Surrey will look to make it back-to-back wins in the Vitality Blast when they face Essex in Chelmsford on Wednesday night
Surrey sit second in the South Group, having won four of their seven matches. The match against fourth-placed Essex gets underway at 7pm.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
The match will be broadcast on Essex’s YouTube channel, with a link placed on Surrey’s social media channels. Those some channels will provide updates and video clips, with a written report and highlights available at the end of play.
SURREY SQUAD
With T20 captain Sam Curran on international duty, Ollie Pope takes over the reins. Jordan Clark, Matt Fisher and Dom Sibley come into the squad from Friday’s win at Sussex Sharks. Will Jacks and Sam Curran are part of England’s squads for their white-ball series with India.
ESSEX
Previewed by Martin Smith, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Simon Harmer
Overseas players: Simon Harmer (South Africa, all), Wiaan Mulder (South Africa, first six games)
Finals Day appearances: Six (2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2023)
Titles: One (2019)
2025 finish: 9th in South Group
2025 leading runscorer: Michael Pepper (364)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Mohammad Amir (20)
Key winter moves: With wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Rossington not re-engaged after his T20-only contract did not work out, South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder is the only addition to Essex’s Vitality Blast squad. Mulder’s most recent international T20 caps came as recently as March in New Zealand, and with approaching 150 appearances in the format, he should prove an asset in the early matches.
The big question: What will Jordan Cox have learnt from the IPL where he largely watched from the substitutes’ bench with Royal Challengers Bangalore rather than performing in the middle alongside Virat Kohli? Cox topped the Essex batting averages last season – 10 runs ahead of anyone else – and scored a memorable century against Hampshire. Can he do it again?
Wildcard watch: Luc Benkenstein. Leg-spinners are worth their weight in gold in white-ball cricket as Benkenstein showed in last year’s Blast where his 11 wickets earnt him a share of second place in the Essex wicket-taking list alongside Simon Harmer – and with a significantly superior average than his captain. Despite being only 21, he has T20 experience and temperament.
Final thought: Things can only get better for Essex. They won only three games last season, two of them late on with nothing at stake, to finish bottom of the South Group. The year before they were only edged out of a top-four place on run-rate, and in 2023 were beaten finalists. With their younger players a year more experienced, maybe an improved level of consistency can be expected to reverse the downward trend.
