Essex County Cricket Club
| Essex County Cricket Club | |
|---|---|
| One-day name | Essex Eagles |
| founded | 1876 |
| Home stadium | County Ground , Chelmsford |
| capacity | 6,500 |
| other stages | Lower Castle Park, Colchester |
| Championship wins | 8th |
| One Day Cup victories | FP Trophy : 3 National League : 5 B&H Cup : 2 ECB 40 : 0 RL Cup : 0 |
| T20 Cup victories | 1 |
| website | http://www.essexcricket.org.uk |
| As of August 30, 2015 | |
The Essex County Cricket Club represents the traditional county of Essex in the national championships in English cricket .
history
The beginnings
Cricket has been played in Essex since the 16th century. The first documented game took place in an undisclosed location and involved a team from Chingford playing against an Edwin Stead's XI . The first game in which a team called Essex played took place in 1732 when a team called Essex and Hertfordshire played against London in Epping . The County Cricket Club itself was founded in January 1876 at Shire Hall in Brentwood . However, it was not until May 1894 that the club played its first first-class cricket match when it played against Leicestershire . The following season Essex first took part in the County Championship .
First decades with first-class status
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Essex managed a third place in the County Championships in the 1897 season , but this was the highest place for a long time. In the first half of the 20th century mostly found in the lower half of the table. The reason was the proximity to London and the tight financial resources that had prevailed for many years, which made it difficult to hire good amateur players. The leading player was initially Peter Perrin , who was considered one of the leading almost bowlers in England. The financial problems ensured that the club had to sell its home field in Leyton in 1933 . They then played their home games in various club playing fields. Shortly before the Second World War, they achieved fourth place in the Championships in 1933 and 1939 . Leading players of these successes were the bowlers Ken Farnes and Peter Smith .
After the Second World War
Essex was hard hit by the aftermath of the war. Ken Farnes died as a pilot in 1941 on a training flight, but the financial situation normalized. Now it was Trevor Bailey who led the team as an all-rounder. However, it failed to establish itself in the upper half of the County Championship. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the team achieved a fifth ( 1957 ) and three sixth places ( 1958 , 1960 and 1961 ), otherwise positions at the bottom of the table were mostly the norm. In 1967 the club bought and built the new County Ground in Chelmsford.
The golden years
The team has been on the up since Keith Fletcher became captain in 1974 . That led to a runner-up in the County Championship in 1978 . From then on, the team was the dominant force in English cricket for the next 15 years. Players like Graham Gouch , Ken McEwan , John Lever and Ray East were the most important pillars of the team. 1979 was both the first County Championship and the Benson & Hedges Cup, the first title to be achieved in one-day cricket. In 1981 the team won the Sunday League, in 1983 the second championships. The win could be repeated in 1984 and the Sunday League was won in the same year. In 1985 the NatWest Trophy and the Sunday League won two one-day titles. In 1986 another championship was won. The following years until 1991 remained untitled. There the team won the championship in 1991 and 1992 in a row. From then on, first-class cricket went downhill.
Til today
In the one-day cricket, further titles were achieved in the following. In 1998 the Benson & Hedges Cup was won and in 2005 and 2006 the National League. The Friends Provident Trophy 2008 was the last title to be won to date. In the county championship first had to be taken in the second division. In 2000 and 2002 one rose to the first division in order to be relegated again in the following years 2002 . The same happened again in 2009 and 2010 . In 2016 the team rose again and won their seventh title the following year . The eighth success came two years later in the 2019 season .
Stadion
The club's home ground is the County Ground in Chelmsford . In addition, the Lower Castle Park in Colchester is occasionally used.
successes
County cricket
Winning the County Championship (6): 1979 , 1983 , 1984 , 1986 , 1991 , 1992 , 2017 , 2019
Second division win (0): 2002
One-day cricket
Gilette / NatWest / C & G Trophy / FP Trophy (1963-2009) (3): 1985, 1997, 2008
Sunday / National / Pro40 League (1988-2009) (5): 1981, 1984, 1985, 2005 , 2006
Benson & Hedges Cup (1972-2002) (2): 1979, 1998
ECB 40 / Clydesdale Bank / Yorkshire Bank 40 (2010-2013) (0): -
Royal London One-Day Cup (2014-present) (0): -
Twenty20
Twenty20 Cup / Friends Life t20 / NatWest t20 Blast (0): 2019
statistics
Runs
Most of the first-class cricket runs were scored by the following players:
| player | Playing times | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Graham Gouch | 1973-1997 | 30,701 |
| Keith Fletcher | 1962-1988 | 29,434 |
| Peter Perrin | 1896-1928 | 29,172 |
| Jack O'Connor | 1921-1939 | 27,722 |
| Jack Russell | 1908-1930 | 23,606 |
Wickets
Most of the wickets in first-class cricket were scored by the following players:
| player | Playing times | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Smith | 1929-1951 | 1,610 |
| Stan Nichols | 1924-1939 | 1,508 |
| Trevor Bailey | 1946-1967 | 1,593 |
| John Lever | 1967-1989 | 1,473 |
| Walter Mead | 1894-1913 | 1,472 |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Other Matches in England 1724 ( English ) Cricket Archive. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ↑ Other Matches in England 1732 ( English ) Cricket Archive. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ↑ a b c d e Martin Williamson: A brief history of Essex ( English ) Cricinfo. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ↑ Other First-Class Matches in England 1784 ( English ) Cricket Archive. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ↑ Most runs for Essex ( English ) Cricket Archive. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ↑ Most wickets for Essex ( English ) Cricket Archive. Retrieved August 30, 2015.