Essex displayed masterful batting judgement on day two of their County Championship clash at Chelmsford. They had notable victories over Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa, and first-innings totals of 582 for 6 declared against Surrey. With three hundreds in a single innings, it was a further testament to the quality all around Essex’s batting order.
Matt Critchley was perhaps the most domineering of all, scoring 145 runs not out. He ended up only six runs short of his highest first-class score. He was ably supported by Michael Pepper, who made a useful 109 off 162 balls. Like the rest of their teammates, both players followed in the footsteps of Jordan Cox who had made a hundred on the first day of the match. To bowler Paul Walter’s credit, he narrowly missed a century himself, bringing his innings to a close on 95 runs.
The Kent batsman scored his century from 208 balls. His best moment came when he caught Matt Fisher for a lunker single, propelling him to that gaudy milestone. This milestone consolidated Essex’s fearsome grip and sent Surrey necessarily scrambling. Surrey paid the price for not being able to rein in the powerful Essex batting order and ultimately paid heavily for it.
Surrey quickly found themselves on the back foot. They found themselves looking up against a massive deficit of 473 runs after Essex’s remarkable innings on day two. During the first four and a half sessions of play, Essex’s batsmen instilled fear into the competition. The lack of opposition proved no obstacle and they quickly took charge of the game.
As a result, Surrey’s top order were on the back foot early and unable to recover. Rory Burns though offered rare solidity in their penultimate first innings before Dom Sibley was dismissed with only 21. It was his 75th first-class fifty and he anchored Surrey’s response. As the day drew to a close, Burns was still not out on 59. Alongside him, Ollie Pope was impressive, making 45 not out as Surrey closed a satisfactory day at 109/1.
The match continues to unfold as Essex looks to build on their significant lead, while Surrey will need to regroup and formulate a strategy to overcome the extensive deficit. Fifth on the list of heroes were the batsmen of Essex. What’s more, it’s suddenly on the visiting team to meet the challenge or risk going down by two scores.
Leave a Reply