Essex news/articles

i know there is a surrey one, but thought i would make an Essex one, in case im not the only Essex fan lol

for a start someone please take Tim Phillips!

How about starting campaign for him to be given a central contract?

Tim Phillips is good in t20 and thats about it.

I wonder if Ojha is avaliable to play next season. He is a very good left arm spinner, and he is much better than Phillips.

The Dodger or Phillips? That's a lot easier than most of the questions in your quiz, CF

Trouble is the Dodger will be under lock and key to the India selectors next season.

The quiz will get harder im just starting off easy!!

We need someone else, apart from phillips we have legspinner Tom Craddock who is only 18, but made quite an impact towards the end of last season.

im liking the look of our line up for next season now

1.Cook(when avaliable)
2.Godleman
3.Bopara
4.Shah
5.RTD
6.Greg Smith
7.Fossie (C)
8.Phillips/Craddock
9.Masters
10.Topley/Mills
11.Willoughby

think we need another batsman, and another quick, and spinner

cricketfan90 wrote:im liking the look of our line up for next season now

1.Cook(when avaliable)
2.Godleman
3.Bopara
4.Shah
5.RTD
6.Greg Smith
7.Fossie (C)
8.Phillips/Craddock
9.Masters
10.Topley/Mills
11.Willoughby

think we need another batsman, and another quick, and spinner

CF - On paper your teams looks fairly good. Charl Willoughby and ''Ed'' Masters could be a very decent opening strike force for you in CC Division 2. However, the trouble with picking a team in November - and I agree it's fun - is that come the start of May half the players you selected are no longer available! You'll need to take Cook out for most games due to England calls and probably Bopara and RTD for some ODIs. If someone like Shah gets an injury, you could really be up against it.

The other thing about your team is that it's got a bit of a long tail with Craddock possibly coming in at number 8. You've still got Graham Napier, haven't you? I would definitely play him if his body allows.

All in all, you should be in with a shout next season but, like you, I reckon you need to get some more decent squad players.

hopeflly topley will be avaliable to us more next year, now his exams are taken care of. Made quite an impact, and looks to be a promising left arm quick.

essex first game is against gloucestershire

very confident of getting the season off to a flyer against them...

hopefully ravi is with us for most of the season.

bring ojha to essex!

CF You've already got Phillips - surely you dont need another spinner...!?

you have 5 million can we have one of them?!

Schofield has been released - good player in ltd overs!

i would like it if we signed schofield

Tymal Mills, and Reece Topley to rip up div 2 next year

rumours that mark pettini is to be offered a new contract

Hopefully CF it will be the same kind of rumour as in Tim Phillips clearing his locker...

i hope so!

Peter siddle has signed for the t20 campagin.

our first 4 day game of the season is against gloucestershire

i would be very suprised if we didnt get off to a winning start in that game!

cricketfan90 wrote:our first 4 day game of the season is against gloucestershire

i would be very suprised if we didnt get off to a winning start in that game!

Very difficult to predict first game of the season - and starting so early. Anything could happen....

should still comfortably win though..lets be honest, gloucstershirte are a pretty weak side, and they keep losing their best players, year after year.

not amused at all..

season is upon us, and grayson still hasnt signed a spinner!

Quality spinners who are actually available for the cc are few and far between. Surrey have been in the market for one for years. No doubt other counties have been looking as well.

Essex have released Billy Godleman

Maybe they should release a lot more and start from scratch! I thought they ought to be challenging for promotion in the cc....

very harsh corporal!

CF - yes, probably is a bit OTT. One of the problems is the weakness of the Essex tail. For instance: in five cc innings Chambers has scored 2 runs; in six innings Willoughby has scored 2 runs; in eight innings Mills has score 10 runs. Only two bowlers have taken 20 wickets.

Various players have done fair to middling but not many are outstanding....

As I said on the other thread I think Essex need a strong-minded overseas player/ captain for the youngsters to look up to, to score a heap of runs and to take the strain off Foster. They could also do with signing an experienced spinner (not many of them around I know).

When I say strong-minded overseas player/ captain I'm talking more about the type of player that Rogers is for Middlesex or Hussey has been for Notts.

There clearly is a large amount of talent in the playing staff, but the results clearly aren't reflecting that.

i would rather not have an overseas....i think we try and look to much for an overseas, waste of money and i would rather we spent it on devloping the players that are coming through.

Hi CF - what happened to Willoughby? Was he only signed for half the season? I thought he would do much better for you.

CF wrote:i would rather not have an overseas....i think we try and look to much for an overseas, waste of money and i would rather we spent it on devloping the players that are coming through.

Got a lot of sympathy with that viewpoint, if the best overseas player available is a big name whose best years are well past.

guildfordbat wrote:Hi CF - what happened to Willoughby? Was he only signed for half the season? I thought he would do much better for you.

no idea, its a real mystery and yes im dissapointed in it as well...he started off well and faded away

Essex are 25-2 against hampshire

no masters playing in this game either

Westley and Mickelburgh both gone cheaply.

owais shah finally scored big runs today, why couldnt he do it all season!!!!!!!!!!! #frustrating

Alec Stewart's list of six players to watch for 2013 include Ben Foakes of Essex - a batsman/wicketkeeper. Any views on him?

I know a couple of guys at my club (above my level!) who played against him in age group county sides. He was meant to be an exceptional batsmen with a decent technique and a great eye, he wasn't keeping whenever they played against him though so that may be a newer development. Not a great indication but the best I can give.

He was leading run scorer for England at the u19 world cup so clearly he's a talented batsmen. In Foster he's got one of the best in the world to learn from with the gloves as well.

Ben Foakes, is an exceptional keeper batsman...

but he has Foster and Wheater ahead of him...wheater is as good as fossie with the gloves, and his batting is brilliant, but fossie is captain...

Foakes probably could get into the side purely as a batsman, but his keeping would get him into most county sides alone..

CF

Foster, Wheater, Foakes is a pretty handy line-up of keepers. Is Wheater really as good as Foster with the gloves just yet though? I've always thought of Foster as one of the very best keepers I've seen play!

yup Wheater's glovework is unbeliavabley good, but with fossie as our captain fantastic, he gets the nod....Wheater is also good enough to bat top 5 in CC..

Someone should probably check what's in the water down at Chelmsford! Dhoni would happily be force fed it at the moment for a start

Would you happily see Foster drop out of the CC side now CF?

king_carlos wrote:Someone should probably check what's in the water down at Chelmsford!

Generally something not very healthy.

Graeme Welch was Essex bowling coach. They were average. He's Warks bowling coach. They're good.
Chris Wright was at Essex. He was good only occasionally, and only in one-dayers. He's at Warks. He's got into the England Lions.
Tony Palladino was at Essex. He was a journeyman always heading for the exit. He's at Derbys. He opened the bowling to get them promoted.
Varun Chopra was at Essex. He wasn't fulfilling his potential. He's at Warks. He's in the England Lions and the leading runscorer in a Championship win.

Meanwhile.

Billy Godleman didn't progress at all at Essex.
Lonwabo Tsotsobe was No. 1 in the world in ODI cricket. He was awful at Essex.
Alviro Peterson is a reliable Test opener. He was mediocre at Essex.
Charl Willoughby was reliable at Somerset. He did virtually nothing for Essex.

If I were Wheater I'd be looking for another county

king_carlos wrote:Someone should probably check what's in the water down at Chelmsford! Dhoni would happily be force fed it at the moment for a start

Would you happily see Foster drop out of the CC side now CF?

hell no...Fossie has a hell of a lot to give for us in CC..and his experience in a relatively yoing essex side is vital!

CF wrote:

king_carlos wrote:Someone should probably check what's in the water down at Chelmsford! Dhoni would happily be force fed it at the moment for a start

Would you happily see Foster drop out of the CC side now CF?

hell no...Fossie has a hell of a lot to give for us in CC..and his experience in a relatively yoing essex side is vital!

Reassuring to hear! I've always been a big fan of Foster, can't believe that GoJo played for England instead of him for a while. It still feels ridiculous that he hasn't played a test or ODI since 02.

Shelsey - That's a pretty damning report but I can't argue with much of it. I can't see much of an explanation for it either, there's clearly talent there as quality players are coming through but with many struggling the problem must be in the senior set-up. As I don't know a huge amount about the coaching/management or facilities at Chelmsford that's as far as my thought process can go though....

the facilities are fantastic, ive even used some of them before...just the once though and that was a fantastic privelege!!

ive been a member at chelmsford for a good few years now, and its worrying that average players are leaving and excelling elsehwere..

CF wrote:the facilities are fantastic, ive even used some of them before...just the once though and that was a fantastic privelege!!

ive been a member at chelmsford for a good few years now, and its worrying that average players are leaving and excelling elsehwere..

WTF is wrong with you?

With Wheater leaving its another case of us letting our better players leave.....Look at Chris Wright....gone to Warks and has been taking bucket loads of wickets, same with Palladino at Derby.....

We don't seem to replace these players either...meaning we will start the season with a real dodgy side...Shah and RTD will be at IPL as well..

CF - it's probably about time Mills properly came to the party. He can't for ever be regarded as an exciting prospect.