Last season Essex claimed back to back County Championship wins taking the title for the third time in four seasons, and became the inaugural winners of The Bob Willis Trophy.
The question most Essex fans are asking is of course can they expect more success in the 2021 campaign? There is every reason to suspect the answer is an overwhelming yes. Australia veteran Peter Siddle has been confirmed as an overseas signing along with South African spinner Simon Harmer who will along with Jamie Porter and Sam Cook form a potent bowling attack. The other key personnel remain unchanged and us such Essex are early favourites with the bookies to retain their title.
The First XI
The batting will be lead of course by ex England captain Sir Alastair Cook who showed his class once again in last season's final at Lord's scoring 179 in Essex's first innings. Fellow left hander Nick Browne should open with Cook. Essex fans will be hoping Browne can return to his best form after a poor campaign by his standards last term which saw him lose his place at the top of the order to all rounder Paul Walter for a couple of fixtures.
Club Captain Tom Westley will bat in his customary roll at three and will hopefully score more heavily this time around as he grows more accustomed to his leadership role.
Dan Lawrence who made his England debut in the recent series win over Sri Lanka should be available for at least the first eight or nine fixtures for Essex before the home summer Test campaign begins. With England having a heavy Test schedule and the T20 World Cup taking place in the summer key personnel are being rested and rotated, so Lawrence can expect to play some part in the summers Test matches against New Zealand & India.
Youngsters Feroze Khushi & all rounder Paul Walter will likely do battle for the number 5 spot. Khushi made a maiden first class 50 against Surrey at Chelmsford last season and may well get first chance given the strength of the bowling attack.
Ex captain Ryan ten Doeschate will be at 6 although he will play primarily as a batsman, his medium pace bowling is rarely seen nowadays.
Keeper Adam Wheater who averaged 58.20 in 2020 adds good depth to the batting line-up and is now one of the most competent gloveman on the county circuit.
In Simon Harmer Essex have the leading spinner in county cricket. His four season's at Essex have seen him take nearly 250 wickets at an average around 20 including taking 10 or more in match on five occasions.
Veteran Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle returns for a third stint with Essex. Although not as quick as he once was his nagging accuracy coupled with an ability to produce swing and seam will make him a formidable part of the bowling attack.
Jamie Porter is another of Essex's home grown talents, he has taken over 350 first class wickets at an average of 24 since his first class debut in 2015, he has been selected in England Test squads although he is yet to make a Test debut. Essex fans may quietly be hoping this stays the case.
Sam Cook is another product of the Essex Academy. Since his debut in 2016 he has claimed 104 wickets at less than 24 a piece. A prodigious swinger of the new ball Cook continues to improve year on year.
The Squad Players
Paul Walter originally came through the Essex academy as a left arm bowler who could handle the bat. As his career has developed his batting his improved immeasurably whilst his bowling has not progressed in the same manner.
Michael Pepper is deputy to Adam Wheater in the wicket keeping department, he is a competent gloveman who is capable of better with the bat than he has so far shown during his limited opportunities in the first XI.
Aron Nijjar is a tidy left arm spinner used mostly in the white ball formats mainly due to the presence and outstanding performances of Simon Harmer in red ball cricket.
Batsman Varun Chopra is mainly used in the white ball formats but could be used in the middle order of the red ball side if Dan Lawrence is away on England duty. Capable of better than he has shown over the last two seasons.
Aaron Beard is a young skiddy quick bowler who swings the ball well. Is a more than able deputy for any of the first choice fast bowlers when Essex decide to rest and rotate.
Matt Quinn is a tall quick bowler originally from New Zealand, normally leads the attack in white ball cricket where Porter and Cook's lack of pace is sometimes used against them.
Summary
Whilst Essex's strength is undoubtedly their potent bowling attack, they possess quality batsman such as Sir Alastair Cook, Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence along with Adam Wheater who has become an excellent keeper-batsman. There is plenty of back up in the bowling department but the batting line up could be weakened if Lawrence spends much time away with England. I would like to see Essex bring in another batter but finances may well be tight due to Covid. Not replacing Ravi Bopara who departed for Sussex at the end of the 2019 season has hit the white ball teams especially hard.
Essex have been drawn against Derbyshire, Durham, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire in the opening group stage of this season's County Championship and should top that group with ease.
In truth if Essex play to their potential and the weather is kind to them they should really make the end of season show piece final as a minimum, and a third straight title is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.
Essex's 50 over side has been poor for a number of years now and will be an area where Director of Cricket Ronnie Irani will want to see an improvement, and last years defence of the 2019 T20 Blast title was nothing short of a disaster, and fans too will want to see an improvement from the white ball teams.
The likes of Somerset, Surrey and Yorkshire will have their eyes on Essex's title but I expect another successful season for the Essex men and hopefully a return to the stands at Chelmsford for the fans before the end of the summer.
Up Up Eagles
LV County Championship Fixtures
03 Feb 2021
Good summary Greg, I do think we will miss Lawrence if he stays in the England squad, batting looks a bit light. A lot will depend on Browne hitting some form. I did think Walter looked quite good, the little I saw of him, and his bowling was ok.
ReplyDeleteWe do miss Ravi in the one day squad though and at least one of Khushi, Walter, Pepper or Patel really need to push on in the batting stakes.