Essex Cricket 2024

[blues exile]

Harmer resting presumably.

 

[stewart]

seriously how can you drop someone after making a 100 , Seems the selectors only like mates. I would be rightly p****d off if that was me .

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Excellent news as Luc Benkenstein has signed a deal until the end of the 2027 season.

He was one I was worried about losing with Harmer and Critchley potentially blocking his opportunities as a spinner.

Hopefully Charlie and Ben Allison and Noah Thain are locked up long term as well.

The other one I worry about is Feroze Khushi. Wouldn’t be surprised if he sees his future away from Essex. Don’t think he’s been given the opportunities he should have.

Two year deal for Thain to keep him here until the end of the 2026 season.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Hampshire V Essex, Championship. Essex as I speak doing well 151/1. I've given it two hours, but now given up. Small crowd no atmosphere. 2. something runs per over. A dead wicket. So very boring. The commentators trying to make it exciting, but can't hide the truth.

 

[blues exile]

Hampshire V Essex, Championship. Essex as I speak doing well 151/1. I've given it two hours, but now given up. Small crowd no atmosphere. 2. something runs per over. A dead wicket. So very boring. The commentators trying to make it exciting, but can't hide the truth.

Must admit I dozed off watching this on YouTube. Looks like turning into a nothing game with Surrey well ahead of Lancs and weather forecast awful for tomorrow. With such a small crowd it begs the question what is the future of the County Championship.

 

[Dave Smiths Love Child]

Must admit I dozed off watching this on YouTube. Looks like turning into a nothing game with Surrey well ahead of Lancs and weather forecast awful for tomorrow. With such a small crowd it begs the question what is the future of the County Championship.

County Championship always needed as otherwise the Test team will be just another ODI team
It’s a bit like football at the mo, only one team can win it, and a shake up in needed by the powers to be, bring in a couple more counties to the party and stop things like the 100 taking away players
Watched the Max 60 last night, reckon that’s not far away….

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

It's a shame that Surrey are the Man City of Championship cricket. I wonder how many seasons on the trot they will win the title?

 

[tottenham541]

Moving on 304-2

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

currently 370/7, Cox run out for 141 at better than a run a ball. picked up a bit

 

[cerbera45]

a bad defeat there against Worcestershire

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

we threw that away. very annoying. Elgar and Cox have been superb signings, but overall the team hasn't done well enough

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Excellent news as Luc Benkenstein has signed a deal until the end of the 2027 season.

He was one I was worried about losing with Harmer and Critchley potentially blocking his opportunities as a spinner.

Hopefully Charlie and Ben Allison and Noah Thain are locked up long term as well.

The other one I worry about is Feroze Khushi. Wouldn’t be surprised if he sees his future away from Essex. Don’t think he’s been given the opportunities he should have.

Ben Allison joins Worcestershire for next season.

Not surprising as Essex haven’t given him the opportunities he deserved but I think this is a big loss. I think he has the potential to be a really good all-rounder.

Players with a bowling average under 30 and a batting average over 25 are hard to come by and lets you balance the side. His batting always impressed me and whilst I think his bowling wasn’t quite there yet it had real potential.

Also bad news as his brother is an even bigger talent - probably the best since Dan Lawrence - and isn’t yet locked up.

Essex have a very good youth set up but it seems a struggle for players to take that step from talented youngster to first team staple. Since the now departed Dan Lawrence debuted in 2015 only Sam Cook of our home grown talents has become an established first XI player in the Championship.

For a county who prides itself on bringing through our own that’s not good. Hopefully Michael Pepper’s maiden ton last week is the starting point in him becoming first choice.

Khushi on the other hand seems to be on the way out. He hit a double hundred for the 2nds the other day but never seems to be given a proper run in the side. Won’t be at all surprised if he ends up somewhere like Kent or Leicestershire.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

you're so right. we bring lots into the team, but they don't establish themselves. great point. i really hoped Allison was being loaned out this season so he'd be a first team player next season. sad to see it's the opposite. his record looks good enough to get in the team, especially when Beard has had such a bad season

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

you're so right. we bring lots into the team, but they don't establish themselves. great point. i really hoped Allison was being loaned out this season so he'd be a first team player next season. sad to see it's the opposite. his record looks good enough to get in the team, especially when Beard has had such a bad season

To be fair it’s difficult to blood players when you are going for titles and players haven’t fully taken their chances but I think they could have been more patient and backed the youngsters more.

We’ve seen in the One Day Cup it’s often been the kids carrying the old pros.

You can imagine that the signing of Ethan Bosch was the final straw for Ben. I get why they did it - Allison doesn’t offer the same pace and is instead too similar in pace to Cook/Porter/Snater but in a season when we were never going to beat Surrey it might have made more sense to go with what we already had - particularly with the financial troubles.

Maybe Jamal Richards makes it all moot anyway. I see he was on fire for the seconds and like Ben is a very decent bat for a bowler. But they haven’t given him many opportunities either - just one solitary red ball game last year.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

To be fair it’s difficult to blood players when you are going for titles and players haven’t fully taken their chances but I think they could have been more patient and backed the youngsters more.

We’ve seen in the One Day Cup it’s often been the kids carrying the old pros.

You can imagine that the signing of Ethan Bosch was the final straw for Ben. I get why they did it - Allison doesn’t offer the same pace and is instead too similar in pace to Cook/Porter/Snater but in a season when we were never going to beat Surrey it might have made more sense to go with what we already had - particularly with the financial troubles.

Maybe Jamal Richards makes it all moot anyway. I see he was on fire for the seconds and like Ben is a very decent bat for a bowler. But they haven’t given him many opportunities either - just one solitary red ball game last year.

yeah, we've not had anyone with pace come through since Mills. We had a good run with Topley, Mills, Porter, and Cook. Beard sadly hasn't done the business. Allison at least is tall so brings bounce, plus bats well. I'd rather him if one of the main three doesn't play. But like you say, hopefully Richards is the next in line, gets to actually play, and takes his chance. and gets invested in rather than buying in another overseas like Bosch

 

[The Dirty One]

Does anyone know why Cox isn't playing?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Does anyone know why Cox isn't playing?

He’s been called up by England.

 

[The Dirty One]

He’s been called up by England.

Last two tests they released him when he wasn't in the final XI or os this the one day stuff?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Last two tests they released him when he wasn't in the final XI or os this the one day stuff?

They’ve got some meaningless T20s v Australia starting Wednesday.

No one will agree with me but it’s series like that people should be up in arms about and not the Hundred.

 

[ESG]

They’ve got some meaningless T20s v Australia starting Wednesday.

No one will agree with me but it’s series like that people should be up in arms about and not the Hundred.

Bit like the pointless nations league football.