Essex will go head-to-head against Surrey in the South Group fixture, scheduled to be played on Friday (June 24) at County Ground, Chelmsford, United Kingdom.
Simon Harmer-led side is having a decent T20 Blast season, winning six of their eleven league stage fixtures. They presently claim the third spot in the South Zone points tally with 13 points to their credit.
The team thrashed Middlesex by 21 runs in their most recent outing. After being asked to bat first, Essex posted 161 runs on the board. Daniel Lawrence (51 off 35) and Tom Westley (50 off 41) top-scored for the team.
Their bowlers were equally impressive, restricting Middlesex to a score of 140. Samuel James Cook was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped 3 wickets in his quota of 4 overs. They would expect their players to appear good once again when they take on the league leaders on Friday.
On the other hand, Surrey finally tasted defeat in the ongoing edition of the T20 Blast. Their nine-match winning streak was thwarted by Sussex, the team which is placed at the bottom half of the South Group points table.
It was a dismal batting display from Surrey's middle and lower order batters as they failed to chase down the target of 173 runs and got bundled out for 155. However, despite their 17-run loss, they are well placed at the top of the South Group points table.
Heading into their next fixture, Surrey would expect a better performance from their batters as they plot a comeback against Essex on Friday.
Match Details:
Match: Essex vs Surrey, Match 108
Venue: County Ground, Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom
Date & Time: June 24 at 11:30 PM (IST)
Live Streaming: FanCode and ECB website.
Pitch Report: The pitch at Chelmsford has been a good one for batting, and we have seen a few high-scoring games here. The ball greets the bat accurately and allows the batters to play their shots freely. Bowlers can bother the batters with the variations, especially slower balls. Anything around 170-180 could be a par total at this venue.
Head-To-Head:
Matches Played: 29
Essex Won: 18
Surrey Won: 11
Squads:
Essex: Simon Harmer (c), Daniel Sams, Matt Critchley, Nick Browne, Alistair Cook, Robin Das, Feroze Khushi, Dan Lawrence, Josh Rymell, Tom Westley, Will Buttleman, Michael Pepper, Adam Wheater, Ben Allison, Aaron Beard, Sam Cook, Eshun Kalley, Aron Najjar, Jack Plom, Jamie Porter, Shane Snater, Paul Walter
Surrey: Chris Jordan (c), Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Amar Virdi, Ben Foakes, Ben Geddes, Conor McKerr, Daniel Moriarty, Dan Worrall, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, James Taylor, Jamie Smith, Jason Roy, Jordan Clark, Laurie Evans, Matt Dunn, Nathan Barnwell, Nicholas Kimber, Nico Reifer, Ollie Pope, Rory Burns, Reece Topley, Ryan Patel, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Tom Lawes, Will Jacks
Probable Playing XI:
Essex: Feroze Khushi, Adam Rossington (wk), Michael-Kyle Pepper, Daniel Lawrence, Tom Westley, Paul Walter, Daniel Sams, Simon Harmer (c), Aaron Beard, Ben Allison, Samuel Cook
Surrey: Will Jacks, Jamie Smith (wk), Laurie Evans, Rory Burns, Sunil Narine, Nico Reifer, Chris Jordan (c), Gus Atkinson, Conor McKerr, Daniel Worrall, Daniel Moriarty
CREX XI Suggestion:
Wicket-Keeper: Michael-Kyle Pepper
Batters: Laurie Evans, Tom Westley, Paul Walter
All-Rounders: Sunil Narine, Sam Harmer, Will Jacks, Daniel Sams
Bowlers: Chris Jordan, Daniel Worrall, Samuel Cook
Captain: Simon Harmer
Vice-Captain: Will Jack