Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, weather forecast, form, prediction and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the LV= Insurance County Championship...
Fixture: Essex v Warwickshire
Venue: Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford
Dates: Thursday, May 20, 2021 - Sunday, May 23, 2021
Start time: 11am
What's the lowdown?
Essex cantered to victory against Derbyshire, winning by an innings and proving their credentials as favourites to top the group. They springboarded themselves from fifth into first thanks to their comprehensive victory. However, they have a game in hand over those below them, so they will need to maintain their good form to be assured of the top spot.
Warwickshire have had a disappointing season so far, struggling to find consistency with the bat. They sit fifth in the table but are only six points adrift of Durham in second. With a victory away at the champions, they can catapult themselves into the promotion places.
Who's in form?
Simon Harmer once again showed his class by taking career-best figures of 9 for 80 against Derbyshire. That spell took him to the top of the County Championship bowling charts (34 wickets at 23.52). Tom Westley scored yet another hundred, his third of the season, and found excellent support in Dan Lawrence, whose scintillating 152 not out came off just 133 balls.
Young batsmen Rob Yates has been the stand out performer for Warwickshire, playing a great hand to force a victory over Essex and he also scored a hundred in his last outing against Worcestershire. Oliver Hannon-Dolby has been their only consistent performer with the ball taking 16 wickets at 30.87.
Last five first-class matches (most recent first)
Essex: WLDWL
Warwickshire: DLDWW
Head-to-head first-class record
Total matches: 122
Essex wins: 39
Warwickshire wins: 34
Tied: 1
Draws: 48
Abandoned: 1
What's the team news?
Warwickshire: Dom Sibley returns to the fold after fully recovering from a broken finger. Henry Brookes is also added to the XI that faced Worcestershire two weeks ago. Craig Miles has a hip problem that keeps him out and Dan Mousley drops out.
Squad: Will Rhodes (c), Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Henry Brookes, Michael Burgess (wk), Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Sam Hain, Matt Lamb, Pieter Malan, Liam Nowell, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Rob Yates
Essex: The champions have named a reduced squad after their demolition of Derbyshire last week. They have named just 12 players in the much-anticipated fixture against Warwickshire, with crowds being welcomed back to Chelmsford for the first time since 2019. Feroze Kushi and Ben Allison are the players that miss out.
Squad: Tom Westley (c), Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Sam Cook, Simon Harmer, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Porter, Peter Siddle, Shane Snater, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Paul Walter and Adam Wheater
Latest Warwickshire news: Click here
Who's said what?
Simon Harmer was at his record-breaking best against taking Derbyshire, claiming 9 for 80 to put the Chelmsford club back on track. But the South African is refusing to get ahead of himself.
“It is a performance-based sport and there are days when you do well and there are games when you don’t do well," said Harmer, who has 34 wickets in six matches.
“I’ve had a few games recently where I haven’t taken many wickets so when it is your day you have to cash in big.
“On a batting wicket you can’t get 50 you need to get 150 and if it is turning or there is something there for me, I need to get big wicket hauls. You never know when the next wicket is going to come.”
Having beaten Essex earlier in the season, Warwickshire have nothing to fear when they travel to the County Championship holders this week, according to coach Mark Robinson.
“Essex are champions and showed again last week what a good side they are when they lost the first day against Derbyshire but then scored 400 in a day and bowled them out twice,” he said.
“It will be a tough game but we can take confidence from beating them at our place with what was a very strong performance. I think they thought we would fold at one point but they left the door ajar and we piled through it and ended up winning quite comfortably.
“We showed a lot of resilience in that game and that has been a theme of our season so far. We have not played with great fluency as a team but, apart from at Durham, have stayed in games and, on two occasions, gone on to record very good wins.”
What's the weather forecast?
It is slightly warmer in south east England, with a high of 15 degrees and some mild winds on day one. Unfortunately, the weather deteriorates throughout the game, with stronger winds and a chance of showers over the weekend. A lot will rest on the opening two days of this fixture.
Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Chelmsford: Click here
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: Essex will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here
All County Championship matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here
The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.
Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Going to the game?
Tickets: Attendance is for members only via a ballot. This will remain until June 21 after the next stage of lockdown easing.
Travel
Address: The Cloudfm County Ground, New Writtle St, Chelmsford CM2 0PG
By Car
From the North: Take junction 19 on the A12 (Boreham). Take the A130 exit towards A138/Stansted Airport/Sudbury/Chelmsford and then at the roundabout, take the fourth exit onto Main Rd/A130. This is followed by another roundabout, take the second exit onto A138. The road continues to the Army and Navy roundabout then take the fourth exit onto Parkway/A1060. Continue straight, over another roundabout, and turn left onto New London Road. Move over to the right slip lane for New Writtle Street and the ground is located down this road.
From the South: Take junction 15 on the A12 and continue down the A414 exit to Harlow/Chelmsford. At the roundabout, take the second exit onto Three Mile Hill/A414. Continue down this road until you come to two roundabouts. Take the second exit on both roundabouts (straight over). Head over the bridge towards the Wood Street roundabout and take the first exit onto New London Road. Continue down New London Road and turn left into New Writtle Street and the ground is down this road.
By Train: Chelmsford train station is a 10-minute walk from the county ground and has regular direct train services from Chelmsford to London, Stratford, Shenfield, Romford, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich. Chelmsford is situated on the Liverpool Street to Norwich mainline, with 5 trains per hour to and from Central London.
By Bus: Chelmsford Bus Station is situated on Duke Street, next to Chelmsford Train Station, with connections to all over the County. Alternatively, bus numbers 42 and 100 stop on New London Road, which is approximately a two-minute walk to the Ground, via New Writtle Street.
On foot: Entrances to The Cloudfm County Ground are situated on New Writtle Street and via Sky Blue Pastures to the North of the Ground via Parkway.
Disabled Access: Disabled visitors to The Cloudfm County Ground are required to access via the Main Entrance on New Writtle Street. Accessible car park spaces are available opposite the Essex Cricket Store at the end of the driveway. There are a limited number of spaces available on match days and for non-matchday events, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Prediction?
Essex are flying high after a fine return to form last week. Warwickshire’s inconsistencies could prove fatal in this extremely important clash as we move towards the white ball competitions. Essex win.
OTHER ROUND SEVEN PREVIEWS
Group 1
Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire
Group 2
Group 3
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