and leg break bowler. An exciting stroke player who relishes short pitched bowling, Denly first came to attention during the England 2005 Under-19 tour of India where he made three half-centuries in three tests...

and Rob Key

Robert Key (cricketer)

Robert William Trevor Key is an English cricketer. He is the captain of Kent County Cricket Club, and a former member of the England Test match and One Day International sides....

. It was only a 53 by overseas star Martin van Jaarsveld

Martin van Jaarsveld

Martin van Jaarsveld is a South African cricketer who played nine Tests and eleven One Day Internationals for South Africa between 2002 and 2004...

and 63 from fellow South African Ryan McLaren

Ryan McLaren

Ryan McLaren is a South African cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler....

that helped Kent to a modest 214 all out. Initially Essex made hard work of chasing down the total after losing Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook

as the 4th wicket for 93 runs. However, the experience of Grant Flower

Grant Flower

Grant William Flower is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is rated among the best Zimbabwean cricketers in history for his handy left arm spin and fine batting skills. He was a fitness fanatic who spends hours in the gym, and was also regarded as a brilliant fielder who was usually seen in the gully...

(70 not out) and his partnership with Ryan ten Doeschate

Ryan ten Doeschate

Ryan Neil ten Doeschate is a South African-born cricketer who plays internationally for the Netherlands due to his Dutch ancestry. He has played cricket for Essex since 2003....

(30 not out) helped Essex over the line with 7 balls to spare. Essex had thus won The Friends Provident Trophy for the third time after previous successes in 1985 and 1997.

Twenty20 Cup

Although Essex did not win the Twenty20

Twenty20

Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...

tournament, making the finals at The Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl, Hampshire

The Rose Bowl is an English cricket ground used for county, One Day International and Test Matches. It is situated at West End, Hampshire, near Southampton, and is home to Hampshire Cricket. The design of the venue is set into an amphitheatre creating a bowl, hence the name...

with generally a young team was measured as a reasonable success in itself. The tournament also saw the emergence of Graham Napier

Graham Napier

Graham Richard Napier is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium fast bowler....

as a big-hitting batsman (hitting a world record 16 sixes in his 152 not out off just 58 balls against Sussex

Sussex County Cricket Club

Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...

at Chelmsford

County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford

). Napier

Graham Napier

Graham Richard Napier is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium fast bowler....

performed with both bat and ball in the quarter-final against Northants

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club

(40 off 20 balls and conceding 10 runs for 4 wickets when bowling) to help see Essex through to finals day for the second time in 3 years.

Despite a steady 54 from captain Mark Pettini

Mark Pettini

Mark Lewis Pettini is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman. He can also bowl right-arm medium-pace bowler and has also acted as Essex's wicket-keeper, but not for a number of years. Nicknamed "Swamps" by his Essex team mates.-Playing Style:Mark Pettini is an aggressive batsman who...

in the semi-final, Essex were defeated by Kent by 14 runs, mainly due to some restrictive bowling by Kent's Yasir Arafat

Yasir Arafat (cricketer)

Yasir Arafat Satti is a Pakistani cricketer. He bats right-handed and bowls right-arm fast medium.-International career:...

. Kent

Kent County Cricket Club

Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...

went on to lose the final to Middlesex

Middlesex County Cricket Club

Pro40 Division 2

Essex were expected to bounce back strongly after relegation from the top tier the season before. A five-wicket win at home to Yorkshire

Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....

provided a good start to the league. A quickfire 99 from Ryan ten Doeschate

Ryan ten Doeschate

Ryan Neil ten Doeschate is a South African-born cricketer who plays internationally for the Netherlands due to his Dutch ancestry. He has played cricket for Essex since 2003....

clinched a tie away at Leicestershire

Leicestershire County Cricket Club

soon after. The Eagles then extended their unbeaten run with a win away at Derbyshire

Derbyshire County Cricket Club

Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...

, which included unbeaten centuries from Jason Gallian

Jason Gallian

and Ravi Bopara, the former's coming off just 54 balls. Good quality bowling on an infrequently used wicket at Southend

Garons Park

allowed Essex to bowl out Northants

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club

for just 61, before knocking off the total in just under 15 overs. Two days later The Eagles further consolidated their place at the top of the table with a victory over struggling Surrey

Surrey County Cricket Club

in a rain-affected match at County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford

County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford

. Promotion then seemed certain after Mark Pettini's

Mark Pettini

70 guided Essex to another win at Colchester

Castle Park Cricket Ground

Castle Park Cricket Ground is an English First-class cricket ground in Colchester. The ground is in Lower Castle Park, part of the land surrounding Colchester Castle. It is used by Essex County Cricket Club for some of their First-class cricket matches. Essex played both County Championship and...

against Glamorgan.
An abandonment at Warwickshire

Warwickshire County Cricket Club

Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...

left Essex with enough points to be certain of promotion, but The Eagles would have to win away at Kent

Kent County Cricket Club

Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...

to be sure of winning the league. The match was notable for the huge level of away support Essex received, a rarity in domestic cricket. Despite an unbeaten Rob Key

Robert Key (cricketer)

Robert William Trevor Key is an English cricketer. He is the captain of Kent County Cricket Club, and a former member of the England Test match and One Day International sides....

century and the fact Essex lost captain Mark Pettini

Mark Pettini

on the first ball of their own innings, Essex managed to score the 247 needed for victory thanks to an unbeaten 68 from veteran Grant Flower

Grant Flower

, as well as fifties from Jason Gallian

Jason Gallian

and Ravi Bopara, to pick up the Pro40 Division 2 title.

The win at Kent meant Essex had won their first double since 1984. Despite not being promoted in the County Championship

County Championship

The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...

, the 2008 season will be regarded as one of the most successful seasons in the history of Essex County Cricket Club, certainly in the shorter forms of the game.

The season also established a rivalry between Essex and Kent

Kent County Cricket Club

Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...

, which often became extremely heated in a small amount of cases due to the amount of alcohol consumed at cricket grounds combined with newly-found passions for the game boiling over.

Home grounds

County Ground
County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford
The County Cricket Ground, is a cricket venue in Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is home to Essex County Cricket Club.Chelmsford is a small ground, and therefore suits big-hitting batsmen. Essex stalwart Graham Gooch scored many of his runs here and Graham Napier scored 152 of 58 balls in a...

, Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
Lower Castle Park, Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
Garons Park
Garons Park
Garons Park is a cricket ground in Southend, England. The ground was first used by the Essex 1st XI in 2005. The ground will host two games in 2008, against Glamorgan in the County Championship and Northamptonshire in the Pro40 League....

, Southend
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...

Squad

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

No.	Name	Birth date	Batting Style	Bowling Style	Notes
Batsmen
26	Alastair Cook Alastair Cook Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...	24 December 1984 (age 27)	Left-handed	Right arm off break Off break Off break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners....
3	Owais Shah Owais Shah Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...	22 October 1978 (age 33)	Right-handed	Right arm off break Off break Off break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners....
34	Billy Godleman Billy Godleman Billy Ashley Godleman is an English cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm leg-spin bowler.-Early life:...	11 February 1989 (age 22)	Left-handed	Right arm leg break Leg break A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of...
32	Jaik Mickleburgh Jaik Mickleburgh Jaik Mickleburgh is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman, who currently plays for Essex. Mickleburgh is in the Essex 1st team squad for the first time during the 2008 season. He has also played Minor Counties cricket for Norfolk...	30 March 1990 (age 21)	Right-handed	Right arm medium-fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
24	Mark Pettini Mark Pettini Mark Lewis Pettini is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman. He can also bowl right-arm medium-pace bowler and has also acted as Essex's wicket-keeper, but not for a number of years. Nicknamed "Swamps" by his Essex team mates.-Playing Style:Mark Pettini is an aggressive batsman who...	7 August 1983 (age 28)	Right-handed	Right arm medium pace
22	Matthew Walker Matthew Walker (English cricketer) Matthew Jonathan Walker is an English cricketer, who played for Kent County Cricket Club until 2008. He now plays for Essex County Cricket Club.-Early career:...	2 January 1974 (age 38)	Left-handed	Right arm medium pace
All-rounders
25	Ravi Bopara	4 May 1985 (age 26)	Right-handed	Right arm medium pace	Vice-captain Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
17	Graham Napier Graham Napier Graham Richard Napier is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium fast bowler....	6 January 1980 (age 32)	Right-handed	Right arm fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
27	Ryan ten Doeschate Ryan ten Doeschate Ryan Neil ten Doeschate is a South African-born cricketer who plays internationally for the Netherlands due to his Dutch ancestry. He has played cricket for Essex since 2003....	30 June 1980 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right arm medium-fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
21	Tom Westley Tom Westley Thomas Westley, or more commonly known asTom Westley, is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler who has played first-class cricket for Essex since 2006...	13 March 1989 (age 22)	Right-handed	Right arm off break Off break Off break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners....
18	Chris Wright Chris Wright (cricketer) Christopher Wright is an English cricketer.Chris Wright made his first-class debut for Middlesex in 2004, as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler...	14 July 1985 (age 26)	Right-handed	Right arm medium-fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
56	Scott Styris Scott Styris Scott Bernardo Styris is an Australian-born New Zealand cricketer. An allrounder, Styris is an aggressive right-handed middle order batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler....	10 July 1975 (age 36)	Right-handed	Right arm medium pace Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...	Overseas player for Twenty20
35	Michael Comber Michael Comber Michael Comber is a medium paced bowler and batsmen who plays for Essex CCC. Originally from Clacton CC, he has played several CB40 games for Essex.-References:...	26 October 1989 (age 22)	Right-handed	Right arm medium-fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
Wicket-keepers
7	James Foster James Foster (cricketer) James Savin Foster is an English cricketer: a wicket-keeper who played seven Tests and 11 One Day Internationals in 2001/02 and 2002/03. Foster played his club cricket at Ilford Cricket Club and then Wanstead & Snaresbrook Cricket Club...	15 April 1980 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right arm medium-fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...	Club captain Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... , appointed June 2010
31	Adam Wheater Adam Wheater Adam Wheater is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper, who currently plays for Essex...	13 February 1990 (age 21)	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox Left-arm orthodox spin Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
Bowlers
29	Maurice Chambers Maurice Chambers Maurice Anthony Chambers is a cricketer representing Essex. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler.Chambers made his debut first-class appearance for Essex in June 2005....	14 September 1987 (age 24)	Right-handed	Right arm fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
38	Tim Southee	11 December 1988 (age 23)	Right-handed	Right arm fast-medium Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...	Overseas player for T20 only
23	Tim Phillips Tim Phillips (cricketer) Timothy James Phillips is an English cricketer who was educated at Felsted. He is a left-handed batsman and a slow left-arm bowler. He has played for Essex since the age of 18....	13 March 1981 (age 30)	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox Left-arm orthodox spin Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
9	David Masters David Masters David Masters is an English cricketer who has played for the cricket teams of Kent, Leicestershire and Essex.David is a very accurate seam bowler who bowls at speeds around 75–80 miles per hour...	22 April 1978 (age 33)	Right-handed	Right arm medium pace
36	Max Osborne Max Osborne Max Osborne is an English cricketer. Osborne is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm medium-fast. He was born in Orsett, Essex....	21 November 1990 (age 21)	Right-handed	Right arm medium-fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
20	Tom Craddock Tom Craddock (cricketer) Thomas Richard Craddock, is an English cricketer who is currently contracted with Essex CCC. He is a specialist leg spin bowler....	13 July 1989 (age 22)	Right-handed	Right arm Leg break Leg break A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of...	On loan from Unicorns Unicorns (cricket team) Unicorns is a cricket team in England that was formed in 2010 specifically to play in the Clydesdale Bank 40 limited overs competition. Members of the squad are all players without current full-time contracts with one of the regular first-class counties.... until the end of the 2011 season
6	Reece Topley Reece Topley Reece James William Topley is an English cricketer. Topley is a right-handed batsman who bowls left-arm medium-fast. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and was educated at the Royal Hospital School....	12 February 1994 (age 17)	Right-handed	Left arm medium-fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
5	Tymal Mills Tymal Mills Tymal Solomon Mills, is an English cricketer who currently plays for Essex CCC. He was educated at Mildenhall College of Technology in Mildenhall, Suffolk. Mills made his first-class debut against the Sri Lankans in the tourist match of 2011 at Chelmsford. He made his Championship debut vs...	12 August 1992 (age 19)	Right-handed	Left arm fast Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...

Essex players with international caps

Essex county cricketers who have during their career also represented their national team in Test cricket

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

or One Day International cricket
England Ronnie Irani

Ronnie Irani

Graham Gooch

Keith Fletcher

Jack Russell

Jack Russell is the name of:* Jack Russell , a fictional Marvel Comics character* Jack Russell Terrier, a type of dog- People :* Jack "Russer" Russell , traveler* Jack Russell , American baseball player...

Stan Nichols

Stan Nichols was the leading all-rounder in English cricket for much of the 1930s.-Career:In his youth primarily a football goalkeeper who played for some time with Queen's Park Rangers,...

Ravi Bopara Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain

Alastair Cook

Barry Knight James Foster

James Foster (cricketer)

Neil Foster

Nick Knight

Nicholas Verity Knight is a former England cricketer. Knight's middle name was in honour of the 1930s English Test bowler Hedley Verity who was killed in World War II and is a distant family relation...

Darren Gough

Alan Oakman

Alan Oakman was an English first-class cricketer. He had a long career for Sussex, playing 538 first-class matches over a 21-year period, and played two Test matches for England...

Adam Hollioake

Adam John Hollioake is a cricketing all-rounder who played for Surrey and England. He captained Surrey from 1997 until 2003, winning three County Championships, and led the England cricket team in One Day Internationals...

Mark Ilott

Alex Tudor

Jason Gallian

John Stephenson Jim Laker

Jim Laker

James "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, known for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, when he took nineteen wickets in England's victory against Australia...

Derek Pringle

Martin Saggers

Martin John Saggers is a retired English cricketer, who spent the majority of his career at Kent. He had little success in his three seasons with Durham between 1996 and 1998, but then joined Kent and from 2000 to 2003 passed 50 first-class wickets each year, his best being 83 in 2002...

Peter Such

Owais Shah

Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...

Australia Mark Waugh

Mark Waugh

Mark Edward Waugh AM is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as...

Andy Bichel

Andrew John Bichel is a retired Australian cricket player and was the bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2009 Indian Premier League....

Michael Kasprowicz

Michael Scott Kasprowicz is a former Australian Test cricketer. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland as a seventeen year old in...

Stuart Law

Stuart Grant Law OAM is an Australian-born cricketer. He is also the head coach of Bangladesh national cricket team, as from July, he succeeded fellow Aussie Jamie Siddons, who left shortly after the 2011 Cricket World Cup...

Allan Border

Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...

Merv Hughes

Mervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in...

Pakistan Mohammad Akram

Mohammad Akram

Mohammad Akram is a Pakistani right arm fast-medium bowler in cricket, he plays for Surrey County Cricket Club. He played in 9 Test matches and 23 One Day International matches for Pakistan between 1995–1996 and 2000-2001.He is 6'2 tall and Akram is nicknamed Haji...

Danish Kaneria

Danish Prabha Shanker Kaneria is a Pakistani cricketer . Danish Kaneria has continued the tradition of great Pakistani leg spin bowlers and possesses a very well disguised googly...

Saleem Malik

Saleem Malik is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1981/82 and 1999, at one stage captaining the Pakistani cricket team. He was a right-handed wristy middle order batsman who was strong square of the wicket. His legbreak bowling was also quite effective...

Netherlands Ryan ten Doeschate

Ryan ten Doeschate

Ryan Neil ten Doeschate is a South African-born cricketer who plays internationally for the Netherlands due to his Dutch ancestry. He has played cricket for Essex since 2003....

Zimbabwe Andy Flower

Andy Flower

Andrew "Andy" Flower OBE is a former international cricketer for Zimbabwe and is currently the England coach.-Playing career:...

Grant Flower

South Africa Hashim Amla

Hashim Amla

Hashim Mahomed Amla is a South African cricketer. A right-handed upper order batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler, Amla bats at number 3 for South Africa in Test matches and has opened in limited overs contests. He is currently ranked as the No...

Dale Steyn

Dale Willem Steyn is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. He is currently the number one ranked Test bowler in the world and achieved the 900+ points benchmark on 13th Nov 2011. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras...

Andre Nel

André Nel is a South African cricketer who played Test cricket and ODIs as a fast bowler but has since retired opting to play county cricket for Surrey.-International career:...

Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Lonwabo Lopsy Tsotsobe is a South African cricketer who plays for Warriors.In November 2008, he received his first national call-up, with his selection for the test leg of the tour of Australia. He was later selected for the ODI leg as well.In April 2011, Tsotsobe signed to play as an overseas...

West Indies Keith Boyce

Keith Boyce

Keith David Boyce played 21 Tests and 8 One Day Internationals for the West Indies in the 1970s, he died from the effects of chronic cirrhosis of the liver while sitting in a chair at a pharmacist in Speightstown, Barbados in 1996.Boyce was the first man to take eight wickets in a List A match; he...

Norbert Phillip

Norbert Phillip is a former cricketer. He played nine Tests and one One Day International for the West Indies. He also turned out for the Combined Islands, playing 31 first-class matches for them as an all-rounder; he never hit a century for the Combined Islands , but with 106 wickets he was the...

New Zealand Tim Southee Scott Styris

Scott Styris

Scott Bernardo Styris is an Australian-born New Zealand cricketer. An allrounder, Styris is an aggressive right-handed middle order batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler....

Essex facts and feats

Essex have provided four players for the England test team on three occasions: Graham Gooch
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...

, Derek Pringle
Derek Pringle
Derek Raymond Pringle is an English former Test and ODI cricketer for England, and is now a cricket journalist.He was educated at Felsted School and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University.-Life and career:...

, Neil Foster
Neil Foster
Neil Foster and educated at Philip Morant Comprehensive, Colchester, is a former English cricketer, who played in twenty nine Tests and forty eight ODIs for England from 1983 to 1993. He played for Essex from 1980 to 1993, earning his county cap in 1983...

and John Childs
John Childs (cricketer)
John Henry Childs is a former English cricketer who played in two Tests for England in 1988. At the age of 36 years 320 days, Childs became the oldest player since Dick Howorth in 1947 to make his England debut...

v West Indies at The Oval in 1988 and twice against Australia in 1993 with Graham Gooch
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...

, Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...

, Mark Ilott
Mark Ilott
Mark Christopher Ilott is an English cricketer. Ilott played his first Test in the third match of the 1993 Ashes, a match in which England gave debuts to four players , Ilott took four wickets in the match but only four more in his next two matches and was subsequently left out of the side...

and Peter Such
Peter Such
Peter Mark Such is an English cricketer. A hard-working county off-spinner, Such was brought into the Test arena in 1993 as a replacement for John Emburey but, despite taking 6 for 67 on debut, only played an initial 4 Tests before having to wait 5 years before his next appearance.Such enjoyed a...

.
Percy Perrin
Percy Perrin
Percival Albert Perrin , known as either "Percy" or "Peter", was an English cricketer, who played for Essex as a right-handed, middle-order batsman for more than thirty years from 1896.Perrin was a Tottenham publican and a property developer who organised his considerable business...

's 343 is the only triple century for Essex but broke a less welcome record too. It is the highest score made by a man on the losing side in first class cricket. Essex piled up 597, thanks to Perrin before 'Derbyshire accomplished the most phenomenal performance ever recorded in First-Class cricket' in the words of Wisden
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...

. They replied with 548, dismissed Essex for 97 and won by nine wickets.
Essex were the only team to bowl out Bradman's 1948 'Invincibles' in a day, at Southend. They famously conceded the little matter of 721 in the process.
University games had traditionally seen County batsman improve their averages at the undergraduates' expense but Cambridge batsmen John Dewes and Hubert Doggart both made double centuries in a record breaking stand of 429 against Essex in May 1949. Doggart had made history in 1948 by scoring 215* on his first class debut.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Honours

Second XI honours

Records

Earliest cricket

Club history

2006 Season

Success in 2008

Friends Provident Trophy

Twenty20 Cup

Pro40 Division 2

Home grounds

Squad

Essex players with international caps

Essex facts and feats

Further reading

External links