As we enter the closing stages of the 2024 County Championship Division One season, we head to Chelmsford as 3rd place Essex host 6th place Worcestershire. Essex will be seeking to close the gap on perennial championship leaders Surrey, while the visitors will want to add breathing space between them and the relegation zone.
For Essex last time out, they played out a rain-affected draw with Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl. Essex posted an impressive 438/8 declared thanks to hundreds by Dean Elgar and Jordan Cox, who took out his frustrations at missing out on a Test debut on the Hampshire bowlers by scoring at better than a run a ball. Hampshire in response cruised to 424/8, but not before Matt Critchley took another five-wicket haul.
The hosts have no new injury worries, so they should be relatively unchanged. It was interesting that they elected to give an opportunity to Robin Das at the top of the order and although Das failed against Hampshire, expect him to get another opportunity. He will be pushed hard by Feroze Khushi, who just hit 214 and 128 in their second XI championship game against Sussex and when you are pushing to get back into the side, you can do no more than put that kind of runs on the table. Essex have been struggling to find a settled partner for Dean Elgar, but we expect them to stick with the promising Das. More youngsters are starting to make their way into the red ball side, with the likes of Noah Thain and Luc Benkenstein getting into the match-day squads and it is good to see these talented young players gaining experience at this level.
Worcestershire beat bottom-of-the-table Kent by eight wickets at New Road in the last round, thanks to a team effort with the bat and Joe Leach’s six-fer in the first innings. Rising star Kashif Ali then helped knock off the runs comfortably in the second innings with an unbeaten 52 to continue his excellent season.
Heading into Thursday’s game, the away side will be bolstered by the signings of off-spinner Amar Virdi, on loan from Surrey and Dutch all-rounder Logan van Beek, both joining for the rest of the season. They will provide extra depth to a bowling lineup affected by injuries and it has been clear that they have been missing a quality spinner. This will be Virdi’s second spell at Worcestershire, having played in the win over Durham earlier in the season, but is still waiting to bowl his first ball for the club. Van Beek will provide valuable cover for Nathan Smith after the Kiwi seamer had to cut short his impressive stint at the club. All-rounder Matthew Waite has also returned from injury and will be in contention for selection.
With the weather set fair for the four days, the toss could be crucial if previous games at Chelmsford are anything to go by, as a surface which was good for batting on days one and two has gradually provided more help to the spinners as the game wears on.
Key Players
Jordan Cox has quickly established himself as one of the most talented batters on the county circuit and has shown that he is a three-format player. He is closing in on 1000 first-class runs this season and sits third in the Division One run charts, just one run ahead of teammate Dean Elgar. The fact that he has got them quickly has allowed Essex to set games up for their formidable bowling lineup.
Kashif Ali is one of a new breed of cricketers who graduated from the SACA academy, which was set up to give Asian cricketers greater opportunities to make it in the English professional game. He is fast showing himself to be a highly talented batter with a real future in the game. He leads the run charts for Worcestershire this season, with 682 runs at an impressive average of 62. Alongside him, Joe Leach is the heart and soul of this Worcestershire side, and the allrounder will be looking to finish his final season with a flourish. After Nathan Smith, he is the club’s leading red ball wicket-taker and is still showing that he can cut the mustard at this level.
Team news:
Essex squad: Tom Westley (c), Ben Allison, Luc Benkenstein, Sam Cook, Matt Critchley, Robin Das, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Michael Pepper (wk), Jamie Porter, Shane Snater, Noah Thain, Paul Walter
Worcestershire squad: Brett D’Oliveira (c), Kashif Ali, Ethan Brookes, James Hartshorn, Adam Hose, Rob Jones, Joe Leach, Jake Libby, Gareth Roderick (wk), Tom Taylor, Logan Van Beek, Amar Virdi, Matthew Waite
Weather and conditions:
The forecast for all four days looks set fair so expect good batting conditions on days one and two at least. The pitches then tend to give something to the spinners, so expect the likes of Simon Harmer, Matt Critchley and Amar Virdi to have an impact as the game goes on.
Date: 29th August 2024
Time: 11:00
Ground: County Ground, Chelmsford
