The newly crowned county champions weren’t full as Essex coaches entered Chelmsford, welcomed by a small group of enthusiastic staff and supporters . One or two, including Alastair Cook, have gone home, while others have stayed in Birmingham – where Essex won the title – to celebrate a game beyond the club’s confines. Few thought that success was possible six months ago.
There are pre-emptive drinks at Edgbaston followed by some members of the squad for a night out – although the captain, Ryan is ten The Dushat took Lemsip to bed just before 9.45pm and they are awaiting results from Taunton, which was formally followed up on Friday, confirming Essex is no longer caught by Lancashire. When that moment came, on the motorway back from the Midlands, a hangover or two might have suddenly eased.
Cheers and champagne blared after players disembarked at the county seat, in Essex, the world’s G1 champion Glittering in the sun. Essex manager Chris Silverwood challenged them at the start of the season to go out and break the established order and, with eight wins in 12 games, they reflected Such ambition. “One team, one dream”, as it says on the side of the bus.
“It was a strange feeling to know it was done yesterday,” Ten Doshat said. “The bus was a bit low key today, some lads were in Birmingham, but coming here and seeing people like Keith Fletcher, and the staff who came to meet us, that’s everything. It took a few days to realise to what we achieved Someone like Foster, he’s even here longer. This makes up for years of struggle and almost all of the years.
“The numbers tell a story and what Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer are doing on the team deserves Kudos, I also think we have had a different number of race winners than other years. On a more specific level, Chris Silverwood has brought a more relaxed environment and has crowded out what we have Every inch of our team. That’s probably why we’ve won so many games.”
While many thought Essex would In the fight to avoid relegation, as was their fate in the first three divisions into the first division, the team’s management is far more confident – within the bounds written in the three-year plan, in the short term The goal is to “win a division”. Do this in the post-promotion season and you can get as short of time as possible.
Silverwood’s calm, cheerful presence is two years of great success in the Cricket Championship , which was the main goal set by CEO Derek Bowden when he named Paul Grayson’s successor in 2015. Such is his transformation. At a club that has been treading water for years, Silverwood is now a candidate to join England at international level.
Pausing at every request from the fans – including some impromptu hugs – and wiping the hiss from his hair, Silverwood is keen to pass the credit on to his players. “The results we got were the result of all the hard work we put in,” he said. “You do want, at the start of every game, you want to win trophies. We started with the idea that every game is a must-win game, we want people to feel our presence. It makes you live in the moment, Puts you on the floor.
“These guys are amazing, they believe in the plan and in each other. As a team they’ve grown, you can see confidence grow throughout the season. At any given point, people raise their hands. Not a handful, yes, we have two runaway ticket-takers at Ports and Harmer, but we also have 12 centuries of eight different people, so it just goes to show that everyone raised their hands. “
This is a successful celebration that will go beyond county lines, from the city’s suburbs of London across large areas of East Anglia, Attracting their talent from Essex. Spectacles will be lifted at clubs such as Malden starting at Cook and part of Tom Westley at Cambridge; at Wanstead & Snaresbrook and Ilford and South Woodford, like long-serving goalkeepers A club like Foster, Varun Chopra and Nick Browne learned to play.
The Essex first team is so closely linked in Together, as in The Times earlier this week, four of them were born in the same maternity ward at Whipps Cross, including the leading wicket in Division 1 Porter, perhaps, another homegrown England prospect.
Keith Fletcher orchestrated Essex in the late 1970s and 80s for 13 years Success in six consecutive titles in a row, he greets the current lot with a smile, while ten dushat awaits a call from Graham Gooch. Fletcher and Gooch are all on the Cricket Board (now with Ronnie Irani, David Acfield and Bowden) is a member of a consultancy). Essex is a club that takes its history and heritage very seriously, and in a day of joy, the only sadness was Brian “Tank” Taylor and Doug Ing, who passed away this year Sole et al can’t be there either.
There are still two weeks left in the season and Essex will play Yorkshire at home The trophy was won in the final game of 2019, but historians can start preparing their reels. Ravi Bopara is already thinking about future moves – starting with an undefeated campaign – before summing up what success means for those narrowly ardent supporters , the boxy, closed old ground of “Chelms Fort” is cricket itself.
“Well done boys, I’m really happy for them, maybe it’s time to go back to the glory days,” he said, “but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We respect all these guys, it’s a little bit for them, those boys have done so much for the club, if it wasn’t for Graham Gooch, Fletch, they wouldn’t be here right now, so be right Those guys be warned.
“Essex is my home, this is my home” I love my cricket, it’s all I have Where the best buddies are. Tiantong, he is my best friend. It’s the best…that’s my dream to win trophies with Essex. I am also very happy with the fans. They come here week after week. We have one of the best supporters in the country – 50+ games, T20, we have a lot of spectators for the four days of games. I am really happy for them. They deserve it too. This is a special year. “
Alan Gardner is associate editor of ESPNcricinfo. @AlanRoderick
