en-us955F913A-A570-AFB2-06A55471E71A1085Friendly at The Ford County Ground (Day 1 of 2) Essex won the toss and elected to bat Update Essex 276-6 declared off 96 overs (Chopra lbw b Murtagh 26, Gallian b Richardson 11, Westley c Scott b Murtagh 8, Flower c Nash b Murtagh 39, Pettini c Scott b Murtagh 87, Foster c Scott b Evans 85, Middlebrook 8 not out, Phillips 0 not out/Silverwood 18-6-41-0/Richardson 7-3-8-1/Evans 21-6-60-1/Murtagh 19-5-53-4/Udal 17-2-55-0/Finn 9-1-31-0/Malan 3-0-12-0/Joyce 2-0-12-0) Close Essex team (12 to play, 11 to bat) Jason Gallian, Varun Chopra, Tom Westley, Grant Flower, Mark Pettini, James Foster, James Middlebrook, Tim Phillips, Alex Tudor, Mervyn Westfield, Chris Wright, David Masters Middlesex team (12 to play, 11 to bat) Ed Smith, Billy Godleman, Ed Joyce, Eoin Morgan, David Nash, Ben Scott, David Malan, Tim Murtagh, Shaun Udal, Alan Richardson, Chris Silverwood, Danny Evans Format: Each of the two days against Middlesex consists of three two-hour sessions with a minimum of 96 overs scheduled per day (no team to bat for more than 96 overs in an innings). Play is due to get underway at 11.00am on both Thursday and Friday.ECCC DIARY955BC726-0034-8644-29684618DB3B9438Friendly at The Ford County Ground (Day 2) Essex 276-6 declared off 96 overs Middlesex 285 all out off 88.5 overs (Joyce b Middlebrook 61, Godleman b Tudor 7, Smith c Middlebrook b Tudor 14, Morgan b Middlebrook 24, Nash c Foster b Masters 3, Malan c Middlebrook b Tudor 74, Scott b Masters 48, Murtagh lbw Tudor 0, Silverwood b Masters 10, Udal c and b Masters 18, Evans 9 not out/Masters 18.5-7-40-4/Tudor 18-1-73-4/Westfield 12-3-48-0/Wright 11-3-28-0/Middlebrook 13-4-31-2/Phillips 11-2-42-0/Westley 4-1-12-0/Chopra 1-0-1-0) Middlesex won by one wicket Notes: Danny Evans hit the winning runs for Middlesex with nine wickets down when he edged Alex Tudor just wide of Jason Gallian at slip for four in the 88th over.ECCC DIARY955ADA11-C35E-1857-6EA74EBD4D86B2BAFriendly at The Ford County Ground Essex won the toss and elected to bat Update Essex 179 all out off 75 overs (Chopra lbw SP Jones 23, Gallian c Davies b Kabir Ali 10, Westley c Hick b Ahmed 5, Flower b Andrew 36, Pettini st Davies b Batty 17, ten Doeschate c Hick b Andrew 23, Middlebrook c Davies b Kabir Ali 17, Phillips c Davies b Jones 14, Napier b Kabir Ali 0, Roberts 9 not out, Chambers b Ahmed 0/Kabir Ali 17-9-22-3/SP Jones 16-5-46-2/Andrew 13-3-36-2/Ahmed 12-5-26-2/RA Jones 4-3-2-0/Batty 13-4-31-1) Worcestershire 30-1 off 10 overs (Mitchell 25 not out, Moore c Gallian b Palladino 1, Solanka 1 not out) Close Essex team (12 to play, 11 to bat) Jason Gallian Varun Chopra Tom Westley Grant Flower Mark Pettini Ryan ten Doeschate James Middlebrook Tim Phillips Graham Napier Alex Roberts Maurice Chambers Tony Palladino Adam Wheater will keep wicket on day two Worcestershire team (14 to play, 11 to bat) DKH Mitchell SC Moore VS Solanki BF Smith GA Hick MM Ali SM Davies GJ Batty GM Andrew K Ali SP Jones RA Jones SJ Magoffin M AhmedECCC DIARY955A2B06-DDA6-C629-ADB7108E999E9382Friendly at The Ford County Ground Essex 1st inns 179 Worcestershire 1st inns (overnight 30-1) 299-9 declared off 79.1 overs (Mitchell c Wheater b Chambers 30, Moore c Gallian b Palladino 1, Solanki c Flower b Palladino 32, Smith lbw b Phillips 64, Davies b Napier 1, M Ali lbw b Palladino 0, Batty b Napier 4, Andrew b Napier 0, K Ali not out 100, SP Jones c Napier b Phillips 34, RA Jones not out 6, Extras 27/Palladino 23-8-56-3/Chambers 13-2-66-1/Napier 15.1-5-41-3/Roberts 9-2-34-0/Phillips 11-0-52-2/Middlebrook 8-0-32-0) Worcestershire won by three wickets on first innings (having passed Essex’s score for seven wickets down) Close Notes: Kabir Ali – 100 not out off 141 balls (12 x 4/3 x 6)ECCC DIARY95589B13-CC8F-158E-BCCC783659FB2A8DFirst-Class Friendly at Fenner's (Day One) Live Scorecard: www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/cambridge-ucce-v-essex-12-4-08,13857,FF.html Report Essex closed on 406-4 on day one of their First-Class Friendly match with Cambridge UCCE at Fenner’s on Saturday. Captain Mark Pettini and Ryan ten Doeschate rescued the visitors in a fourth-wicket stand of 245 after Essex had slumped to 64-3 during the first session. Pettini closed on 153 not out while ten Doeschate retired ‘out’ at tea after crashing 146 off 147 balls – just two short of his highest score for the County. South African pace bowler Matt Friedlander gave Cambridge a good start when he removed Varun Chopra (11) and Tom Westley (1) in his opening spell. Jason Gallian (38) also fell before lunch but that was the end of the bowling success for the home side. James Middlebrook (46 not out) helped Pettini put on an unbeaten 97 for the fifth wicket up the close.ECCC DIARY955798AE-A02E-E8C6-E627684B36A59387First-Class Friendly at Fenner's (Day Two) Live Scorecard: www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/cambridge-ucce-v-essex-12-4-08,13857,FF.html Report Only 28.4 overs were possible as rain called an early halt to proceedings on day two of Essex’s First-Class Friendly match against Cambridge UCCE at Fenner’s. Cambridge had reached 76-2 in reply to Essex’s 406-4 – following the visitors’ overnight declaration - before the weather had its say just before lunch. David Masters was the pick of the Essex bowlers, on his first-class debut for the County, ending the day with the impressive figures of 10-6-9-2. Play is scheduled to get underway on the third and final day at 11.00am.ECCC DIARY95563E53-A568-198D-55D73F5CC883EF91First-Class Friendly at Fenner's (Day Three) Scorecard: www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/cambridge-ucce-v-essex-12-4-08,13857,FF.html Report Essex drew their First-Class Friendly match against Cambridge UCCE as both sides batted out the final day in relative comfort at Fenner’s on Monday. Kunal Jogia (58) and Nick Lee (48 not out) combined in a fourth-wicket stand of 110 for the hosts after Ryan ten Doeschate struck without addition to the overnight total of 76. Tim Phillips then had Jogia caught by Jason Gallian at slip just before a declaration was made at 190-4, a first-innings deficit of 216. Varun Chopra (52) and Gallian (79) – the latter’s maiden first-class half-century for his new County - put on a century stand of their own for the first wicket in Essex’s second innings before an early halt was brought to proceedings with the visitors on 152-2.ECCC DIARY9554D170-F0E4-F22D-8F25465FCEB9FF98LV County Championship at The Ford County Ground (Day One) Scorecard: www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/essex-v-northamptonshire-16-4-08,13869,FF.html Report: Essex v Northants Report Day One Essex enjoyed the better of day one of their LV County Championship match against Northamptonshire as they bowled the visitors out for 280 at The Ford County Ground. Andre Nel struck twice in the first hour of play – having only landed in the country at 7am from South Africa – to make good Captain Mark Pettini’s decision to bowl upon winning the toss. Former Northants skipper David Sales then came to the crease in ominous mood from the home team’s point of view only for Ravinder Bopara to remove him leg before in the final over before lunch. Bopara struck twice more after the break to get rid of Rob White (60) and Riki Wessels (25) as Northants tottered on 146-5 on a green-tinged wicket offering assistance to the seamers. Lance Klusener (72 not out) was then given worthy support from Niall O’Brien (28) and Steven Crook (35) to rally the batting side’s cause. Chris Wright removed O’Brien lbw to claim his first Championship wicket for Essex on debut before off-spinner James Middlebrook made a crucial double blow. The Yorkshireman had Crook caught behind and David Wigley caught at slip for 0 in the same over to restore Essex’s advantage. Northants debutant Shaun Bailey – a pace bowler plucked from the Academy – gave David Masters his first Essex victim before Nel struck for the third time to dismiss last man Jason Brown. Varun Chopra and Jason Gallian survived until the close – not without the odd scare – as Essex finished on 4-0 in reply.ECCC DIARY9552A4A6-C6E4-F227-EDE75AD29A4ED217LV County Championship at The Ford County Ground (Day Two) Scorecard: www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/essex-v-northamptonshire-16-4-08,13869,FF.htmlECCC DIARY95546CC5-01E4-7B5A-6FE5D19D4D786B81LV County Championship at The Ford County Ground (Day Three) Scorecard: www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/essex-v-northamptonshire-16-4-08,13869,FF.htmlECCC DIARY956E44B3-CA3E-9145-34200D6E3C09DE2CResult Essex won the toss and elected to bat Essex 213 all out off 47.1 overs (Huggins 2, Flower 65, Phillips 9, Roberts 19, Napier 25, McLean 18, Tudor 53, Westfield 5, Chambers 1, Beddows 0 not out, Palladino absent) Suffolk set revised target of 170 in 40 overs Suffolk 39-1 off 16 overs (Palladino 6-2-13-1/Tudor 5-0-7-0/Chambers 3-0-14-0/Westfield 2-0-5-0) Match Abandoned at 5.16 (rain) No Result Notes: Napier batted with a runner from 18 and has been withdrawn from the squad for Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy match at Kent after failing sufficiently to recover from his calf injury. Tony Palladino unable to bat due to wrist injury but will bowl. Team News Essex have named the following team to play Norfolk in a one-day friendly at Bishop’s Stortford on Saturday (April 19): Tom Huggins (Trialist) Grant Flower Tim Phillips Graham Napier Alex Tudor Tony Palladino Jono McLean (Trialist) Harry Beddows (Academy – Wicketkeeper) Mervyn Westfield Maurice Chambers Alex Roberts (Trialist)ECCC DIARY95495E86-FC42-7416-5186A34F2D093924LV County Championship at The Ford County Ground (Day Four) Click here for scorecard: www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/essex-v-northamptonshire-16-4-08,13869,FF.htmlECCC DIARY9546936C-E696-49F6-147DD3CB16C8FB92Result: Essex won the toss and elected to bat Essex 147-7 off 35 overs (West 4, Westley 22, Roberts 18, McLean 26, Mickleburgh 32, Westfield 1, Ison 22, Comber 8 not out, Chambers 0 not out) Suffolk 127 all out off 34.5 overs (Palladino 6.5-2-11-2/Chambers 7-1-26-1/Roberts 7-1-21-1/Westfield 7-1-31-2/Ahmed 4-0-19-1/Westley 3-0-16-2) Essex won by 20 runs Notes: Start delayed due to fog and bad light - 35-overs-a-side match got underway at 1.30pm Team News Essex named the following team to play Suffolk in a one-day friendly at Ipswich School on Sunday (April 20): (12 to play, 11 to bat) Jaik Mickleburgh Aaron West Alan Ison Tom Westley Tony Palladino Jono McLean (Trialist) Harry Beddows (Academy – Wicketkeeper) Jahid Ahmed Mervyn Westfield Maurice Chambers Alex Roberts (Trialist) Michael ComberECCC DIARY9549F966-F715-37CE-DC132EC1A78C2D10Friends Provident Trophy at Canterbury Scorecard: www.ecb.co.uk/stats/fixtures/kent-v-essex-20-4-08,13879,FF.html Report Essex Eagles beat Kent Spitfires by 31 runs in Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy match at Canterbury to continue their fine start to the season. A century from skipper Mark Pettini and 99 from Ravinder Bopara underpinned an imposing total from the visitors that always seemed likely to be out of reach of their opponents. Martin van Jaarsveld gave the hosts some hope with 124 from 94 balls but he never received sustained assistance from him team-mates – with Matt Walker next highest scorer with 33. The tone for a disciplined bowling and fielding display from the Eagles was set by Andre Nel and Chris Wright who conceded just one run from the first four overs. Five bowlers claimed wickets as Kent ended their innings on 286-9 in pursuit of 318 for an unlikely victory. The Eagles had earlier been in record-breaking mood with the bat as they made 317-5 at the end of their 50 overs. Pettini and Bopara made the County’s highest second-wicket partnership of 181 in knockout trophy cricket (beating the 163 made twice previously). Essex’s final total was also their highest one-day score at Kent’s headquarters. Finally, Pettini made his highest score in one-day cricket (119) as both he and Bopara continued their run-laden start to the season with some joyous batting from an Essex point of view. The young duo came together with the score on 26 after Jason Gallian (three) was run out by Joe Denly after backing up too far at the non-striker’s end. Bopara was caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Geraint Jones when on the verge of his second successive century following his 150 against Northamptonshire in the Championship opener. James Middlebrook was shifted up the order but could only reach two before holing out to Darren Stevens on the midwicket boundary, who took a fine diving catch. Ryan ten Doeschate (22) helped Pettini add 54 before both fell to successive Ryan McLaren deliveries. The Holland international was caught by Denly just inside the rope on the point boundary before Pettini was out to the next ball - caught down the leg-side – after the batsmen crossed. James Foster (21 not out) and Tim Phillips (22 not out) offered some useful acceleration in the closing overs to ensure the Eagles passed 300. Essex have now achieved wins in both their opening four-day and one-day fixtures and travel to Derby for this week’s next LV County Championship game in good heart.ECCC DIARY95400578-E6CC-1915-154E661A09EE78B3Day One ReportRavinder Bopara led the Essex fightback against Derbyshire with a sparkling century as the visitors closed on 269-9 at the close of day one of the LV County Championship match at Derby. Bopara scored over half of his team’s runs as he finished the day on 136 not out to record his second consecutive Championship century of the season. The England batsman was given chief assistance by James Middlebrook (23) in a sixth-wicket stand of 105 and young wicketkeeper Adam Wheater – making his Championship debut in the absence of thumb-injury victim James Foster – who made 22 in a seventh-wicket partnership of 71.Essex were put into bat on a day when play eventually got underway at 12.15pm due to early rain. Jason Gallian fell early when he played on attempting to cut but Alastair Cook – making his first appearance of the season – and Tom Westley steadied the ship in a stand of 46. Both then fell in successive overs after lunch as Essex slipped from 54-1 to 76-5. Westley’s run out for 19 as he and Cook looked for a third run saw the rot set in as his partner fell next over – leg before for 27 to Jonathan Clare.Mark Pettini and Ryan ten Doeschate then fell cheaply to Clare as the right-armer used the seaming conditions well to claim three wickets in his opening five overs. Bopara looked a class apart, however, as he eased to three figures in just 115 balls with 17 x 4 and 1 x 6.Another clatter of wickets towards the end of play saw three dismissals effected in the space of 16 runs but last man Andre Nel survived to the close with much depending on Bopara in the morning if the batting side are to make 31 more runs for a third bonus point.ECCC DIARY95405FDB-0F71-61DB-848E94B1182CF448Day Two ReportRain delayed the start of play on day two at Derby. A resumption was planned for 12.15pm before more rain brought about an early lunch. Play was finally due to get underway at 4.30pm. Essex added just one to their overnight score of 269-9 before Ravinder Bopara was trapped leg before to a Tom Lungley delivery that seamed back in sharply to the right-hander.Derbyshire first pair Chris Rogers and Stephen Stubbings then battled hard against some probing bowling from Essex opening bowlers Andre Nel and David Masters.Nel finally made the breakthrough when he induced an edge from Stubbings and Bopara took a good low catch.John Sadler kept Rogers company as the home side closed on 64-1 – 206 behind on first innings.ECCC DIARY9535B53F-AEED-D1FF-6749FFF64A51BA0CDay Three Report Essex bowled Derbyshire out for 239 to claim a first innings lead of 31 on another truncated day due to rain and bad light at Derby. The visitors were without Mark Pettini on day three as the Essex Captain was visiting a specialist in Cambridge to assess an eye infection that had flared up on the second afternoon, leaving Alastair Cook to deputise at the helm. Meanwhile, Andre Nel was forced off the field during the morning session after bowling two overs with a sciatic nerve injury in his buttock.Stephen Stubbings was the first wicket to fall after the hosts had resumed on 64-1. John Sadler was then given life on 23 when Tom Westley missed a skier at midwicket off Ravinder Bopara on his way to 49. Five wickets fell for 57 as Derbyshire slumped to 173-7 before useful lower-order contributions from Graham Wagg (21), Tom Lungley (18) and Jonathan Clare (27) meant 66 were added for the last three wickets.Nel returned to the field to claim the ninth wicket while Chris Wright was the leading wicket-taker with 3-62.ECCC DIARY95339AD7-D7AC-D68E-EC8577501CBD67A0Day Four ReportDerbyshire wrapped up a four-wicket victory with 5.2 overs to spare on the final day of the LV County Championship match against Essex at Derby.The hosts were set a target of 266 off a minimum of 65 overs after Essex had plundered some quick runs off a quartet of Derbyshire ‘occasional’ bowlers in the morning session.Essex reached 234-2 from just 31 overs in their second innings with Jason Gallian (64), Tom Westley (93 not out) and Ravinder Bopara (54 not out) chief beneficiaries of the generous offerings.Derbyshire got off to a fine start in their run-chase with Chris Rogers and Stephen Stubbings adding 78 for the opening wicket before the latter played across a Chris Wright delivery that swung back into the left-hander and was leg before for 57.John Sadler (7) holed out to Ryan ten Doeschate, who took a fine diving catch at long off from the bowling of James Middlebrook, but with only two wickets down at tea the batting side were well-placed for a victory charge.Andre Nel beat Dominic Telo for pace to claim another lbw decision in the first over after the resumption but a crucial fourth-wicket stand of 67 swung the game back in Derby’s favour.While opener Rogers continued to play the anchor role it was captain Rikki Clarke who took the risks with 37 from 45 balls before lobbing a catch to Bopara at point off ten Doeschate. When Freddie Klokker was out for 12 – lbw to Middlebrook – the game was still in the balance with 64 needed off 13 overs.Next man Jamie Pipe then took 14 off the next over from Nel on his way to a match-defining 36 off 24 balls.Rogers played on to Masters for 77 but Graham Wagg ensured there would be no wobbles as he struck an 18-ball 25, including the winning boundary off a ten Doeschate no ball.Essex return to home soil on Sunday for a Friends Provident Trophy match against Sussex hoping to have James Foster back in the ranks after a thumb injury ruled him out of the game at Derby.ECCC DIARY9563E09F-9F0E-6A80-29D2A83FFD5D5CB0Match Report Essex Eagles beat Sussex Sharks by 14 runs (D/L) in Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy game at Chelmsford. A solid display in the field from the Eagles meant the home side made the most of an excellent batting performance that saw them amass 291-8 from their 50 overs. Sussex were set a revised target of 156 off 24 overs following the loss of 115 minutes and 26 overs from 4.30pm with the Sharks on 31-0 off eight overs.Upon the resumption Andre Nel completed the last of the Powerplay overs before David Masters was brought into the attack for the first time – picking up a wicket with the last ball of his first over.Chris Nash (16) was lured out of his crease and James Foster effected a fine stumping.Luke Wright (8) fell in Masters’s next over when Matt Prior cut to Ravinder Bopara at backward point and refused the non-striker a single, being sent back and short of his crease when the bowler had the ball returned to him by the fielder.Sussex needed 86 off the last 10 overs with experienced skipper Chris Adams joining Prior for the run-chase.A succession of risky singles were taken and it was a piece of smart fielding from Mark Pettini advancing from midwicket that brought about the downfall of Adams for 11. Prior then clubbed Ryan ten Doeschate down the throat of Nel at long-on after scoring exactly 50.Sussex required 54 off the remaining five overs and 31 off three overs with Murray Goodwin looking in ominous touch.Bopara then returned to the attack and immediately lured Goodwin (29) out of his crease to give Foster another stumping opportunity, which he took with aplomb. The all-rounder’s over cost just two runs as the match swung back in Essex’s favour. Ten Doeschate’s penultimate over cost just five and included a miraculous run out off the last ball when the bowler deflected a fierce Hopkinson drive onto the stumps with Yardy backing up too far.Twenty four off the last over was well beyond Sussex as Essex completed a fine bowling and fielding performance. Essex had earlier posted a challenging 291-8 off their 50-over allocation. Half-centuries from Grant Flower (75), ten Doeschate (61) and Bopara (59) underpinned a fine home batting effort as they looked to make it two wins out of two in the competition. Essex made a bright start after being put into bat, with Pettini dominating the scoring as they reached 32-0 off seven overs. Sussex’s first bowling change paid immediate dividends, however, as Pettini edged Wright’s rearing second delivery to wicketkeeper Prior. Robin Martin-Jenkins also enjoyed instant success with success his first over to claim the prize wicket of Alastair Cook. The left-hander had been deprived of the strike for much of his innings before he was beaten by a ball that swung into him on 12 and was trapped leg before.Bopara and Flower then came together in a useful third-wicket stand that took the Eagles past 100.Bopara continued his fine start to the season as he found the boundary boards with regularity while Flower brought up the 50-stand with two boundaries in an over off Martin-Jenkins as the Zimbabwean also looked in decent touch. The Eagles reached 121-2 at the halfway mark as Sussex’s spin duo Mushtaq Ahmed and Yardy put a break on the scoring once the Powerplay restrictions were lifted for the fielding team.The century partnership arrived shortly after both batsmen reached their fifties (Bopara first to the landmark off 61 balls with Flower’s coming two balls later off 57 balls) before Bopara broke the shackles with a four off his legs through midwicket off Yardy. The England all-rounder’s efforts to up the tempo were halted when he picked out Martin-Jenkins diving low on the long-off boundary off Chris Liddle. Ten Doeschate then leant Flower good support as the home side reached 200 in the 39th over before rain stopped play in the next over at 2.30pm with the score on 201-3.Unfortunately the 15-minute rain break did for Flower as he fell without addition after reaching a career-best in the One-Day Trophy. The right-hander picked out Yardy off Martin-Jenkins to bring Foster to the crease.The Essex 'keeper ably assisted ten Doeschate in a quick-fire 50-partnership with the latter reaching his own half-century off 48 balls.ten Doeschate flicked James Kirtley for his second maximum over midwicket before playing over a yorker in the search for quick runs.James Middlebrook made just three before he charged Yardy and was competently stumped by Prior.Varun Chopra spooned a catch to Nash on the square-leg boundary as he attempted to flip the ball behind square on the leg-side.Chris Wright was then defeated by Yardy’s quicker ball and had drifted out of his crease when Prior took another neat stumping in the final over.Foster ended undefeated on 31 after 23 balls to complete an excellent first-half to the day for the Eagles.Pettini (eye infection) and Foster (bruised thumb) had earlier passed late fitness tests to take their place in an Essex line-up with two changes from last week’s Friends Provident Trophy opener at Kent – Cook for Jason Gallian and knee-injury victim Tim Phillips omitted for Varun Chopra.Light rain delayed the toss until 11.40am but play was still able to get underway on time at midday with Sussex inviting Essex to bat in humid conditions.ECCC DIARY99B5C89E-D09A-6809-91439FDBFCEF7EC4Combined 2nd XI Friendly at Beckenham (Day 1)Durham won the toss and elected to batDurham 303-7 off 81 oversBowling: Tudor 9-3-17-0/Khan 8-1-16-3/Edwards 7-3-17-0/Ahmed 11-1-47-0/Westfield 12-1-53-1/Roberts 14-1-64-1/Lee 4-0-23-0/Hemphrey 5-0-23-1/Westley 7-0-22-1/Chopra 3-0-10-0CloseTeam News Essex 2nd XI/Kent 2nd XI team (12 to play, 11 to bat) Varun Chopra (Essex)Tom Westley (Essex)Alex Tudor (Essex)Alex Roberts (Essex)Mervyn Westfield (Essex)Jahid Ahmed (Essex)Charlie Hemphrey (Kent)Michael Barber (Kent)Cayden Lang (Kent)Amjad Khan (Kent)Phil Edwards (Kent)Warren Lee (Kent)ECCC DIARY9E715615-E61D-537C-EB2ED8CEE65F7CF7Combined 2nd XI Friendly at Beckenham (Day 2)No play due to rainECCC DIARY9540DEEA-C98D-AD8B-8C577998BB17A51BYes indeed, and it's typical Bank Holiday weather - raining! Ho-hum!ECCC DIARY9E8E6430-BFCA-701F-9AAB9C838477BE94Combined 2nd XI Friendly at Beckenham (Day 3)No play due to rainMatch Abandoned as a drawECCC DIARYAB67109A-C01E-CBAB-71369B4F4AA9823BTourist Match at The Ford County Ground (Day 1)Essex won the toss and elected to bowl on a fine morning at The Ford County Ground on Friday. Andre Nel was left out of the original 12-man squad as Captain Mark Pettini led a youthful side into the field. Tony Palladino and Alex Tudor both bowled economical spells early on with the latter in particular troubling New Zealand openers Jamie How and Aaron Redmond. Palladino was duly rewarded in his seventh over when he trapped Jamie How (9) leg before with one that kept low. Ryan ten Doeschate struck in the last over before the lunch break – his first - when he pushed one through to Redmond and had the opener leg before for 35 as the Kiwis went into lunch on 69-2. A brief shower delayed the resumption by 10 minutes until 1.50pm before clearer skies allowed New Zealand to continue their first innings.The tourists’ most flamboyant batsmen came and went cheaply as Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum struggled to adjust to the more sedate pace of four-day cricket after returning from the Indian Premier League.Taylor struck a six and a four off Palladino before falling in the seamer’s next over. The right-hander’s attempted expansive drive ended up in the hands of Jason Gallian at first slip.McCullum went soon after when he wafted outside off-stump to ten Doeschate and got a thick outside edge to gully where James Middlebrook clung to a fine one-handed catch.James Marshall and Daniel Flynn steadied the batting side with dogged resistance for the fifth wicket, taking their side up to tea without further loss.Just five balls were possible after the resumption before rain stopped play for 20 minutes (meaning play could go on until 6.30pm). Marshall reached a timely century – with the first Test just a fortnight away – off 152 balls with 14 boundaries soon into the final session.His fifth-wicket stand with Flynn had reached 128 by the time the latter became ten Doeschate’s third victim of the match.The Essex all-rounder’s first ball of a new spell was a gentle loosener that Flynn on 39 pulled to Tudor at long-on. Ten Doeschate struck again soon after when Jacob Oram – who had scratched around for four – dragged a short ball back into his stumps.Essex’s England opener Alastair Cook suffered an unfortunate end to the day when he was forced off the field with a dislocated right little finger, sustained in the gully attempting to catch a fierce Daniel Vettori cut shot. Cook went to hospital for a precautionary x-ray which showed there was no fracture so he should be able to play a full part in the rest of the match.Tom Westley enjoyed better luck by claiming his first first-class wicket for Essex in his second over of the day when he induced an edge from Vettori and Gallian took a good catch. Marshall’s long vigil ended 20 minutes before the close on 128 when he pulled to Maurice Chambers at deep mid-wicket who took a good low catch and gave ten Doeschate a career-best five-wicket haul in the process.Palladino returned to the attack to remove Kyle Mills, who sliced to Middlebrook in the gully for 17.Michael Mason (23 not out) and Iain O’Brien (31 not out) then put on an unbeaten 52 for the final wicket as New Zealand closed on 348-9.ECCC DIARYAFBC4243-9C9E-0779-5B40A9C924FE6DEATourist Match at The Ford County Ground (Day 2)Essex needed just seven balls to wrap up the New Zealand first innings for 355 on day two of the Tourist Match at The Ford County Ground.Seven runs were added by Michael Mason and Iain O’Brien (31 not out) in the first over of the day before Ryan ten Doeschate struck with his first ball of the morning.The all-rounder pushed one through the defences of Mason and had the number 10 leg before for 30.Ten Doeschate cemented his career-best bowling figures for Essex as he ended up with 6-57 off 17.1 overs. Alastair Cook stayed off the field to protect the finger he dislocated the previous evening but the left-hander was able to take his place at the top of the order as Essex began their reply. Unfortunately neither he nor opening partner Jason Gallian lasted long as Michael Mason removed both in his opening spell.Gallian was adjudged lbw to one that kept low before Cook prodded tentatively outside his off-stump and was caught behind.Tom Westley then helped Ravinder Bopara put on 61 for the third wicket but runs remained had to come by. Westley found the going tough on his way to 20 from 76 balls but just as he seemed to be finding his feet he got a thin edge to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.Bopara and Captain Mark Pettini combined for the brightest batting of the day so far with the former reaching his half-century off 90 balls.After a stand of 69, however, a spell of three wickets in successive overs left Essex in disarray as the hosts slipped from 154-3 to 155-6. With Bopara seemingly on the way to another century the right-hander was dismissed for 66 when he drove Iain O’Brien to substitute fielder Jeetan Patel at short extra-cover. Ten Doeschate followed in the next over when he was caught at short-leg off Daniel Vettori.O’Brien then struck once more when he nipped one sharply through the gate and bowled Pettini for 29. James Middlebrook was beaten for pace and bowled by O’Brien as the pace bowler claimed his third wicket in five overs.Mason matched O’Brien in the wickets column after tea when he bowled James Foster for 13 as the Essex slump went on with their fifth wicket in the space of 34 runs. New Zealand’s joy was tempered when skipper Vettori was taken to hospital after splitting a finger on his left hand during the final session.The tourists were further discomfited by a nagging ninth-wicket stand of 53 by Alex Tudor (41) and Tony Palladino (26 not out) that lasted until 10 minutes before the close when the former was caught by a diving McCullum in front of first slip off Mason. Essex closed on 251-9, a deficit of 104.ECCC DIARYB89B7546-A292-4627-9D4CB74BEFB97938Tourist Match at The Ford County Ground (Day 3)Essex’s last-wicket pair survived for another 20 minutes on the third morning before Maurice Chambers got a thick outside edge to Kyle Mills and Ross Taylor pouched a comfortable catch at first slip.The visitors thus earned a 97-run advantage on first innings. Jamie How was the first to go in New Zealand’s second innings as the tourists slumped to 72-4 at lunch. The right-hander got a thin edge behind off Tony Palladino, who continued a fine personal match.James Marshall – elevated up the order in place of Aaron Redmond who will not bat until five wickets are down having been off the field on day two – went next when he slashed Alex Tudor to James Middlebrook for 12. Ross Taylor was the next to go when he played on to Maurice Chambers for four.Brendon McCullum looked in ominous form with seven boundaries in rapid succession but his one-day mode ultimately betrayed him as he was caught by Gallian at slip off a loose drive to Ravinder Bopara’s second ball. Daniel Flynn went soon after lunch when he fended Chambers to Middlebrook in the gully. Bopara took his second wicket when Jacob Oram drove firmly to mid-on where Palladino took a fine diving catch.Redmond shored up the New Zealand batting order from the unusual position of number seven as he and Kyle Mills weathered an early storm from the impressive Chambers to take their side to 143-6 at tea (effectively seven down with Vettori unable to bat).Palladino’s new spell brought early dividends when he bowled Redmond after a long vigil for 30. Mills was dropped on 39 when the right-hander swung James Middlebrook to the mid-wicket region where ten Doeschate spilled a difficult swirling catch.Alex Tudor dismissed Michael Mason when the tail-ender flashed outside off-stump and James Foster pouched the catch to his right.Mills brought up his half-century off 104 balls with his fifth boundary, to go with two sixes.Chambers wrapped the innings to finish with figures of 3-37 when O’Brien pulled the fast bowler to Palladino at mid-wicket.Essex had reached 45 in their pursuit of 293 for victory when Jason Gallian was out to the first ball of the last over of the day when he was taken at third slip off.New Zealand may rue dropping fellow opener Alastair Cook when first slip Ross Taylor put down the left-hander on 0 after he got an edge as he pushed at O’Brien tentatively outside off-stump.ECCC DIARYBA6BFE02-0736-A04F-185D5874DC7E14FFTourist Match at The Ford County Ground (Day 4)New Zealand completed a 92-run victory over Essex on the final day of the Tourist match. The tourists dominated proceedings throughout the two sessions they needed to finish off their opposition for a disappointing 200 all out.Resuming on 45-1, Essex managed to survive the first hour without any further damage yet the 18 runs added in that time made a minor dent on their target of 293.Tom Westley fell soon into the second hour of play when he was caught off Kyle Mills by substitute fielder Peter Fulton – on for finger-injury victim Daniel Vettori - at short extra-cover attempting to up the tempo after labouring to seven off 42 balls.Essex’s main hopes of a win came from their third-wicket combination of Alastair Cook and Ravinder Bopara.After taking the score to 86-2 the dismissal of Bopara for just nine triggered a collapse from which the hosts were never likely to recover.Bopara’s indecisive flick down the leg-side off Jacob Oram was taken comfortably by wicketkeeper and stand-in captain Brendon McCullum.Mark Pettini was comprehensively bowled first ball by Michael Mason by one that nipped through the gate as Essex slumped to 87-4 just before lunch.Cook’s long vigil – during which he reached a landmark of 6000 first-class runs when on 44 - ended soon after the resumption when he drove Mason tamely to Mills at mid-off.James Foster’s unhappy match with the bat ended after two balls when he popped a catch to gully to complete a pair. Ryan ten Doeschate and James Middlebrook then restored some pride for the batting team in a 58-run seventh-wicket stand. Any hopes of an unlikely victory were dashed when both were dismissed within 10 runs of each other, however. Middlebrook was bowled by an excellent delivery from Iain O’Brien that cut back in off the seam to clip the top of middle and leg stump. Ten Doeschate took a four and six off consecutive balls from part-time spinner Aaron Redmond before chancing his arm once too often to the next ball when he skied a catch towards square leg for McCullum to come round from behind the stumps to collect.Next man Tony Palladino swung Redmond to Ross Taylor at midwicket before O’Brien finished proceedings - soon after New Zealand claimed an extra half hour to finish the game before tea - when he comprehensively bowled Alex Tudor.ECCC DIARYC28607C0-D229-FE0E-6A6174F1BE37EFEBLV County Championship at The Ford County Ground (May 7-10)Setting the scene: Essex return to the bosom of the Championship after running New Zealand close at The Ford County Ground over the weekend. Middlesex are the visitors and both sides need victory. Paul Grayson's side rolled the dice and lost in their last four-day game against Derbyshire but that is one of the few hiccups in a season that is proving very palatable. Middlesex have lost at Leicestershire and drawn at home to Glamorgan. Considering they were among the favourites to win the Division Two title the pressure is on for them to register a first victory. It could be intriguing as both sides have key players missing. Suggestive stats: Hmmmm... not too many trends yet. Perhaps 'one out, one in' is the best numerical indication about this game. Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah, the leading specialist batsmen for each side this season, are on duty for the England Lions. But Test openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss will be on duty for their respective sides. Top batsman/bowler 2008: Essex - Ravi Bopara 341 @ 170.5, David Masters seven @ 32.14. Middlesex - David Nash 196 @ 65.33, Tim Murtagh nine @ 24.66 Essex v: 10 year record: Played 10 Won 3 Lost 1 Drawn 6 Men in form: Well, the man of the moment for Essex is not playing in this game. Bopara is playing New Zealand at the Rose Bowl. In his stead, perhaps Ryan ten Doeschate's bowling is the most eye-catching element right now. He has six wickets @ 19.66 in his two Championship games and picked up a career-best 6-57 against the Kiwis. Unfortunately, another form player, David Masters, is out because of family issues. For Middlesex, wicketkeeper David Nash has almost 200 runs already and a healthy seven catches. Not bad for a player who has been struggling to hold down a regular in recent years due to the presence of Ben Scott. Top players in PCA MVP rankings: Bopara, 1st; Tim Murtagh, 31st. Team form: Essex won their opening Championship rubber against Northants with something to spare and are top of their Friends Provident group. But the defeat at Derby, and to a certain extent, the reverse against the Kiwis have dampened their fervour somewhat. Middlesex have two FPT wins - both by Duckworth/Lewis - and two defeats. More importantly, they have no Championship wins and have failed to score more than 312 in any of their four innings. What their website says: A year ago, Gareth Berg was playing club cricket for Radlett. Now the South African all-rounder has realised a long-held ambition of becoming a professional with Middlesex."At the age of 27 I've been trying for the last nine or 10 years to play first-class cricket and I finally got my breakthrough this year," he told BBC Sport."Walking through the Long Room down the steps onto the field it's almost surreal. I wasn't expecting to step straight into the first team but luckily I am and I hoping to cement a spot there." And another thing: Former Middlesex great Mike Gatting has backed Steven Finn and Billy Godleman for greatness.ECCC DIARYC46BE738-B9AA-A16D-7ADE6A5DA07698F9LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day 1)Essex won the toss and elected to field in their LV County Championship match against Middlesex on a gloriously sunny morning at The Ford County Ground. Middlesex openers Andrew Strauss and Billy Godleman survived with few alarms until 10 minutes before lunch, at which point off-spinner James Middlebrook made a belated breakthrough.Godleman top-edged an attempted cut into the hands of wicketkeeper James Foster for 29.Visiting skipper Ed Smith lasted just two deliveries before he edged into the hands of Jason Gallian at slip via a deflection off Foster.Strauss reached his half-century just before the break off 96 balls with Ed Joyce keeping his fellow left-hander company up until lunch with the batting side heading to the pavilion on 102-2. The third wicket pairing played through much of the afternoon session without undue alarm as Essex skipper Mark Pettini rang the changes without success.Joyce reached his 50 (off 101 balls) with a delicate late cut off Palladino to the third man boundary.Strauss (88) fell in the next over, just as a century seemed inevitable, when he fell in similar fashion to his opening partner, edging through to Foster attempting to cut Middlebrook. Middlesex went into tea on 199-3 with the batting team looking to push on in the final session to seize control of the match.But it was Essex who made unexpected progress in the first half hour after the break when two wickets fell within seven runs.Joyce (66) shuffled across his stumps to ten Doeschate and was adjudged leg before to give the Essex all-rounder his 50th first-class wicket.Nash then popped a catch up to Varun Chopra in the bat-pad position for just five to leave honours even at 229-5. Ten Doeschate then claimed his second victim when Eoin Morgan (18) slashed at a wide delivery and got a thin edge behind to Foster who dived in front of first slip to pouch a low catch.Middlebrook completed a fine personal opening day – and a five-wicket haul - when Tim Murtagh flicked straight into the hands of Pettini at short-leg, who took a smart catch.South African all-rounder Vernon Philander offered some resistance from the batting side as he struck the only six of the day off Middlebrook on the way to 23 not out. Essex left out Alex Tudor from their provisional 12-man squad with Tony Palladino selected to replace David Masters, who was unavailable due to an illness in his family.ECCC DIARYC4E1F313-E741-EA53-1105BC992C21B3BECombined Friendly at Garon Park (Day 1)UpdateMiddlesex won the toss and elected to batMiddlesex 96 all out off 45.4 overs (Chambers 6-0-20-0/Khan 8.4-5-11-3/Cook 6-4-14-1/Westfield 5-2-13-2/Napier 9-3-15-3/Roberts 4-2-5-0/Lee 7-2-11-1)Essex/Kent 134-8 off 56 overs (Dexter 0, Flower 45, Roberts 6, Blake 1, McLean 15, Napier 7, Cook 0, Billings 36, Westfield 3 not out, Khan 0 not out) CloseTeam NewsEssex 2nd/Kent 2nd XI have named the following side to play Middlesex 2nd XI at Garon Park.Flower (Essex)Blake (Kent)Roberts (Essex – Trialist)Dexter (Kent)Napier (Essex)Cook (Kent)McLean (Essex – Trialist)Billings (Kent – Wkt)Westfield (Essex)Khan (Kent)Chambers (Essex)Lee (Kent)ECCC DIARYC9AC338D-D1C1-DC06-296815CE0B1DF411LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day 2)Middlesex ended day two with a lead of 114 with seven second-innings wickets in hand in the Championship match at The Ford County Ground.The visitors claimed a first-innings lead of 95 as Essex collapsed from 180-4 to 207 all out as Danny Evans claimed a career-best of 6-35.Andre Nel then hit back for Essex with 3-8 as Middlesex closed on 19-3 in their second innings.Middlesex had earlier been dismissed for 302 after resuming on 263-7.Essex got off to a decent start in their reply as Jason Gallian (56) and Alastair Cook (25) put on 43.Vernon Philander started the rot for the batting side when he struck twice in the same over to remove Cook (25) and Chopra (10).The South African all-rounder swung his first ball in to the pads of Cook and the left-hander played across the line to be adjudged leg before.Chopra then edged behind having picked up a boundary and a six (by dint of four overthrows) from his first four balls.Gallian and Westley steadied the ship in a stand of 72 for the first-wicket with the former reaching his half-century off 97 deliveries. Evans picked up wickets in successive overs to remove Gallian and Pettini (0) to leave Middlesex firmly on top.Westley (60) and ten Doeschate (23) evened out the contest once more in a fifth-wicket partnership of 51 before Philander’s third wicket triggered a dramatic collapse when he had Westley caught in the slips.Ten Doeschate was bowled by Murtagh without playing a shot before Evans demolished the tail in a hostile spell of seam bowling.Middlesex’s 95-run advantage on first innings appeared even more crucial when Nel produced a devastating spell of his own in the 10 overs the away team were left to bat out on the second day.The South African pace man struck with consecutive balls in his third over to have Andrew Strauss caught by Gallian at slip and nightwatchman Shaun Udal caught at gully by Middlebrook.Nel enjoyed further success in his penultimate over when Ed Smith gloved a rising delivery aimed at his ribs down the leg-side into the hands of wicketkeeper Foster. Essex thus ended the day with renewed hope of restricting Middlesex to an achievable target in their second innings.ECCC DIARYC985E0F1-A61A-524C-11ECA7BEFE0F7BFFCombined Friendly at Garon Park (Day Two) Middlesex 2nd XI 1st inns 96 all outEssex 2nd XI/Kent 2nd XI 1st innings (134-8 overnight)197 all out off 79.2 overs (Westfield 29, Khan 23, Chambers 2, Extras 33/Burton 23-10-55-4/Bird 10-2-42-0/Shahid 22-9-54-3/Peploe 12-8-8-1/Cherry 4-1-13-0/Malan 6-1-14-1/London 2.2-1-5-1)Middlesex 2nd inns 151 all out off 48.5 overs (Cherry 27, Shahid 26, Peploe 25/Chambers 10-3-19-1/Khan 8-3-20-1/Cook 7.5-4-14-2/Napier 8-3-31-4/Lee 5-2-13-0/Westfield 8-2-24-1/Roberts 2-0-15-0)Essex/Kent 2nd inns 51-1 (Dexter 11, Flower 7 not out, Roberts 32 not out/Burton 9-2-28-0/Bird 5-3-7-1/Cherry 3-0-10-0/Peploe 0.5-0-5-0)Essex/Kent win by nine wicketsECCC DIARYCEAF9250-A25F-874A-6533EAB6CC1DEF82LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day 3)Essex reached 123-5 in pursuit of 299 at the close on day three of the LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground. A spell of four wickets for 14 runs put Middlesex firmly in control of the match as Shaun Udal finished the day with three wickets.Middlesex had earlier made 203 in their second innings after recovering from 84-6 thanks to two significant partnerships involving David Nash that followed. Resuming on 19-3, the visitors got themselves into a good position at 79-4 heading towards lunch before James Middlebrook struck twice to restore the balance.Andre Nel – fresh from his three-wicket salvo yesterday evening – and Tony Palladino restricted overnight pair Bill Godleman and Ed Joyce to few scoring strokes during the opening exchanges of the morning.Palladino was finally rewarded for his persistence when Joyce played back to a delivery that kept low and was adjudged lbw for nine.Godleman went runless for 53 minutes before picking up a boundary off Chris Wright just after midday, but his resistance along with Eoin Morgan proved invaluable.After registering a half-century stand, however, both fell to off-spinner Middlebrook within the space of five runs.Godleman (28) tried to cut a ball that was too close to him and was caught behind while Morgan picked out Wright at mid-off with a loose drive.David Nash – batting with Andrew Strauss as a runner after lunch due to a hamstring injury - and Vernon Philander batted with comfort during the opening half hour after lunch as they took their seventh-wicket partnership up to 49.Philander (20) then gave his wicket away when he pulled ten Doeschate to Palladino at deep backward square leg where the fast bowler took a finely judged catch diving to his right. Nash and next man Tim Murtagh then enjoyed ‘lives’ in consecutive ten Doeschate overs soon after as the former was bowled off a no-ball before the latter was dropped by wicketkeeper Foster on eight.Nash was given another life on 39 when Foster failed to claim a diving opportunity when his Middlesex counterpart top-edged a sweep on 39. Palladino removed Murtagh (42), Steven Finn (0) and Danny Evans (0) in the same over to wrap the innings up but not before the eighth-wicket pair added a potentially match-turning 70. Nash rode his luck to end on 50 not out but his injury was sufficient to require Joyce to replace him behind the stumps in the second innings.Jason Gallian (40) and Alastair Cook (31) got Essex off to a rollicking start in pursuit of 299 for victory before a dramatic collapse saw the hosts turn 70-0 to 84-4 in the blink of an eye.Cook was the first to go – leg before to Philander for the second time in the match – as he continued his run of starts without pushing on to a significant contribution.Gallian was then caught at first slip off Murtagh before off-spinner Shaun Udal struck twice in an over to have Westley (1) caught at silly point and Pettini taken at slip. Varun Chopra (17 not out) and Ryan ten Doeschate (18) added 34 for the fifth-wicket but when the latter was caught at backward point attempting an attacking stroke off Udal just before the close the game was firmly back in Middlesex’s favour.ECCC DIARY95BE4FAF-993E-832F-57E09617866F3EC2Combined Friendly at Garon ParkECCC DIARYD36E8CD3-9C56-10A6-ACFC0E81BCC59BD7LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day 4)Essex pulled off an unlikely two-wicket victory on the final day of their LV County Championship match against Middlesex at The Ford County Ground. Chris Wright (71 not out) and James Middlebrook (33 not out) put on an undefeated ninth-wicket stand of 99 to see the home side through just after 3pm.Resuming on 123-5, wickets fell steadily over the morning as Essex were reduced to 202-8 half an hour before lunch.Nightwatchman Tony Palladino (16) survived the first half hour before he was trapped leg before to Vernon Philander.Varun Chopra (38) went eight runs later when he was beaten for pace and comprehensively bowled by a Danny Evans yorker. James Foster (16) helped Middlebrook add 35 for the eighth-wicket only to then carve Steven Finn to third man.Former Middlesex man Wright then entered the fray with his ex-team-mates aiming to finish the match off before lunch. Runs were hard to come by in the early stages of what became a match-winning partnership but Wright opened up soon after the resumption to take the attack to the visitors.Wright reduced the arrears to less than 50 when he flicked Philander over mid-on and through mid-wicket off successive deliveries.The 22-year-old then nudged Murtagh down to fine-leg for a single to bring up his maiden Championship 50.In the next over Wright deposited Udal over the midwicket boundary for the first six of the innings.Middlebrook followed suit soon after as he reduced the target to seven by lifting Udal over the media centre.Philander was brought back into the attack for the next over at the River End but the game was up when Wright edged wide of first slip for the winning boundary.Essex thus claim their second win in three Championship matches and go to the Brit Oval for Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy game in high spirits.ECCC DIARYDC9F34F6-DDE1-B585-569CC34D04A7B8E0Friends Provident Trophy at the Brit OvalEssex Eagles beat Surrey Brown Caps by 156 runs in Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy match at The Brit Oval.A record-breaking one-day total by Essex was underpinned by the County’s highest first-wicket partnership in the competition by Mark Pettini and Jason Gallian.Pettini (144) and Gallian (117) both posted centuries in a stand of 268 before leaving the stage to Ryan ten Doeschate (60 off 31 balls) and James Foster (46 off 23 balls) to take the Eagles up to a mammoth 391-6.At 189-3 after 30 overs in reply, there was still a glimmer of hope for Surrey but the introduction of David Masters into the attack triggered a collapse that saw the Brown Caps bowled out for 239 by the 39th over.Masters – who had been designated to bowl his 10 overs straight through at the death – only needed 26 balls to claim five wickets for 17 runs, including the prime scalp of Mark Ramprakash leg before for 98 with his first ball.Essex had earlier made the most of winning the toss on a glorious day in London as their opening pair broke the previous highest for the Eagles in the competition - 248 by Will Jefferson and Andy Flower against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2004.Pettini was given a life on one when Jon Batty grassed a relatively simple edge behind off Jade Dernbach. Life got progressively worse for both Surrey players as the Essex openers piled on the runs.Gallian dominated the early scoring but it was Pettini who raced away to reach a 90-ball century, going on to equal Graham Gooch's record of the highest competition score of 144 against Hampshire at Chelmsford in 1990.Both fell within the space of four runs but after Grant Flower went cheaply a stand of 74 off 35 balls for the fourth wicket from ten Doeschate and Foster piled on the punishment for the hosts.Dernbach’s analysis of 0-107 became the most expensive against Essex in limited overs matches, eclipsing the 0-97 by MA Watts and 1-97 by P Meehan, both for Wiltshire at Chelmsford in 1988.Andre Nel struck early in the Surrey reply when James Benning top-edged an attempted hook to Chris Wright at short fine-leg.Scott Newman (49) and Ramprakash then added 94 for the second wicket but even though they scored at a rapid rate it was still short of the original asking rate of just under eight per over.Graham Napier – making his first appearance of the season after a knee injury – produced a deadly yorker to remove Newman and then a magnificent leg-side stumping accounted for Butcher (18).Ramprakash and Afzaal have been the Surrey men-in-form so if any pair was going to take the game away from Essex it would be them.After some meaty blows any hopes of an unlikely Surrey victory were extinguished when Masters struck with his first two balls to remove Ramprakash and Ali Brown (0).Napier aided Masters in wrapping up the innings as the last seven wickets fell for 46 runs.ECCC DIARYF335A5F3-B1B0-944B-7FD4A713AEEEFDA8Friends Provident Trophy at The Ford County GroundKent Spitfires beat Essex Eagles by 106 runs in Friday’s Friends Provident Trophy match at The Ford County Ground.Yasir Arafat destroyed the Essex top order in a devastating spell of swing and seam bowling with 4-29 as the hosts were blown away for 124.Robert Joseph (3-30), Simon Cook (2-35) and Azhar Mahmood (1-24) gave the Pakistani international good support as the Eagles crashed to their first defeat of the season. Jason Gallian top scored for Essex with 24 but only Graham Napier (23), Chris Wright (23) also passed 20. Kent Spitfires had earlier reached 230-7 off their 50 overs with consistent scoring down the card.Joe Denly (28) and Rob Key (41) put on 62 for the first wicket before Napier struck with successive deliveries.The Essex all-rounder first took the edge of Denly’s bat and James Foster took a fine diving catch one-handed to his right. Napier then trapped Martin van Jaarsveld leg before first ball.Key became Napier’s third victim when he was comprehensively bowled by an out-swinger.Ravinder Bopara also claimed three wickets to remove Darren Stevens (17), Justin Kemp (51) and Geraint Jones (23) as the visitors struggled to put together any sizeable partnerships.The dangerous Mahmood was run out out for 15 but James Tredwell (20 not out) and Arafat (13 not out) put on an unbeaten 33 for the eighth wicket at the end to give Kent a total that turned out to be more than enough for the home side. Napier (3-29) and Bopara (3-49) were the Essex pick of the bowlers, with the former taking the Essex man of the match award for his additional 23 runs while Bopara was trapped lbw by Arafat first ball.ECCC DIARYFD4D4F92-BC23-7273-182951173EF2DCBDFriends Provident Trophy at The Ford County GroundEssex Eagles beat Middlesex Crusaders by eight wickets in Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy match against Middlesex Crusaders at The Ford County Ground.Jason Gallian led the pursuit of a target of 260 with 111 not out while support was on hand from Varun Chopra (50) and Ravinder Bopara (85 not out) as the victory was achieved with seven overs to spare. Gallian reached his half-century off 65 balls with a fine cover-driven four off Tyron Henderson. Varun Chopra was not far behind with his half-century (off 51 balls) when he deposited Henderson back over his head for six two balls later as the second-wicket pair added 89 after the early loss of skipper Mark Pettini for one.Chopra was dismissed in the next over – Shaun Udal’s first – when he over-balanced marginally out of his crease and was smartly stumped by Ben Scott. Next man Bopara had a life when Scott failed to gather down the leg-side off Murtagh with the batsman on 12.Middlesex were made to pay for the error as Bopara and Gallian put on an unbeaten partnership of 153 for the third wicket to usher Essex towards their target.Bopara pulled Udal over midwicket for six and then on-drove the off-spinner for four off successive balls as the run-chase became a procession.The 200 came up in the 39th over and Gallian reached his century (115 balls – 13 x 4/1 x 6) in the same over when he cover-drove to the boundary.Bopara brought up his 50 (52 balls, 5 x 4/2 x 6) in the next over when he on-drove Murtagh for six and then repeated the trick next ball slightly wider of mid-on. Two more boundaries followed in the same over – one to Gallian and the other to a loose delivery that went for four byes and was also signalled a no ball. Boundaries came thick and fast as the home side coasted home to leave them and Kent Spitfires on the verge of qualification for the quarter-finals.The Crusaders had earlier made 259-7 at the end of their 50 overs. Eoin Morgan (100) and Ed Smith (75) dominated the visitors’ innings in a stand of 179 for the fourth wicket.The former hit six sixes and five fours in a fine display of channelled aggression with Smith lending invaluable support after seeing his first three partners fall cheaply.Morgan was eventually bowled by James Middlebrook one ball after reaching his 110-ball century when he missed an attempted reverse-sweep. Smith followed soon after when he flicked Ryan ten Doeschate off his toes and was caught at midwicket by Grant Flower.Flower was the next wicket-taker when he bowled recent signing Tyron Henderson in his second over as the right-hander attempted a pull. Middlesex wicketkeeper Ben Scott followed in the next over when he was bowled by ten Doeschate.Vernon Philander (32 from 32 balls) and Tim Murtagh (21 off 16 balls) added an unbeaten 48 for the eighth wicket to leave the batting side the happier at the end of 50 overs – particularly having been reduced to 15-3 earlier in the day.The Crusaders seemed likely to regret their decision to bat after winning the toss when Graham Napier returned a double-wicket maiden in the opening over of the day.Napier bowled Ed Joyce with his fifth ball and then trapped Billy Godleman leg before with a full delivery with his sixth delivery to leave the Crusaders in disarray on 0-2.The Essex all-rounder’s hat-trick ball next over was despatched to the leg-side boundary by Middlesex captain Ed Smith.Smith then claimed his second four when he edged wide of second slip off Napier.David Masters picked up the key wicket of Owais Shah in the next over when the right-hander played over a straight ball and was bowled for 2.ECCC DIARY074D77F6-985D-08BB-07F4C96127860926Setting the scene: Leicestershire gained sufficient bonus points from their rain-affected draw with Northants last week to sneak above Essex in Division Two. Along with Warwickshire, the Foxes have 48 points from four games. However the advantage is really with Essex who are just three points behind having played one match fewer. That unlikely win at home to Middlesex last time out could have already taken on a season-changing tone. Victory at home to Leicester would make Paul Grayson's side the undoubted Division Two pacesetters.Suggestive stats: Nadeem Malik appears to be a bowler who can blow hot and cold. His 8-113 is the best match bowling in Division Two this season but his other three games have only brought one wicket. While Leicester’s last game, against Northants, saw the two counties share 10 South African players. It is a figure that has sent more than a ripple around the county game. The ECB are to look into the issue as “a matter of urgency”.Top batsman/bowler 2008: Essex – Ravi Bopara 341 @ 170.5, James Middlebrook 12 @ 19.83.Leicester – HD Ackerman 359 @ 71.8, M N Malik nine @ 37.55Essex v Leicester: 10 year record: P14 W4 L4 D6Men in form: Jason Gallian is proving to be one of the signings of the season. His 339 runs in three games is around 40 per cent of his 2007 tally. The other Essex new boy, David Masters, has a healthy seven wickets in two games. Ryan ten Doeschate, 11 @ 22.36, has provided solid back up with the ball. HD Ackerman is still the mainstay at Leicester - captain, leading run-scorer, highest individual scorer and leading catcher.Team form: Leicester’s 527 against Northants last time out is the highest score in Division Two so far this season. Essex are the only team in Division Two with two wins even though they have played a game less than the leaders. Both sides are flying in the Friends Provident Trophy with four wins and one defeat, Leicester have the addition of a “No Result”.What their website says: The local paper, the Leicester Mercury, is painting its county as one on the up. “Results are improving on the field and, off it, the County announced a new three-year main club sponsorship deal,” they wrote recently.“The tie-up with the Oval Insurance Broking Group will include branding on the club's shirts in all competitions. Chief Executive David Smith said: "The deal represents a significant level of investment until the end of the 2010 season. This will give the club a strong platform to develop both its cricketing and business plan.''Before the start of the season, Smith and senior coach Tim Boon expressed their desire that the county should be competitive in all forms of the game. Smith said: "Things are going well so far but it's early days and there are a lot of strong teams about this season.''And another thing: Leicester are using martial arts instructor Mark Sheppard this season. He is running them through a number of drills including Tai Chi.ECCC DIARY0C9E45D5-F134-0F14-B7F59EC6D9D5385ELV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day 1)Essex finished the day 25 runs behind Leicestershire on an opening day when 18 wickets fell in the LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground. After bowling Leicestershire out for 159 the home side similarly endured a top-order collapse, ending on 134-8. Essex seamer David Masters claimed a career-best of 6-24 as the visitors were initially made to rue their decision to bat first after winning the toss.Playing against the county he left at the end of last season, the 30-year-old took full advantage of a green-tinged wicket where the ball moved around off the seam and also swung.Masters struck twice in his second over in an amazing opening to the match that saw the visitors reduced to 4-4 by the end of the fourth over.Tony Palladino had earlier picked up a wicket in his first over to trap Matthew Boyce lbw for one before Masters had HD Ackerman caught at wide mid-on and Tom New taken at third slip.Palladino then claimed his second victim in the next over when he had Boeta Dippenaar caught behind.Leicestershire’s first boundary came in the ninth over when captain Paul Nixon got an inadvertent inside-edge.Jim Allenby was the next to go when he top-edged an attempted pull and was caught behind off Masters.Nixon (57) and Jacques du Toit (43) then combined for by far the most significant partnership of the day – 86.With seam dominating, Nixon took full advantage when the leg-spin of Danish Kaneria – making his first appearance of the season - hitting the Pakistani for a six and two fours in the last over before lunch. Nixon was the first to go after the lunch break when he was yorked by Palladino who finished with 3-33.Masters then picked up the next three wickets on his way to eclipsing his previous best first-class figures of 6-27 for Kent against Durham at Tunbridge Wells in 2000.On a day for milestones, the right-armer’s fifth wicket – when Claude Henderson edged to Jason Gallian at slip - was his 250th in first-class cricket.Kaneria wrapped up the innings by trapping Garnett Kruger leg before for one as the home side headed for the pavilion seemingly in the ascendancy.Lightning struck twice in the same day when Essex came to bat as Dillon du Preez picked up wickets off successive balls in the second over from the River End to set the tone for the innings.Gallian was the first to go when he was caught behind for seven and Ravinder Bopara followed next ball, edging to second slip.Tom Westley (27) and Mark Pettini (13) took Essex into tea without further loss but four wickets fell for the addition of just 14 runs in the final session – all to Nadeem Malik – as the hosts slipped to 61-6. Westley and Pettini were both taken in the slips before James Foster was bowled without playing a shot and Ryan ten Doeschate drove loosely into the covers. James Middlebrook (36 not out) rallied Essex in the latter stages of the first day with useful support from Alex Tudor (12), Masters (10) and Palladino (8 not out). The middle of those was dropped by Boeta Dippenaar on eight but the second slip atoned for his error next over when he pouched a catch at the second attempt to give Malik his fifth wicket, seemingly poised for a career-best tomorrow morning.ECCC DIARY0CA54492-C812-9A93-6F47286585C40D5DSecond Eleven Championship match at Vine Lane (Day One)Middlesex won the toss and elected to batMiddlesex 352-6 declared off 94 overs (Westfield 8-2-40-0/Ahmed 22-4-82-2/Napier 16-3-57-1/Mickleburgh 9-2-24-0/Wright 19-7-46-2/Tavarasa 14-1-53-0/Chopra 1-0-8-0/Flower 5-0-25-0)Essex 51-3 off 8 overs (Chopra 0, Flower 0, Tavarasa 23, Huggins 6 not out, Mickleburgh 0 not out) CloseEssex teamVarun Chopra, Tom Huggins, Grant Flower, Jono McClean, Jaik Mickleburgh, Graham Napier (capt), Jahid Ahmed, Mervyn Westfield, Chris Wright, Stephen Gray (wkt), Theeban TavarasaMiddlesex team (12 to play, 11 to bat)Compton, Malan, Robson, Housego, London, Berg, Simpson (wkt), People (capt), Henderson, Burton, Finn, Chowdhury Notes: Stephen Gray is a right-hand bat/wicketkeeper who plays Minor Counties cricket for Norfolk (Born – July 6, 1988 in Barking)Malan (148) and Housego (85) added 218 for the Middlesex third wicket Theeban Tavarasa’s 23 (23 balls, 5 x 4) was his career-best for the Essex 2nd XIECCC DIARY11A64952-9E68-E417-88DB60309E996EF8LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day 2)Leicestershire finished on 233-3 in their second innings on day two of the LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground.The visitors had thus eked out a lead of 228 by the close after Essex had been bowled out for 164 in the first innings during the morning session after resuming on 134-8.Thursday’s play was in stark contrast to the opening day when 18 wickets fell for just 293 runs.Leicestershire openers Tom New (28) and Matthew Boyce (41) produced a stolid partnership of 63 either side of the lunch break to set the tone for the day.After Ryan ten Doeschate removed both within the space of 19 runs it was a third-wicket stand of 145 between HD Ackerman (90 not out) and Boeta Dippenaar (64) that wrested the initiative away from Essex.Dippenaar gave his wicket away just before the close when he flicked loosely at a wayward Ravinder Bopara delivery down the leg-side and was caught behind.Essex had earlier added 30 to their overnight score with James Middlebrook (46) and Tony Palladino (22 not out) taking their ninth-wicket stand to 46 before the former was comprehensively bowled by Garnett Kruger.Danish Kaneria lasted just five balls before he lost patience and was caught at mid-off to put the seal on Nadeem Malik’s career-best figures of 6-46.ECCC DIARY11B208FA-B92F-7E0A-331114546ED6A1C1Second Eleven Championship match at Vine Lane (Day 2)Day TwoMiddlesex 1st inns 352-6 decEssex 1st inns 330-9 dec of 82.2 overs (resuming on 51-3)Huggins 11/Mickleburgh 103 not out/Napier 16/Wright 0/Westfield 74/Ahmed 2/Gray 6 not out/Extras 75Middlesex 2nd inns 77-1 off 30 overs (Wright 8-3-17-0/Ahmed 8-2-19-1/Napier 6-0-21-0/Mickleburgh 2-0-17-0/Tavarasa 6-3-3-0)Middlesex lead by 99 with nine second innings wickets remainingClose Notes: Mickleburgh’s century was his career-best for the 2nd XI (century off 186 balls/14 x 4)Westfield’s career-best innings for the 2nd XI came from 128 balls (10 x 4)ECCC DIARY1936ECE6-0607-9E00-FF040F0E76894BABLV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day 3)Essex ended the third day of the LV County Championship match against Leicestershire needing another 376 runs for victory with nine wickets remaining.Resuming on 233-3, the visitors reached 449 before they were bowled out in the final session to leave Essex with a tricky 24 overs to survive.The home side reached 69-1 by the close with Tom Westley the man to go for 12.H D Ackerman (112) and Paul Nixon (92 not out) were the mainstays in the Leicester second innings as they ground out a formidable target for Essex to chase on the last day.Ackerman, resuming on 90 not out overnight, took two fours off Alex Tudor’s opening over of the day on his way to a 160-ball century.Nightwatchman Nadeem Malik put up stout resistance as he lasted until 12.15pm before he became the first of Ryan ten Doeschate’s three victims in the day – to add to his two from day two. The Essex all-rounder triggered a middle order collapse on his way to a Championship best of 5-58 as Leicestershire moved from 275-3 to 306-7 either side of lunch.Nixon and Claude Henderson (66) then collaborated in a stand of 136 in 36 overs for the eighth-wicket as Leicester regained the initiative.Another flurry of wickets – as the last three wickets fell for seven runs – meant Nixon was left stranded eight runs short of his century, finishing with a combined innings total of 149 for just once out.ECCC DIARY16AA08FF-BB17-5806-0B9BA22B87C5C563Second Eleven Championship match at Vine Lane (Day 3)Middlesex 1st inns 352-6 decEssex 1st inns 330-9 dec Middlesex 2nd inns 282-4 off 62 overs (resuming 77-1)Sam Robson 154/Wright 16-5-42-1/Ahmed 15-3-61-1/Napier 10-0-41-0/Mickleburgh 2-0-17-0/Tavarasa 13-4-41-1/Huggins 4-0-54-0/Chopra 2-0-12-0)Essex require 305 in a minimum of 64 overs Essex 2nd inns 192 off 54 overs (Chopra 38/Flower 10/Huggins 0/McClean 24/Mickleburgh 52 not out/Napier 0/Wright 0/Westfield 9/Gray 10/Ahmed 24/Tavarasa 0/25 Extras)Middlesex won by 112 runsNotes: David Burton took 6-48 in the second innings (match figures of 8-100)ECCC DIARY1FC54836-F3E9-7AEB-412763263940BAACLV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day 4)James Foster led the rearguard action as Essex claimed a draw against Leicestershire on the final day of the LV County Championship match at The Ford County Ground.Foster played out the last over from Dillon du Preez to finish on 88 not out as the home side denied Leicester what seemed like an inevitable victory when Essex went into tea seven wickets down.David Masters (five off 87 balls) and Tony Palladino (two off 53 balls) gave Foster invaluable support before Danish Kaneria survived the last eleven minutes with his senior partner.Kaneria offered one chance in his short stay at the crease when he spooned Claude Henderson to mid-off but the ball evaded Garnett Kruger’s grasp as he dived high to his left.Henderson had seemed poised to be the Leicester bowling hero as he toiled for much of the day on his way to figures of 40-18-68-4. Resuming on 69-1, Jason Gallian (41) and Ravinder Bopara (87) had earlier taken their second-wicket stand to 90 as Essex looked to push on for a victory bid of their own in pursuit of 445. Gallian then prodded forward to Henderson and got an edge to H D Ackerman at slip who took a fine one-handed catch.Pettini (9) fell to the same combination when he pushed at a ball on the back foot and Ackerman took a more comfortable catch diving to his right this time.Essex’s flickering hopes of mounting a successful run-chase were extinguished five minutes before lunch when Bopara went onto the back-foot to cut Henderson but the ball spun into the right-hander and he could only edge the ball into wicketkeeper Paul Nixon’s hands.Ten Doeschate (21) was the next batsman to perish on the back-foot when he played back to a Nadeem Malik delivery that seamed back in and the Holland international chopped on to the top of his stumps.James Middlebrook (11) went next when he was adjudged leg before to James Allenby when he pushed his bat and pad together just outside the off stump.Alex Tudor was dropped on 11 when he thin-edged Allenby to Nixon but the Essex all-rounder’s reprieve was short-lived when he failed to slide his foot back into the crease when the Leicester ‘keeper grabbed a leg-side Allenby delivery at the second attempt and removed the bails.Masters played across the line and was leg before to Kruger after a long vigil before Palladino edged Essex towards a draw before playing back to a quicker Henderson delivery and was trapped leg before.All this time Foster mixed solid defence with prudent attack on his way to his highest score of the season.ECCC DIARY21465081-F7A1-88CF-CFFC5835063F79EBFriends Provident Trophy at The Ford County GroundReportSurrey Brown Caps beat Essex Eagles by eight wickets in Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy match at The Ford County Ground.The Eagles missed their chance to guarantee a quarter-final spot with two games to go as the Brown Caps eased home with 22 balls to spare.Essex were put into bat after the start was delayed due to overnight and morning rain until 1.45pm (reducing the match to 40-overs-per-side). The Brown Caps gave debuts to Matthew Spriegel and wicketkeeper Gary Wilson in a much-changed line-up, opting to rest regulars Mark Ramprakash and Jon Batty among them. Essex skipper Mark Pettini (0) lasted just three balls before he pushed diffidently outside off-stump and thin-edged behind off Jade Dernbach to give Wilson his first Surrey dismissal.Jason Gallian struck the opening boundary in the fourth over when he on-drove Matt Nicholson.The Essex opener reached 13 before he cut Dernbach straight to Benning at backward point.Ravinder Bopara had made only six before he played too early to a Nicholson delivery and could only spoon the ball straight into the hands of Surrey captain Mark Butcher at mid-off.Varun Chopra was the protagonist of the Essex innings with a run-a-ball 79, being leant useful support by Ryan ten Doeschate (19) in a fourth-wicket stand of 47 and James Foster (32) in a fifth-wicket alliance of 60.Foster picked up where he left off from the last Championship match against Leicestershire (when he scored 88 not out in the second innings on Saturday) by flicking his first ball from Neil Saker off his legs to the midwicket boundary.Chopra then brought up his half-century in the same over off 54 balls with six fours.The right-hander survived a leg-side stumping chance on 76 off James Benning but holed out to long-on off the same bowler soon after.Essex went into the last 10 overs on 176-5 with a platform to build a decent total but could only add another 39 for the loss of their last five wickets.James Middlebrook (26) was dropped off Nicholson on 14 by Spriegel at backward point but the fielder made amends in the same over when he caught Foster in the same position.Graham Napier (four) mis-timed a pull off Benning and Usman Afzaal took the catch moving in from the long-on boundary. Chris Wright (0) lasted just two balls before he picked out Benning off Jade Dernbach before Middlebrook and Danish Kaneria (four) fell in the last over bowled by James Ormond.James Benning got Surrey’s reply off to a rollicking start in Napier’s opening over when he pulled his first ball faced for six to the square-leg boundary and then dismissed the next delivery through midwicket for four. The explosive Surrey opener then repeated the trick in Napier’s next over when he pulled a flat six to herald the end of the Essex all-rounder’s opening spell after two overs.Napier’s replacement was Chris Wright, whose first two balls were square-cut to the boundary by Scott Newman and the left-hander ended the over with another off-side four as Surrey rattled up 45 from the opening five overs.Middlebrook then came on for David Masters at the River End but the change failed to have the desired effect as Benning flicked the ball away for his third six in the off-spinner’s first over.Masters returned from the opposite end to which he started – the Hayes Close End – as Pettini continued to ring the changes. This time it did the trick as Benning was bowled attempting to work the ball onto the leg-side after hammering 38 of 22 balls.Wright then became the fourth bowling change in successive overs but the runs continued to flow as Butcher joined Newman at the crease.Surrey’s 100 came up at the start of the 14th over when Newman pulled Middlebrook over midwicket for six. The Surrey opener brought up his half-century in the same over off 41 balls (5 x 4/1 x 6) but fell in Middlebrook’s next over for 52 when he edged behind attempting to cut.The visitors reached 124-2 at the midway stage with Butcher’s new partner another former England left-hander in Afzaal.Their experience proved invaluable as they maintained the required run-rate of four with a series of well-judged singles mixed with the occasional boundary.Forty-three were needed from the last 10 overs as the match drew to its inevitable conclusion, Butcher finishing on 66 and Afzaal 50. Butcher’s 50 (66 balls/4 x 4) was brought up with a boundary off ten Doeschate to the backward-point boundary but the Surrey captain seems destined to be ending his participation at the group stage with qualification for the Brown Caps unlikely. Afzaal gave one life on 36 – when he cut to Gallian at slip who failed to gather at the second attempt – off Kaneria, but by then it was too little too late.The former Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire batsman recorded his half-century in the closing stages from 65 balls with five fours and one six.ECCC DIARY95B81D5F-CCEA-A74D-865F2E6C3A1696CCFriends Provident Trophy at HastingsECCC DIARY2FF5FE76-93D9-0E6E-59E207D6909BF656Second Eleven Championship at Stowe School (Day 1)Northants won the toss and elected to fieldEssex 1st inns – 122 all out off 61.3 overs (Chris Marsden 23, Tom Westley 5, Jono McLean 3, Alex Roberts 40, Jaik Mickleburgh 15, Matthew Surry 14, Mervyn Westfield 1, Dominic Hurst 1, Michael Comber 2, Neil Gladwin 1, Jahid Ahmed 0 not out, Ryan Lugg dnb)Northants 91-4 off 41.5 overs (Ahmed 14-6-23-1/Westfield 8.5-3-15-2/Roberts 7-2-17-1/Mickleburgh 7-3-12-0/Westley 5-0-19-0)CloseECCC DIARY2FF7B411-C709-8D85-69498758F62E2486Second Eleven Championship at Stowe School (Day 2)Essex 1st inns – 122 all outNorthants 1st inns 91-4No play Wednesday (rain)ECCC DIARY34B21153-E192-0CC3-F061C69C18DD2536Friends Provident Trophy at Lord'sReportMiddlesex Crusaders beat Essex Eagles by eight wickets on the Duckworth/Lewis in Wednesday’s Friends Provident Trophy match at Lord’s.The home side had reached 120-2 from 25 overs (22 ahead of their required total at that stage) in pursuit of a rain-reduced target of 237 from 48 overs before the second weather break proved terminal, with the game finally called off just before 7pm.Having scored 244-8 at the end of their 50 overs, the Eagles had needed to bowl their opponents out for 140 to earn a home quarter-final at the expense of Kent Spitfires by virtue of a better run-rate.That never seemed likely once opening bowlers David Masters and Graham Napier failed to trouble the Middlesex first pair on a consistent basis as Ed Smith (22) and Billy Godleman (43 not out) put together a half-century partnership. Change bowler Ryan ten Doeschate’s second over saw Godleman pick up three boundaries as Middlesex cruised to 42-0 by the 10th over.Smith belatedly fell when Masters trapped him leg before with a full delivery.Shaun Udal (34 off 36 balls) was promoted up the order to good effect as he joined Godleman in a second-wicket stand of 52 to end Essex’s flickering hopes of a home quarter-final. Danish Kaneria trapped Udal leg before with his first delivery just before rain halted play for the second time at 6.10pm (having already left the field for 10 minutes from 5.20pm).Ten Doeschate was the Essex batting mainstay with 97 off 93 balls as the visitors recovered from a stuttering opening to post a useful total.Middlesex’s opening bowlers Tim Murtagh and Dirk Nannes took advantage of overcast conditions to repeatedly trouble the Essex top-order at the outset.Essex skipper Mark Pettini continued his run of poor form when he was caught on his crease by Nannes and adjudged leg before without scoring.Jason Gallian (11) was the next to go when he fended a lifting Vernon Philander delivery to Eoin Morgan at second slip.Ravinder Bopara (5) fell early when he shuffled across his stumps to Steve Finn and was another lbw victim.Varun Chopra looked in decent touch but when he fell on 39 it left Essex struggling on 61-4.Ten Doeschate was then joined by James Foster (43) in by far the best partnership of the innings – 120.The former was given two lives by wicketkeeper Ben Scott – a missed stumping on 52 off Ed Joyce and a dropped catch on 66 off Philander – on his way to his highest one-day score for Essex, beating his 89 not out made against Lancashire at Chelmsford in 2005.Ten Doeschate entered the final over needing three more for his century but was bowled by Philander off the first ball.Wickets fell with regularity in the closing overs with Murtagh the pick of the Middlesex bowlers, returning 2-28 from his 10 overs.ECCC DIARY35DD4EED-B69B-333B-51F40540077A4B5CSecond Eleven Championship at Stowe School (Day 3)Essex 1st inns – 122 all outNorthants 1st inns 91-4 declared (overnight)Essex 2nd inns – 146-9 declared off 47 overs (Westley 26, Marsden 0, McLean 11, Roberts 32, Mickleburgh 25, Westfield 0, Hurst 15 not out, Comber 18 not out, Gladwin 9, Lugg 0 not out)Northants 2nd inns – 137 all out (needing 178 for victory from 49 overs) (Roberts 17-4-41-4/Westfield 8-2-26-3/Mickleburgh 9-3-24-0/Westley 8.2-2-28-2/Hurst 3-0-11-1)Essex won by 40 runs Day Three notes – Mervyn Westfield took career-best 2nd XI figures/Jahid Ahmed was unavailable on the final day as he was taking exams/Northants batsman Daniel Lonerghan carried his bat for 73 not out)ECCC DIARY35D059F6-E2DF-70B7-7399AB4C019DB7EESetting the scene: Essex are nothing if not exciting these days. Having snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Middlesex they clung on gamely to a draw at home to Leicestershire last time out. Division Two is still to settle down but, when it does, you expect the likes of Worcestershire and Middlesex to be in the promotion shake-up not down at the lower reaches of the table. And those two teams represent the next opponents for Essex. It is Worcestershire first. Their record of four games, four draws suggests the batsmen are in better form than the bowlers. We’ll see.Suggestive stats: Jason Gallian 387 runs @ 48.37 is an impressive statistic and certainly justifies Essex’s decision to take him from Nottinghamshire and persuade him away from retirement. But his nine slip catches are a telling contribution too. Bowlers from Worcestershire and Essex occupy six of the top 13 places in the Division Two bowling averages. But that does not include Aussie Steve Magoffin whose 15 scalps have cost more than 30 runs apieceTop batsman/bowler 2008: Essex – Ravi Bopara 428 @ 107; Ryan ten Doeschate 16 @ 19.Worcestershire: Steve Moore 404@ 67.33; Steve Magoffin 15 @ 30.33. Men in form: Ryan ten Doeschate is having a superb season with the ball. His 6-57 against New Zealand earlier in the month were his best first-class figures while a five-for last time out gave him 16 Division Two wickets for the season at 19 runs apiece. Only Nadeem Malik has got as many this season. And ten Doeschate has the ability to break established partnerships. South-African-born Stephen Moore is topping the averages for Worcester in the batting and looks a class act. Team form: The only predictable thing about Essex right now is their unpredictability. And the excitement that generates. Derbyshire chased down a declaration relatively easily but, after a stunning late partnership allowed them to beat Middlesex, you believed they could be on for victory last time when set a record-breaking 425 for victory by Leicestershire. In the end, only Kruger’s late drop prevented defeat. Worcestershire have no wins or losses in the Championship but they have qualified from their Friends Provident group with a minimum of fuss. What their website says: Bad news for Essex, Graeme Hick is still going strong. "If you watched him fielding at Taunton last week, he was brilliant," Director of Cricket Steve Rhodes told Halesowen News. "He is still going strong and he has already showed this season with the bat that he can still score runs. "I like to pick Graeme's brains from time-to-time and it is good that he is still around, because his experience is invaluable. I remember the game that he scored that 405 really well. We put on quite a few runs together - it was a fine knock. But it is testament to what a fit guy he is by still going strong at 42." And another thing: Rhodes has also been talking about creating space for the Friends Provident Trophy at the start of the campaign. "There should be a window for a lot of this cricket to be played after some early-season Championship games," he told BBC Sport. "It's almost a waste of a competition because we're playing the powerplays to get used to them for internationals. But you don't play international cricket when the wicket is seaming around like that.ECCC DIARY3BA51363-0346-4FBD-FF93DCAEE9AD78AALV County Championship at New Road (Day One)Essex ended day one of their LV County Championship match against Worcestershire trailing by 96 runs with three first-innings wickets remaining.On a day that mirrored the opening day of their last Championship game at home to Leicestershire, Essex dismissed their opponents cheaply – 176 - before finding the going just as tough in reply, closing on 80-7.Again, the opposition won the toss and were made to rue their decision at the outset as they struggled to post an imposing total.Worcestershire’s opening pair Daryl Mitchell (14) and Stephen Moore (10) laboured for over an hour to reach 24 before the latter was trapped lbw early in change bowler Alex Tudor’s first spell.Tony Palladino then struck twice in quick succession to remove Mitchell and Vikram Solanki (5) – both caught behind, the second of which was an excellent one-handed take low to his right by wicketkeeper James Foster.Graeme Hick (26) appeared intent on making light of a demanding wicket as he picked up six boundaries before being undone by some extra bounce as Palladino claimed his third victim – all caught by Foster. Ben Smith was then joined by Steven Davies in the largest partnership of the innings – albeit only 34 – to take Worcestershire to the relative heights of 100-4.Davies (19) then undid the hard work as he sliced away to gully before Tudor trapped Gareth Batty (0) in the same over, having had him dropped by Jason Gallian at first slip from the previous ball.Although seam dominated on the opening day it was left to Danish Kaneria to do most of the damage to the home team’s lower order with 3-20.Ryan ten Doeschate finished the innings off when he had a leg before appeal upheld against the Worcester mainstay, Smith, who survived 133 balls for his 60 – a knock that became even more crucial when Essex came to bat.Palladino (3-45) and Tudor (3-46) joined Kaneria with a trio of victims while David Masters continually troubled the home batsmen without reward (22-10-43-0).Essex’s batting effort was a litany of woe as they slumped to 39-5 with opening bowlers Kabir Ali (3-21) and Steve Magoffin (2-20) doing the damage. Simon Jones then removed Ryan ten Doeschate (28) after a 38-run stand with James Foster (12 not out) and followed that up by emphatically bowling Alex Tudor (0) in the same over to his second ball. Essex enjoyed some respite when bad light stopped play at 6.30pm with five scheduled overs remaining.ECCC DIARY4005756E-DCD0-94D0-7EA8AD257678CC24LV County Championship (Day Two)Worcestershire built up a commanding lead in their second innings after bowling out Essex for 116 on day two of the LV County Championship match at New Road.Having gained a first-innings lead of 60, Worcestershire had added 228-5 by the close.Daryl Mitchell (70) and Ben Smith (71) were the main contributors but both were dropped early on as Essex were left to rue missed opportunities. An early breakthrough in the home team’s second innings was paramount but Masters grassed a caught and bowled opportunity with Mitchell on just two. Mitchell and Stephen Moore played steadily up to lunch as they put on a half-century partnership for the first wicket. Kaneria removed Moore leg before for 28 with the second delivery after lunch but the openers had done their job on a wicket that remained a challenge to all batsmen.Vikram Solanki could only make 15 before he edged a lifting Ravinder Bopara delivery to James Foster behind the wicket.Next man Smith was dropped before he’d scored in the same over, by Chopra, who failed to cling on diving to his left in the slips.Thereafter the Worcester duo put on a half-century partnership up to tea without undue alarm as the Essex attack struggled to make inroads.Mitchell did eventually go soon after the interval when he missed an ambitious swipe at Kaneria and was bowled after a dogged stay at the crease. Smith reached his 50 with a boundary off Bopara – his second half-century of the match – as he found another useful ally in Graeme Hick with the fourth-wicket adding 54.Hick was dismissed for 16 when he was deceived by a Bopara delivery that stopped on him, which he could only chip to Tony Palladino at mid-on.Smith finally went in the penultimate over when he was trapped on his crease and adjudged leg before to Alex Tudor. Essex had earlier added another 36 for their last three wickets in the morning session.Resuming on 80-7, Foster edged behind in the third over of the day off Steve Magoffin before Simon Jones struck with his first two balls of the morning to wrap the innings up.Masters (12) and Palladino (14 not out) added 26 for the ninth-wicket – the second highest partnership of the innings – to ensure the visitors at least reached three figures.Masters was then caught at first slip and Kaneria fell next ball when he fended a bouncer to backward point. Jones finished with figures of 4.2-2-14-4, having seen his first two wicketless overs of the innings go for 14.ECCC DIARY45875662-C942-0910-2C515581D7891413LV County Championship at New Road (Day Three)Worcestershire v Essex Day ThreeWorcestershire beat Essex by 75 runs on day three of the LV County Championship match at New Road.Having been set 340 for victory the visitors were given hope of an unlikely win as Ravinder Bopara (85) and James Foster (43) added 111 for the sixth-wicket. But it was the failure of any other batsman to get beyond 28 in either innings that ultimately did for Essex. Their run-chase got off to a disastrous start in the half-hour they were given to bat before lunch after Worcestershire had taken their second innings to 279 in the morning session.Kabir Ali produced a devastating opening spell to remove Jason Gallian (four), Tom Westley (11) and, finally, Varun Chopra (seven) in the last over before the break as Essex laboured to 38-3.Ravinder Bopara led the fightback with a spirited half-century (87 balls, 6 x 4) but he needed a ‘life’ on 25 when wicketkeeper Steven Davies put down a low chance off Chris Whelan.Captain Mark Pettini (11) hung around for 53 balls but he undid his hard work when he flicked at a Whelan delivery and was caught by Davies down the leg-side for the second time in the match Simon Jones then got one to nip away off the seam to ten Doeschate (10) and the right-hander could only edge to Graeme Hick at second slip.James Foster was dropped on one by Hick in the same position off Kabir Ali and then again on 32, at fourth slip by Gareth Batty off Steve Magoffin, as the home side began to fret.Runs started to flow with Bopara moving from 71 to 83 with three fours in an over from Kabir Ali.Four leg-side byes then brought up the 200 but Bopara played across the line to the next Magoffin delivery and was adjudged leg before.Alex Tudor swung defiantly for 27 off 25 balls but when Foster chased a wide delivery from Kabir Ali and was caught at slip the game was up.Jones returned to peg back the off-stump of Tudor and then have Tony Palladino caught down the leg-side by Davies.David Masters (nine not out) and Danish Kaneria (18) reduced the target to double figures before the latter was caught at fine-leg to give Jones figures of 4-41 (match figures of 8-55).Kabir Ali was the chief second-innings destroyer, decimating the Essex top-order to end with 4-64. After resuming day three on 228-5 in their second innings, Worcestershire lost wickets at regular intervals early on to be reduced to 247-9 before Jones (16) and Whelan (12 not out) put on a nagging stand of 32. Overnight pair Davies (10) and Batty (five) were dismissed in successive overs by Essex’s opening attack of David Masters and Alex Tudor. Masters then struck with consecutive deliveries on his way to 3-24 from 14 overs.Magoffin (five) was first to go when he top-edged an attempted hook off a short ball and Pettini took the catch running back towards the midwicket boundary.After the batsmen crossed, Masters then comprehensively beat the defences of Kabir Ali (four) and plucked out the batsman’s off-stump. Jones and Whelan then combined to ensure Essex would require well in excess of 300 in their second innings to pull off an unlikely victory on a wicket still giving the seam bowlers much assistance. Ten Doeschate ended the last-wicket stand when he took an outstanding return catch low down to his left as Jones thumped back a straight drive.ECCC DIARY3F8CEA06-CF29-EDA7-20256A913583AEE3LV County Championship at New Road (Day Four)ECCC DIARY54B256E2-E21F-8673-0ECFFE804F6B5A3FFriends Provident Trophy Quarter-Final at Grace Road6.48 - WICKET - Essex complete a 118-run victory with nine overs to spare as Leicestershire are dismissed for 232. Chopra takes a fine one-handed catch at mid-on to remove Garnett Kruger for 2 off ten Doeschate.6.41pm - Hat-trick ball whistles past the outside edge of Garnett Kruger's bat.6.40pm - WICKET - Malik b Bopara - shoots through under the bat of Malik and Bopara has two in two.6.39pm - WICKET - Henderson b Bopara 2 - Henderson is bowled by a slower ball as he plays a pull shot far too early.6.32pm - WICKET - Snape b Napier 21 - Snape is yorked attempting to move room to the leg-side.6.23pm - WICKET - Du Toit c Pettini b ten Doeschate 35 - Tudor's comeback spell lasts one over and ten Doeschate returns to the attack, picking up the wicket of du Toit who clips to Pettini at midwicket. 6.18pm - 207-5 off 35 overs (du Toit 29, Snape 17)6.16pm - 200 up in 35th over.6.14pm - Jeremy Snape gives a sharp chance on 13 which Bopara gets a hand to diving to his left but cannot cling on to. 5.58pm - WICKET - Nixon b Middlebrook 62 - Nixon is bowled as he backs away attempting to cut. Leicestershire's dangerman goes.5.55pm - 160-4 off 29 overs (Nixon 61, du Toit 2) - James Middlebrook enters the attack.5.48pm - WICKET - Boyce's attempted pull off Masters cannons into his pad and loops up for a simple catch to Foster, standing up to the stumps. 5.44pm - Bopara puts down a sharp chance at backward point with Nixon on 54 off the bowling of ten Doeschate.5.39pm - Boyce reaches his half-century (62 balls, 5 x 4) with a straight drive for four back past David Masters.5.33pm – Ryan ten Doeschate enters the attack at the Bennett End…opening with three successive wides.5.30pm – Paul Nixon reaches his half-century with a single off David Masters. 5.28pm – 130-3 off 23 overs (Boyce 46, Nixon 49) Nixon cover drives Kaneria for four and three off successive balls to move to within one of his half-century. 5.18pm - 109 for three off 20 overs (Boyce 41, Nixon 33) - Danish Kaneria enters the attack at the Bennett End.5.16pm – Matthew Boyce brings up the fifty-stand with Paul Nixon when he cover-drives Bopara for four. 4.52pm – Ravi Bopara comes into the attack fresh from his batting heroics…beginning with four wides down the leg-side.5.16pm – Matthew Boyce brings up the fifty-stand with Paul Nixon when he cover-drives Bopara for four. 4.52pm – Ravi Bopara comes into the attack fresh from his batting heroics…beginning with four wides down the leg-side.4.38pm – WICKET – 53-3 Allenby c Gallian b Napier 6 – Allenby’s attempted drive is edged to Gallian at slip who takes a comfortable catch. 4.19pm – WICKET – 32-2 Dippenaar c Foster b Tudor 18 – Dippenaar drives at Tudor but gets a thick edge to Foster. 3.58pm – WICKET 4-1 Ackerman c Foster b Tudor 4 – Ackerman smashes first delivery of the innings to the cover boundary but wafts outside the off-stump next ball and gets a thin edge to wicketkeeper James Foster.ECCC DIARY5441889E-AD49-25E7-9390CF2A7ECE51DAFriends Provident Trophy Quarter-Final at Grace Road3.16pm - Essex end with 350-5 off 50 overs (Bopara 201, Middlebrook 13). Single from Bopara off the last ball takes the Essex total to 350. Bopara's 200 came off 137 balls (18 x 4/10 x 6).3.11pm - Malik bowls the last over of the innings. Middlebrook pulls the first ball - a full toss - over square leg. Single next ball. Bopara on strike. Dot. Bopara smashes next ball - another full toss - for six to bring up his DOUBLE HUNDRED. 3.09pm - Bopara pulls a four and a six off successive balls from Du Preez. Bopara follows with two, an on-driven six, another two and a straight four.3.06pm - Middlebrook pulls Kruger through midwicket for four.3.02pm - Bopara brings up the 300 with a six once again over cow corner - off Du Preez2.59pm - Foster holes out to Dippenaar at long-off who takes a good low catch off Du Preez. 2.58pm - 294 for four off 46 overs (Bopara 158, Foster 61).2.56pm - Bopara's sixth six goes the way of the others off Kruger.2.51pm - Bopara swings Malik through midwicket for a single to move to 150 (121 balls, 16 x 4/5 x 6). Bopara's innings is the highest individual score by an Essex batsman in the competition (beating the 144 by Graham Gooch against Hampshire in 1990 and Mark Pettini against Surrey in 2008) 2.49pm - 272 for four off 44 (Bopara 149, Foster 52)2.47pm - Bopara picks up Henderson for yet another six through wide midwicket (cow corner!) to move to 149.2.44pm - Foster on-drives Allenby for a single to bring up his half-century (65 balls, 2 x 4)2.32pm - 239-4 off 40 overs (Bopara 124, Foster 44) Bopara pulls Kruger away for another boundary, less square on this occasion. Bopara and Foster go past the previous Essex record for the fifth-wicket in the Knockout Trophy (beating Andy Flower and Ravinder Bopara against Devon at Exmouth of 131 in 2005). 2.26pm - Bopara pulls Kruger away for his fourth six, through midwicket.2.15 - HUNDRED - Bopara reaches his century (85 balls/12 x 4, 3 x 6) by tucking Malik behind square on the leg-side. 2.14pm - Foster (32) and Bopara (98) have run out scares off successive balls in Malik over.2.10pm - Henderson returns to the attack but is greeted with a rapier-like cover-drive for four by Bopara.2.06 - 186-4 off 32 overs (Bopara 86, Foster 32) Snape is removed from the attack after two overs with Malik returning at the Bennett End.1.59pm - Bopara repeats the dose in Snape's next over for his third six. 1.51pm - Bopara asserts his authority on Snape immediately by picking up his fifth ball over midwicket for six.1.49pm - Snape comes into the attack in the 28th over for his first over of the season.1.41pm - Two off-side fours off Allenby by Foster brings up the 150.1.30pm - Bopara brings up his 50 (43 balls/10 x 4, 1 x 6) off the last ball of Henderson's over with a six over midwicket. 1.28pm - 117-4 off 21 overs (Bopara 46, Foster 2). Bopara off-drives for four and then lofts an on-drive next ball to end Allenby's over.1.19pm - 104-4 off 19 overs (Bopara 36, Foster 0). Essex's fourth-wicket stand is cut off in its prime with ten Doeschate getting out to a loose shot when set.1.16pm - WICKET ten Doeschate b Allenby 27. ten Doeschate has his off bail clipped attempting to steer the ball to third man.1.14pm - 100 up with a Henderson wide.1.11pm - 98-3 off 17 overs (Bopara 36, ten Doeschate 22). Spin introduced with Claude Henderson into the attack at the Pavilion end.1.04pm - 87-3 off 15 overs (Bopara 27, ten Doeschate 21) ten Doeschate brings up 50-stand with a single after taking two boundaries off James Allenby's first over (first inside-edged behind keeper, second cover-driven)12.58pm - 76-3 off 13 overs (Bopara 27, ten Doeschate 11) Kruger changes ends but is taken for two boundaries by Bopara as the Essex right-hander begins to get into his stride. 12.46pm - First change of bowling. Nadeem Malik comes on at the Pavilion End. Kruger's first spell (2-27 off five overs).12.42 - 46-3 off 10 overs (Bopara 2, ten Doeschate 6) Leicestershire take their second Powerplay from overs 11-15, continuing with Du Preez.12.40pm - ten Doeschate times a square drive perfectly off Kruger to bring the all-rounder his first boundary.12.38pm - 40-3 off nine overs (Bopara 1, ten Doeschate 1). Du Preez gets in on the act as the Kolpak connection does the trick for Leicester. 12.34 - WICKET Chopra b Du Preez 6 - Chopra plays back and inside edges onto his stumps.12.32 - 37-2 off eight overs (Chopra 6, Bopara 1) Kruger struggles to find his line for remainder of the over as he drifts down the leg-side to new batsman Bopara. 12.29pm - WICKET - Gallian c Ackerman b Kruger 9 - Almost identical dismissal with Gallian edging into the lap of Ackerman at slip. Just enough away movement once more from Kruger. 12.27pm - 34-1 off eight overs (Gallian 9, Chopra 5) Varun Chopra's attempted drive off Du Preez goes wide of second slip to the third man boundary12.20pm - WICKET - Pettini c Dippenaar b Kruger 18. Pettini unfurls a flashing cover drive for four but is undone by some away movement next ball to give second slip a simple catch.12.15pm - 21-0 off four overs (Gallian 9, Pettini 11) Pettini slices his first boundary through the covers off Kruger.12.10pm - 14-0 off three overs (Gallian 9, Pettini 4) Gallian drives through the covers for second boundary, this time off Dillon du Preez. Both bowlers are getting movement off the seam in the early stages.12.06pm - 6-0 off two overs (Gallian 4, Pettini 2). Jason Gallian on-drives first boundary in second over off Garnett Kruger.11.30am - Under gloriously (ok, reasonably) sunny skies, Essex win the toss and bat. Grant Flower and Tony Palladino have been left out of Essex's provisional 13-man squad. Jeremy Snape is the surprise inclusion for Leicestershire. 7.45am - Morning everyone. I've just been reliably informed by a Leicestershire source that it's sunny and set fair for a glorious day...in Coventry! Weather, transport and technology permitting you'll be able to receive regular updates in the ECCC Diary throughout the day on the FPT match at Grace Road. Live scoring and commentary is also available on the home page and make you sure have your say in the Forums.ECCC DIARY5AACC53C-9975-7600-975E87085C1C4730Setting the scene: As so many times this season, the two teams enter this game amidst highly contrasting fortunes. Essex reached the Friends Provident Trophy Semi-Finals in midweek with a victory at Leicestershire. Ravi Bopara’s unbeaten double century set records on the way. Meanwhile, despite notching their first Championship win of the season against Derbyshire, the Middlesex committee are mulling over a petition of no confidence from more than 100 members. Certainly Ed Smith's side have not started like the title-chasers they were expected to be. Suggestive stats: Essex have eight batting points from five games this season - that is the lowest in Division Two apart from second bottom Derbyshire. Bopara (514 @ 85.66) and Jason Gallian (401 @ 40.10) have scored heavily but then there is a gap to Tom Westley (241 @ 30.12) and James Foster (195 @ 39). Perhaps more support is needed. The big two failed in the first innings at Worcestershire last time out and that is partly why Essex registered the lowest total in the division this season – 116. Middlesex, via Murtagh and Evans, possess two of the three best Division Two bowling performances this term but then, apart from Glamorgan, they are the only side where their leading run-scorer has a total less than 400. Top batsman/bowler 2008: Essex – Bopara 514 runs @ 85.66; Ryan ten Doeschate 18 wickets @ 343.Middlesex - Ed Joyce 399 @ 39.9; Tim Murtagh 20 @ 28.45. Essex v: 10 year record: P11 W4 D6 L1 Men in form: Of course it has to be Bopara for Essex. His 201 not out at Grace Road was the fourth highest score in English one-day cricket and the eighth highest in the world in the short form of the game. And of course the best knock by an Essex batsman in limited-overs. He has been consistent in the Championship too. When he perished for 85 at Worcester, any real hope of an unlikely Essex win went with him. His 11 wickets @ 20.36 in 71 overs is pretty handy too. For Middlesex, Murtagh picked up match figures of 7-156 against Derbyshire and his 20 scalps for the season is the highest in Division Two. Owais Shah hit a much-needed 86 as they chased down 256 to win. Team form: The win at Leicestershire was timely for Essex given they slipped to a disappointing defeat at Worcestershire. Once again Mark Pettini’s side had dismissed the opposition cheaply, in this case 176, but could not capitalise. Given the contrived nature of the game at Derbyshire this was perhaps their first real Championship loss. But, of course, they were on the end of some stick from Middlesex in the game between the two sides in May only for James Middlebrook and Chris Wright to rescue an unlikely victory with a stunning ninth-wicket partnership. Middlesex badly needed that win last week as well. Though, in fairness, their away games have been at the three top teams in the Division and have accounted for two of their defeats. What the website says: Middlesex CCC have agreed to the members’ request of a special meeting about matters at Lord’s. However Vinny Codrington, the chief executive, said. "I wish they'd raised any gripes at the next members' forum," he told The Timesonline. "We have three of those per year with the next being on July 22. It's all a bit premature."Captain Ed Smith added: "It's probably a combination of unhappiness that we've not won anything for 15 years and of disappointment at the start to our season when a lot was expected of us. We've had unbelievably bad luck with injuries."And another thing: Bopara’s wonderful knock was watched by England selector Geoff Miller.ECCC DIARY64B3FC58-C4AD-73C7-843C5ABC4A0CEE7FLV County Championship at Lord's (Day One)Click here for report:http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/domestic/lv-county-championship/mid-ess,300522,EN.htmlECCC DIARY5FBD0A3A-FC04-EFEC-AF5AE607F9990FCETwenty20 Floodlit ChallengePCA Masters 171-5 off 20 overs (D. Bicknell c Chambers b Tavarasa 11/M. McCague c Tavarasa b Chambers 14/I. Harvey c Shah b Westfield 37/Napier c Tavarasa b Ahmed 5/C. Lewis c Westfield b Tavarasa 2/K. Dutch 52 not out/P. Prichard 33 not out)Academy bowling: Chambers 4-10-10-1/Ahmed 4-0-38-1/Tavarasa 4-0-21-2/Westfield 3-0-44-1/Shah 3-0-31-0/Ison 2-0-19-0/Extras 0b, 3lb, 9w, 0nb, 5p Essex Academy 130-4 off 20 overs (West 1/Hurst 0/Mickleburgh 11/Ison 4/Westfield 71 not out/Comber 34 not out)PCA Masters bowling: Bicknell 3-0-11-1/Napier 4-0-24-2/Lewis 3-0-10-0/Cousins 4-0-26-1/Such 3-0-18-0/Dutch 3-0-37-0)PCA Masters won by 41 runsECCC DIARY64B4650C-AD93-F902-0F54EBD6B14B1A75LV County Championship at Lord's (Day Two)Click here for report:http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/domestic/lv-county-championship/mid-ess,300537,EN.htmlECCC DIARY69BD0531-E9AA-6CAF-F8E334A6A149ECCALV County Championship at Lord's (Day Three)Click here for report:http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/domestic/lv-county-championship/mid-ess,300556,EN.htmlECCC DIARY76F8171E-C942-0F4B-A010E588F9177944LV County Championship at Lord's (Day Four)Click here:http://www.sportinglife.com/cricket/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=cricket/08/06/09/CRICKET_Middlesex_Nightlead.htmlECCC DIARY774FE84E-0A15-53DE-5E06BC6575C3F251Second Eleven Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Tuesday June 10 to Thursday June 12)Lancashire won the toss and elected to batLancashire 204 all out off 70.1 overs (Ahmed 18-3-56-1/Wright 17-6-24-2/Westfield 11.1-2-42-3/Roberts 12-3-36-1/Westley 6-0-20-0/Tavarasa 6-1-16-1)Essex 113-1 off 33 overs (Huggins 59 not out, Westley 36, Wright 10 not out) TeamsEssex (12 to play, 11 to bat)T.B. HugginsT. Westley (capt)J.J. McLeanA. RobertsJ.C. Mickleburgh M.S. Westfield M.A. ComberA.R. IsonN. Gladwin (wkt)C.J.C. WrightJ.S. AhmedT. TavarasaLancashire (12 to play, 11 to bat)M.J. Chilton (capt)K.R. BrownT.C. SmithV. TripathiI.A. CockbainS.D. ParryC. TripperS.A. Stanworth (wkt)O.J. NewbyS.P. CheethamS.C. KerriganJ. HineECCC DIARY7C031ABD-DA14-9F95-62DA624B153F2E43Second Eleven Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day Two)Lancashire 1st inns 204 all outEssex 1st inns (resuming on 113-1)392-8 dec off 125.4 overs (Huggins 94, Westley 36, Wright 17, McLean 74, Roberts 3, Mickleburgh 59, Westfield 37, Comber 40, Ison 6 not out)Lancashire 2nd inns 49-2 off 13 overs (Wright 6-0-20-2/Ahmed 4-0-17-0/Westfield 2-0-7-0/Tavarasa 1-0-4-0)ECCC DIARY793B86A8-C008-A115-D42BF9DF14066679Twenty20 Cup at the Brit OvalEssex beat Surrey by 7 wickets in front of an estimated 14,000 crowd at The Oval to launch their Twenty20 season in style with captain Mark Pettini destroying the hosts attack for the second time in a month.On May 11, he took 144 from the Surrey attack in a Friends Provident Trophy match and returned this evening to thrash 66 from 35-balls to totally dominate proceedings and set his side on their stroll to victory.Chasing 127 for victory, Pettini proved an inspiring figure and although opener Varun Chopra departed for 11 in the third over with only 13 on the board, the Essex captain played with freedom and fluency. He and Ravi Bopara collected 80 runs from the six overs as they battered the Surrey attack with Pettini particularly severe on anything loose despite the gloomy light.There was one moment of concern for Pettini when he was sent back by Bopara and in diving to make his ground, injured himself although he was able to continue after treatment. He immediately showed there were no ill-effects by hitting the next delivery he faced from to the boundary before despatching the next ball from James Ormond over the ropes at deep extra cover to bring the total past 50.Pettini continued to batter the bowling; he welcomed the introduction of Chris Lewis into the attack by sending the former England fast bowler’s first delivery for a straight six and, after lifting the ball over the boundary at deep mid-off from Ormond, he reached his half-century with a 6 off Lewis over wide long-on as Essex strode on rapidly to 87-1.Bopara was content to play the support role for once and having struck three boundaries from 18 balls and seen the total into three figures, departed for a well-made 22 when he was caught on the boundary seeking a straight six to leave Essex in total control at 95-2 wickets in the tenth over.Pettini finally perished when he was undone by a slower ball from Ormond having hit 5 sixes and five other boundaries by which time, his side only needed another 22 runs with more than seven overs remaining.Neil Dexter was joined by Grant Flower and the pair completed the win by taking 16 off an over from Ormond with Flower cutting the ball to the boundary. Flower was unbeaten on 19 and Dexter, who was making his debut having joined on loan for the competition from Kent, was 5 not out when the last rites were administered.Surrey had won the toss and were soon in trouble after Graham Napier had struck with the fifth ball of the match when Scott Newman edged to James Foster having scored a single with the score on 6. Then David Masters pinned James Benning in the crease, also for 1, before Napier removed Mark Ramprakash for 1 to launch gleeful celebrations from the visitors with Surrey tottering on 10-3 wickets.Usman Afzaal and Ali Brown attempted to rebuild the damage with a 59 runs partnership in 8overs but the introduction of Danish Kaneria proved defining for both batsmen. The leg-spinner struck with his fifth delivery when Afzaal (25) drove against the spun a to give a running catch to Bopara at mid-wicket and in his next over, the Pakistan Test bowler removed Brown for 35 as the batsman attempted and missed with an expansive swing.Now 76-5 in the thirteenth over, the home side added 26 runs thanks to Jon Batty and Matt Nicholson before Ryan ten Doeschate ended the brief revival when he bowled Batty for 21. Bopara trapped Lewis with a straight delivery, Kaneria deceived Chris Jordan who was stumped before Matt Spriegel and Ormond gathered 16 runs from the final two overs to leave Essex an all too modest target.Kaneria finished with 3022 from 4 overs, Napier 2-9 from 3 overs whilst Masters (1-17), Bopara (1-18) and ten Doeschate (1-26) were also amongst the wicketsAlastair Cook was withdrawn from the match on the advice of the England management after incurring an impingement in his right shoulder.ECCC DIARY885B8FEC-9FED-2215-C012D5AE560DD37ESecond Eleven Championship match at The Ford County Ground (Day Three)Day ThreeLancashire 1st inns 204 all outEssex 1st inns 392-8 decLancashire 2nd inns (resuming on 49-2)160 all out off 51.2 overs(Wright 25-3-72-6/Ahmed 11-1-42-1/Westfield 8.2-2-25-2/Tavarasa 7-2-17-1)Essex won by an innings and 28 runsNotes: Chris Wright's figures were a career-bestThe start on the final day was delayed until midday due to rainECCC DIARY8C0438D0-0FD5-EB4D-F00F01DC5EA576D2Twenty20 Cup at Lord'sAfter their scintillating show on Wednesday, Essex produced a totally contrasting display 24 hours later when they suffered a 7-wickets defeat by Middlesex at Lord’s.The home side strolled to victory with 19 deliveries to spare and had it not been for the efforts of on-loan Neil Dexter, the contest could have been over in double quick time and with acute embarrassment for the visitors on a pitch that failed to produce the exciting cricket that Twenty20 audiences expect.Dexter played steadfastly scoring 46 out of a total 115-9 as he faced 40 balls striking a six and four other boundaries and the value of his performance can be illustrated by the fact that only one other batsmen managed double figures for the visitors. That was Grant Flower who contributed 12 but it was a sorry tale elsewhere. Varun Chopra contributed 8 out of 15 for the first wicket before he became one of three wickets for Tim Murtagh and Mark Pettini (6) soon followed when he chipped to mid-on. Promoted to number 4 in the order, James Middlebrook lasted 11 balls before he fell for 9 to leave Essex 40-3 in the eighth over ahead of a 22 runs partnership between Dexter and Flower as they attempted to build on the foundations. However Flower and then Ryan ten Doeschate (7) departed in successive Murali Kartik overs and when James Foster and Graham Napier fell in the same over, the 17th, the visitors were in serious decline at 97-7 wickets. Having held his side together and played stylishly and effectively including depositing Shaun Udal over the ropes for the only six of the innings, Dexter drove to cover point where Kartik took the catch. David Masters and Danish Kaneria added 13 for the ninth wicket before Kaneria and Maurice Chambers, making his debut in the competition, saw a totally lacklustre innings through to completion.Essex needed early wickets if they were to claw their way back into the match and they created three chances only to see each one spilled. Andrew Strauss was dropped on 2 off a leading edge by Chopra at second slip but Napier gained his deserved consolation when he bowled Strauss for 11 in his next over.Then Ed Smith was dropped on 8 by Middlebrook at first slip off Chambers with the score on 26 and having added another 8 runs to his tally, the opener was again dropped by Middlebrook off Chambers two overs later with the total having advanced to 42 in the seventh over.Eoin Morgan though played correctly and worked the ball around the field effectively although he did clear the ropes at deep extra cover off the luckless Chambers. Middlesex captain Smith, who by now was batting with a rival, finally ran out of luck when he drove Kaneria to Chambers at gully to end an innings of 33 with the total having advanced to 88 but Morgan and Dawid Malan eased their side to within 7 runs of comprehensive success when Morgan was run out for 47 backing up before victory was duly completed in the next over to cap a miserable night for Essex.ECCC DIARY90CC2A4C-B77D-2CA8-99B3883F40C0A3C1Twenty20 Cup at The Ford County GroundEssex succumbed to their second successive Twenty20 Cup defeat when Middlesex recorded a 7-wickets win at Chelmsford on Sunday to repeat their earlier success by an identical margin in the corresponding match at Lords just three days earlier.The home side were dismissed for 132 although that disguised a batting collapse at the start of the innings when half the side were dismissed for just 20 runs in five overs.Left-arm seamer Dirk Nannes was the instigator of the havoc claiming a hat-trick in his second over before stand-in skipper James Foster anchored the rest of the innings finishing with a deserved unbeaten half-century whilst Graham Napier contributed 31 in an attempt to post a meaningful total.However, the visitors were never in trouble with the bat, reaching their target with 23 balls to spare as Tyrone Henderson struck a lusty 64 not out from just 30 deliveries that included 11 boundaries embracing a couple of sixes.Without Mark Pettini because of a groin injury, Essex were captained for the first time in Twenty20 cricket by Foster but it was to prove a horrific experience at the start for the stand-in skipper who saw Jason Gallian bowled without scoring by the fifth ball of the match that gave Nannes his first victim.Next to depart was James Middlebrook who leaned forward and was stumped for 2 off Henderson before Nannes was given a second over with lethal consequences for the home side. He struck with the last three balls of the over as Varun Chopra was bowled for 15 before Grant Flower was bowled and Ryan ten Doeschate trapped in the crease, both batsmen recording first-ball ducks and leave the innings in disarray at 20-5 wickets.Strangely Nannes was then taken out of the attack allowing Essex a little breathing space before another wicket fell.With another 22 runs added, Neil Dexter was next to go when he stepped out to drive Murali Kartik to be stumped for 7 by the highly impressive Ben Scott but David Masters joined Foster to add some much-needed stability to a wilting innings.Foster launched a free hit from Kartik over the ropes at deep long-on in an over that yielded 13 runs and when Nannes returned to the action, he was driven by Foster for successive boundaries.Masters had played a splendid support role contributing 14 out of 45 before he picked out Eoin Morgan at deep mid-on allowing Graham Napier to take centre-stage whilst Foster took a backseat.Napier struck three sixes in his 17-ball innings that saw him contribute 31 out of 37 during which time he cleared the ropes with deliveries from Henderson, Nannes and T