Essex Cricket 2024 Season Preview
- Oakley Bromfield
- Apr 3, 2024
- 11 min read
Updated: Apr 14, 2024
(Uni coursework piece)
There’s been a significant shake-up in the Essex squad, as key players depart for pastures new following the completion of the 2023 season. So, is the target to dominate domestically or take a step back and focus on rebuilding team cohesion and chemistry?
It's now March and the 2024 cricket season is approaching us eagerly patient fans. As we come out of the winter months (with the sun hopefully making more frequent appearances) the anticipation for the start of the season will increase. For many fans, the dream of their county winning the County Championship will be their main hope, for some fans the desire of white ball success will be their target, but for all fans the primary goal will be for their county to play some good cricket, maintain a stable infrastructure off the field and to continue as one of the country’s major counties as the sports enters an unprecedented period.
In this piece, I will be previewing the upcoming season through the binoculars of an Essex Cricket Club fan, discussing the 2024 fixtures, latest news around the club and the new signings that have been announced throughout the eighteen professional counties.
(Photo credit to Essex Cricket)
The 2024 Essex Squad
Essex have said goodbye to half a dozen players, with some of those being influential members to the club’s recent success. The announcement of Dan Lawrence’s move to title rivals Surrey last year raised a few eyebrows and left a sour taste in the fan’s mouths as many felt the move was for pure financial gain. However, many online sources claim that his wage was not increased at his new London based club and infact, Essex made him an improved offer, in which he turned down.
Throughout last season, a cloud of uncertainty hung over the Cloud County Ground as rumours of Sir Alastair Cook retiring were clashing with the hopes from fans and members that he would stay another season. Those rumours were put to bed over the winter as the club announced that the ‘Knight of the Realm’ would retire from all forms of cricket immediately, therefore having played his last ever game without the fans having the opportunity to bid him a fitting farewell.
(Photo credit to Essex Cricket)
It’s fair to say that Lawrence and Cook were key players in helping to deliver success to the club over recent years, which includes: Division One champions, 2019 double winning season (Div One & T20 Blast), 2020 Bob Willis Trophy, Division Two 2021 champions. Lawrence was a product of Essex’s academy, coming from Chingford Cricket Club, and has represented England during his time at Essex as well as captaining the London Spirit in TheHundred.
Upon his announcement last year, Dan Lawrence said: “It is with a heavy heart that I will be leaving Essex CCC… Essex enabled my childhood dreams to come true… I want to express my deepest appreciation to everyone at Essex”.
Courtesy of Essex Cricket, 2023. Dan Lawrence To Join Surrey At The End Of The Season. Available At: https://essexcricket.org.uk/2023/06/15/dan-lawrence-to-join-surrey-at-the-end-of-the-season/ (2024).
(Photo credit to Essex Cricket)
Cook, was also a product of Essex’s academy and became the England Test Captain in 2012. He also was the One-Day captain. Cook etched his name into the cricket history books as he broke numerous records, some including: the youngest Englishman to score: 5000 Test runs, the first opener to reach 12000 Test runs, most Test runs for England (8901 in 2015), England’s most capped player in Tests (2016), most capped Captain (2016), fifth highest Test runs in history (2018).
In his retirement statement on 13th October 2023, he said: “It is the right time for this part of my life to come to an end… now I want to make way for the new generation to take over”. Courtesy of Essex Cricket, 2023. Alastair Cook Announces Retirement. Available at: https://essexcricket.org.uk/2023/10/13/alastair-cook-announces-retirement/#:~:text=It%20is%20the%20right%20time,when%20I%20was%20aged%2012. (2024).
(Photo credit to Essex Cricket)
Dan Lawrence and Sir Alastair Cook are 2 of 4 players to have graduated through the Essex Academy and play Test cricket for England.
Before the official announcements of the departures of their two key top order batters, Essex announced the signing of Jordan Cox, a wicket-keeper batter from rivals Kent. A vital member of Kent’s red and white ball teams, Cox provides cover for the wicket-keeper position but is a fantastically talented fielder in the deep and on the boundary. From July 2023, Cox had scored over 4000 runs for Kent, including four first-class centuries and a T20 strike rate of 140. After signing for the Eagles, Cox said: It’s a real honour to sign for Essex, the county I went to school in and developed as a cricketer. The team is going places and I want to contribute to what I hope will be a successful future”.
Courtesy of Essex Cricket, 2023. Jordan Cox Signs For Essex. Available at: https://essexcricket.org.uk/2023/07/28/jordan-cox-signs-for-essex/ (2024).
(Photo credit to Essex Cricket)
In the new year, Essex announced the huge signing of Dean Elgar on a three-year deal.
A recently retired South African Test cricketer (and former captain) Elgar boasts a remarkable international career and will give the Essex squad innumerable amounts of experience on and off the field. Since debuting for the Proteas in 2012, Elgar has scored 5347 Test runs across 86 matches; including 48 first class centuries.
On Friday 12th January 2024, Eglar said: “The Club have been pushing for honours in recent years and I’m eager to contribute to further success”.
Courtesy of Essex Cricket, 2024. Dean Elgar sings for Essex Cricket. Available at:
(Photo credit to Essex Cricket)
Pre-Season
Essex spent some of their preseason in Abu Dhabi, at a two-week training camp in the middle eastern sun, to prepare for the 2024 season. The Eagles played five days of cricket in the United Arab Emirates’ capital against other counties from England, which included: Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire. An inter-squad game with some players representing Abu Dhabi was also played.
(Photo credit to Essex Cricket)
The Eagles played in a six-way three-day T20 friendly tournament between 15th and 17th March before playing a two-day red ball friendly against Somerset on the 22nd and 23rd March.
Squad List:
o Aaron Beard
o Adam Rossington
o Ali Zeb
o Ben Allison
o Charlie Allison
o Dean Elgar
o Feroze Kushi
o Jamal Richards
o Jamie Porter
o Jordan Cox
o Luc Benkenstein
o Matt Critchley
o Michael Pepper
o Nick Browne
o Noah Thain
o Paul Walter
o Robin Das
o Sam Bear
o Sam Cook
o Shane Snater
o Simon Harmer
o Tom Westley
Following the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi pre-season tour, Essex welcomed Middlesex to the Cloud County Ground for a two-day friendly on the 1st April and 2nd April.
Photo: Essex vs Middlesex (Friendly- Day 1).
(Photo captured by myself)
2024 Fixtures
Essex’s season kickstarts with an away trip to Trent Bridge as they face Nottingham CCC in the first round of County Championship fixtures, which is then followed by back-to-back home matches against Kent and Lancashire.
Come the end of May bank holiday, the Eagles would have faced Division Two champions and newly promoted Durham and title rivals Somerset. Essex wrap up the first block of County Championship games with a home fixture against Warwickshire and an away trip across the bridge to local rivals Kent.
Thursday 30th May is where the fireworks begin… the start of the T20 Blast! The group stage campaign kicks off away at Gloucestershire and then Somerset for the Eagles followed by back-to-back home games against Middlesex and Glamorgan. White ball wonder continues as Essex head over to Lords for their fifth group stage game against Middlesex, then Sussex Sharks and Hampshire Hawks at home followed by Kent Spitfires away.
After the block of white ball games, red ball cricket returns with two fixtures sandwiched between the T20 tournament. Essex play Durham at home on Sunday 23rd June and visit ex-player Dan Lawrence at his new ground, Surrey, on the 30th June.
The last block of T20 group stage games resume on Friday 7th July with Somerset at home and finish on Friday 19th July away at Hampshire Hawks. With six games in twelve days- it really is a busy period for the players and staff. The other fixtures in this block are: Glamorgan (A), Kent Spitfires (H), Sussex Sharks (A) and Surrey (H).
(Photo captured by myself)
50-over cricket… many have said in recent years that this format of cricket is dying and should either be reformed or discarded. With the new tournament ‘TheHundred’ now into it’s fourth iteration, 50-over cricket is being portrayed as a second XI tournament as most of the counties top players are playing for the ECB’s 100-ball franchise.
It’s unclear as to whether 50-over cricket is here to stay as rumours suggest it could be abolished in the coming years, but for 2024 Essex kickstart the campaign with a friendly against Suffolk at Woolpit, Bury St. Edmond’s.
The first group game is on home territory against Warwickshire on Wednesday 24th July and the following One Day Cup fixtures is as follows: Gloucestershire (A), Leicestershire Foxes (H), Glamorgan (H), Yorkshire Vikings (A), Surrey (H), Notts Outlaws (A) and finishing at Sussex Sharks on Wednesday 14th August. The quarter-final is set to be played on Friday 16th August with the semi-finals on Sunday 18th August. The One Day Cup final is set to be played on Sunday 22nd September at Trent Bridge.
Essex return to red-ball cricket on Thursday 22nd August at the Utilitia Bowl, Hampshire and then back to Chelmsford for newly-promoted Worcestershire on Thursday 29th August.
The dates for the quarter-finals of the T20 Blast are pencilled in for either 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th September, with the fan favourite spectacle of Finals Day on Saturday 14th September.
Essex’s County Championship run-in features a home match against Nottingham on Monday 9th September followed by an away trip to Edgbaston on Tuesday 17th September. The final fixture of 2024 is a mouth-watering potential title decider against champions Surrey on Thursday 26th September, when Essex will welcome former player Dan Lawrence back to the Cloud County Ground and Eagles fans hope to see the County Championship lifted in Essex for the first time since 2019.
Pre-Season net training...
(Photos captured by myself)
Ins and Outs
At the back end of last season, clubs announced the players who were surplus to requirements and set for release at the end of their contracts. So throughout the winter, plenty of clubs have bolstered their squads with new signings, for all three tournaments: County Championship, T20 Blast and the One-Day Cup.
Let’s take a look at the new signings for the 2024 season…
(Alphabetical Order) courtesy of The Cricketer, 2024, The Cricketer. Available at:
Derbyshire:
Overseas:
- Mohammed Amir (Pakistan) – County Championship (first seven matches) and T20 Blast, group stage.
- Blair Tickner (New Zealand) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
Players In:
- David Lloyd (Glamorgan).
- Pat Brown (Worcestershire).
- Aneurin Donald (Hampshire).
- Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire).
- Ross Whiteley (Hampshire).
Players Out:
- Leus Du Plooy (Middlesex).
- George Scrimshaw (Northamptonshire).
- Billy Godleman (released).
- Mark Watt (released).
- Tom Wood (released).
- Archie Harrison (released).
- Mattie Mckiernan (retired).
Durham:
Overseas:
- David Bedingham (South Africa) – all formats.
- Scott Boland (Australia) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
Players In:
- Colin Ackermann (Leicestershire).
- Callum Parkinson (Leicestershire.
Players Out:
- Harry Crawshaw (released).
- Luke Doneathy (released).
- Ross Whitfield (released).
Essex:
Overseas:
- Dean Elgar (South Africa) – all formats.
- Simon Harmer (South Africa) – all formats.
- Daniel Sams – (Australia) – T20 Blast.
Players In:
- Jordan Cox (Kent).
Players Out:
- Dan Lawrence (Surrey).
- Alastair Cook (retired).
- Josh Rymell (released).
- Will Buttleman (released).
- Aaron Nijjar (released).
- Eshun Kalley (released).
Glamorgan:
Overseas:
- Mir Hamza (Pakistan) – County Championship (first seven matches).
- Colin Ingram (South Africa) – all formats.
- Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) – all formats.
Players In:
- Mason Crane (Hampshire – season long loan).
Players Out:
- David Lloyd (Derbyshire).
- Andrew Salter (retired).
- Callum Taylor (released).
Gloucestershire:
Overseas:
- Cameron Bancroft (Australia) – all formats.
- Zafar Gohar (Pakistan) – all formats.
- Beau Webster (Australia) – T20 Blast and County Championship.
Players In:
- N/A
Players Out:
- Tom Lace (retired).
- Will Naish (released).
- Paul van Meekeren (released).
- Jared Warner (released).
Hampshire:
Overseas:
- Mohammed Abbas (Pakistan) – all formats.
- Kyle Abbott (South Africa) – all formats.
- Ben McDermott (Australia) – T20 Blast.
- Michael Neser (Australia) – T20 Blast (first eight matches) and County Championship.
- Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan) – T220 Blast.
Players In:
- Ali Orr (Sussex).
Players Out:
- Mason Crane (Glamorgan – season long loan).
- Scott Currie (Leicestershire – season long loan).
- Aneurin Donald (Derbyshire).
- Ross Whiteley (Derbyshire).
- Jack Campbell (released).
- Harry Petrie (released).
Kent:
Overseas:
- Wes Agar (Australia) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
- Xavier Bartlett (Australia) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
Players In:
- Michael Cohen (free agent).
- George Garrett (Warwickshire).
- Matt Parkinson (Lancashire).
Players Out:
- Jordan Cox (Essex).
- Michael Hogan (retired).
- Alex Blake (released).
- James Logan (released).
Lancashire:
Overseas:
- Tom Bruce (New Zealand) – all formats.
- Nathan Lyon (Australia) – all formats.
Players In:
- Mitchell Stanley (Worcestershire).
Players Out:
- Rob Jones (Worcestershire).
- Danny Lamb (Sussex).
- Matt Parkinson (Kent).
- Dane Vilas (retired).
- Richard Gleeson (released).
Leicestershire:
Overseas:
- Peter Handscomb (Australia) – all formats.
- Wiaan Mulder (South Africa) – all formats.
- Will Pucovski (Australia) – County Championship (five matches).
Players In:
- Ben Cox (Worcestershire).
- Scott Currie (Hampshire – season long loan).
- Ben Mike (Yorkshire).
- Liam Trevaskis (Durham).
Players Out:
- Colin Ackermann (Durham).
- Callum Parkinson (Durham).
- Ed Barnes (released).
- Will Davis (released).
- Michael Finan (released).
- Arron Lilley (released).
- Scott Steel (released).
- Nick Welch (released).
Middlesex:
Overseas:
- N/A.
Players In:
- Henry Brookes (Warwickshire).
- Leus du Plooy (Derbyshire).
Players Out:
- John Simpson (Sussex).
- Tim Murtagh (retired).
- Daniel O’Driscoll (released).
- Toby Greatwood (released).
- Max Harris (released).
Northamptonshire:
Overseas:
- Karun Nair (India) – County Championship (first seven matches).
- Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) – T20 Blast.
- Prithvi Shaw (India) – County Championship and One Day Cup.
- Chris Tremain (Australia) – County Championship (four matches from April).
Players In:
- George Bartlett (Somerset).
- George Scrimshaw (Derbyshire).
Players Out:
- Tom Taylor (Worcestershire).
- Gareth Berg (retired).
- Simon Kerrigan (retired).
- Ollie Sale (retired).
- Graeme White (retired).
- Hasan Gouldstone (released).
- Hassan Azad (released).
- Josh Cobb (released).
Nottinghamshire:
Overseas:
- Dane Paterson (South Africa) – all formats.
- Will Young (New Zealand) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
Players In:
- Jack Haynes (Worcestershire).
- Dillon Pennington (Worcestershire).
- Josh Tongue (Worcestershire).
Players Out:
- Jake Ball (Someset).
- Samit Patel (Derbyshire).
- Stuart Broad (retired).
Somerset:
Overseas:
- Matt Renshaw (Australia) – County Championship (first seven matches).
- Will Sutherland (Australia) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
Players In:
- Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire).
Players Out:
- George Bartlett (Northamptonshire).
- Steven Davies (retired).
- Jack Brooks (released).
Surrey:
Overseas:
- Sean Abbott (Australia) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
- Aaron Hardie (Australia) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
- Kemar Roach (West Indies) – County Championship (first seven matches).
Players In:
- Dan Lawrence (Essex).
Players Out:
- Dan Moriarty (Yorkshire).
- Nick Kimber (released).
- Nico Reifer (released).
Sussex:
Overseas:
- Daniel Hughes (Australia) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
- Nathan McAndrew (Australia) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
- Chesteshwar Pujara (India) – County Championship (first even matches).
- Jayden Seales (West Indies) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
Players In:
- Danny Lamb (Lancashire).
- John Simpson (Middlesex).
Players Out:
- George Garton (Warwickshire).Ali Orr (Hampshire).
- Jamie Atkins (retired).
- Steven Finn (retired).
- Ravi Bopara (released).
Warwickshire:
Overseas:
- Hasan Ali (Pakistan) – County Championship and T20 Blast.
Players In:
- George Garton (Sussex).
- Richard Gleeson (free agent).
Players Out:
- Ethan Brookes (Worcestershire).Henry Brookes (Middlesex).
- George Garrett (Kent).
Manraj Johal (released).
Worcestershire:
Overseas:
- Usama Mir (Pakistan) – T20 Blast.
- Yadvinder Singh (India) – all formats.
- Nathan Smith (New Zealand) – all formats.
Players In:
- Ethan Brookes (Warwickshire).
- Josh Cobb (free agent).
- Rob Jones (Lancashire). Tom Taylor (Northamptonshire).
Players Out:
- Pat Brown (Derbyshire).
- Ben Cox (Leicestershire).
- Jack Haynes (Nottinghamshire).
- Dillon Pennington (Nottinghamshire).
- Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire).
- Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire).
- Taylor Cornall (released).
Yorkshire:
Overseas:
- Shan Masood (Pakistan) – all formats.
- Donovan Ferriera (South Africa) – T20 Blast.
Players In:
- Dan Moriarty (Surrey).
Players Out:
- Ben Mike (Leicestershire).
- Will Fraine (released).
- Jack Shutt (released).
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