The Reverse Sweep

County Championship 2012 Preview: Division 2 - Essex

Seventh was a hugely disappointing return for a side that had been in Division 1 the season before last. Can they mount a promotion challenge this season?

Strengths

Charl Willoughby joins to offer support to David Masters who took 93 wickets in Division 2 last season - both should prove excellent mentors for young tyros Tymal Mills and Reece Topley. Another acquisition is Alviro Petersen following his acrimonious departure from Glamorgan who will add steel to the batting line-up in the first part of the summer. James Foster is still the best keeper in the country and was also the County's leading run scorer in 2011. Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah add class to a batting line-up, which also features the promising Adam Wheater.

Weaknesses

No-one reached 1,000 Championship runs last season and with Alastair Cook and Bopara lost to England, Shah to the IPL and Petersen to the South African tourists, a lot will once again depend on Foster. Tony Blair wouldn't approve of the distinct lack of spin. If Masters gets injured they could struggle to take wickets.

Main man

With apologies to Masters, the main man as ever at Chelmsford is the superlative James Foster - captain, keeper extraordinaire and a much better batsmen than many give him credit for - including sadly the England selectors over the last ten years.

Look out for

Changes to the breakfast menu at Chelmsford. After the Mervyn Westfield trail, Danish pastries are likely to have been removed from the menu.

Prediction

4th - The two teams coming down from Division 1 look particularly strong so whilst Essex will improve on 2011 they will probably fall short of promotion.

Where next? 

Read our Division 1 previews: Durham, Lancashire, Middlesex, Notts, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Worcestershire

Division 2 previews: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northants and Yorkshire

2011 County Cricket Review: including Heroes of the Season, Best and Worst XIs, and a whole host of other nonsense

County Championship 2011 Preview - Essex

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the week #13

 
The vagaries of the frankly bizarre fixture list means that our XI this week covers the round of matches that started with Northamptonshire’s trip to Essex on June 25th and concluded a week later with Warwickshire wrapping up victory against Sussex at Arundel.

Alviro Petersen (Glamorgan) – The captain was the only Glamorgan batsman to show any resistance in the 1st innings against Derbyshire, before eventually being ninth out for a battling 93.

Chris Rogers (Middlesex) - Shunted down to three to accommodate the misfiring Strauss, it was Rogers’s six hour 148 and the weather that ensured the game with Gloucestershire at Uxbridge was drawn.

Dale Benkenstein (Durham) – In the low-scoring top of the table clash at Aigburth it was Benkenstein that shone brightest, first with an unbeaten 83 to earn a crucial 1st innings lead and then 60 not out in a tense run chase to steer Durham over the line. Scored a shade under 20% of the game’s runs on his own.

Ian Cockbain (Gloucestershire) – Scored a patient 127 to give his side the initiative at Uxbridge to pip fellow centurion Wes Durston of Derbyshire to a spot in our XI.

Adam Wheater (Essex) – The 21 year old hit a career best 164 to help give his side a surprise win over Division 2 pacesetters Northamptonshire at Chelmsford. Now has a first-class average of just under 50.

James Foster (Essex) – Shared a 253 run 6th wicket partnership with Wheater to put Essex in command after the game looked to be swinging back in Northamptonshire’s favour.

Luke Wright (Sussex) – His side may have lost the festival match at Arundel, but Wright gets into the XI ahead of fellow all-rounder Rikki Clarke by virtue of his counterattacking 116 off 124 balls backed up by 3/54 with the ball.

Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire) – Monty Panesar may have shown impressive control to take 3/88 from 44 overs in Warwickshire’s 1st innings, but it was Patel who proved the match winner with his maiden five wicket Championship haul.

Graham Onions (Durham) – Took six wickets as first beat second in the crunch Division 1 clash at Liverpool and also added a vital 79 with Benkenstein for the ninth wicket in Durham’s 1st innings.

Callum Thorp (Durham) – Conditions may have suited him but even so Thorp’s first day 6/20 demolished Lancashire and gave Durham a crucial advantage. Grabbed another couple of wickets in the 2nd innings too.

Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire) – After proving too quick for Somerset’s batsmen the week before it was Sussex’s turn to suffer at Arundel as the Irish spearhead took a seven wicket haul to help his side to another Championship win.

Where next?

Read all our County Cricket coverage

See if you agree with our other County Championship XIs of the week

Dale Benkenstein is definitely not a mercenary

Brigitte Bardot is the support act to Lancashire in our debut column for All Out Cricket

The secret of Paul Collingwood's success

Ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach,  Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep