Ground: The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Captain: Tom Westley (CC/ODC), Simon Harmerr (T20)
2023 results: CC1: 2/10; ODC: 9/9 Group A; T20: Runners-up
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
As well as another sapping but futile pursuit of champions Surrey, Essex have been hit by the loss of two pillars of the top order in Alastair Cook and Dan Lawrence – the latter bound for The Oval no less. But if you could choose another left-handed opener in the Cook mould, it might be Dean Elgar, the former South Africa captain who arrives on a three-year deal after retiring from international cricket. Jordan Cox, signed from Kent, is only 23 but already well established across all formats and will challenge Adam Rossington for the gloves. He and 24-year-old prodigy Feroze Khushi are tasked with making up for Lawrence’s absence. The side is balanced nicely by spinning all-rounder Matt Critchley (990 runs and 23 wickets last season) and the new-ball pair of Sam Cook and Jamie Porter show no signs of letting up. Not forgetting, of course, Chelmsford’s lethal weapon – Simon Harmer, now up to 428 wickets at 21.50 for the club. Aussie all-rounder Daniel Sams is set to return for the Blast after inspiring Essex to the final last year.
Last season Essex fell at the final hurdle chasing Surrey for the County Championship title but to have kept the title alive going into the last couple of games of the season made for an exciting finish to the summer for county cricket fans in general, I think. But Sir
Alastair Cook’s retirement and the departure of Dan Lawrence mean there will be changes to the Essex side for this season and it will be interesting to see how the batting line-up copes with those big losses and how the likes of Dean Elgar and Jordan Cox fit in.
I’d back captain Tom Westley, who finished as fourth-highest run-scorer in the Championship last season, to lead by example again and steady the batting ship as it goes through a transitional period but wouldn’t it be great if overseas signing Dean Elgar came straight in and got to work scoring runs?
There’s one thing that hasn’t changed for Essex and that’s the potent bowling attack and I expect Simon Harmer, Sam Cook and Jamie Porter all to be battling away for the leading wicket-taker title both with Essex and in Division One as a whole once more.
TWO TO LOOK OUT FOR
The obvious player to watch out for is the arrival of recently retired former South Africa captain Dean Elgar. The club has put their faith in him to fill the gap left by Cook at the top of the order with a three-year contract and he’s probably the closest they coul
