The county have endured a mixed season thus far. The C&G Trophy and Twenty20 Cup both offered glimpses of success with buccaneering victories, ironically, over Nottinghamshire in the former with a massive win at Trent Bridge and Kent in the latter at Maidstone, but eventually petered out with narrow defeats to Worcestershire at New Road and Leicestershire at Grace Road.
In the totesport League, the Eagles narrowly avoided relegation with a 147-run victory over Champions Glamorgan in their final match at Headquarters in Chelmsford, Ronnie Irani smashing an unbeaten career-best 158. However, in the Championship defeat at the hands of the same opposition the day before, despite posting 642 in their first innings, Essex blew any chance of promotion to Division One, and set a new record for the highest first innings total to end in a loss.
The county will be buoyed, though, by a good first day, Will Jefferson hitting a typically cavalier 167 from 252 balls and Andy Flower 56 as Essex ended the day on 357-6, just 43 runs short of the maximum five batting points. Notts have managed a string of high scores, and with the third wicket today, that of Ronnie Irani, lbw to Paul Franks for 16, made the formality of the Second Division Championship a reality.
Saturday represents the third day of the match, and with mixed weather expected tomorrow, a possible chance for Essex to try and ram home the advantage with a good bowling display, aided by the likes of New Zealand all-rounder Andre Adams and Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria. Notts will be handed the Second Division Championship trophy at six o’clock, and as a result have made admission to the third day’s play free to all.
So, why not make the trip up to Trent Bridge early, have a few beers in the Trent Bridge Inn and saunter down the London Road (A60) to Meadow Lane at quarter to three to see the Shrimpers defeat the Magpies? Then, at the end of the ninety minutes, head back to Notts CCC to see Essex wrap up an innings win and finish the season on a high! OK, so that’s a bit far-fetched, but in this day and age, it’s getting tougher and tougher to see top-class football and cricket on the same day – so why not give it a whirl?
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com