Chris Stocks talks to three of the main orchestrators in Essex’s first Championship success in 25 years
Essex won their first County Championship title in 25 years last week, the club achieving the feat just 12 months after gaining promotion.
In an age where the gap between the divisions is apparently widening every season, how did they do it?
TCP’s Chris Stocks spoke to three men at the heart of Essex’s success – coach Chris Silverwood, captain Ryan Ten Doeschate and long-serving batsman Ravi Bopara – to identify the key factors in the county’s remarkable triumph.
Team spirit
The atmosphere in the dressing room, where it seems the players are not just team-mates but also genuine friends, has been singled out as one of the main reasons Essex have been able to defy expectations.
Silverwood: “It is a team effort and one of the beautiful things is they all love watching each other do well. There are some very talented cricketers in that dressing-room and they’re all top blokes. The results they’ve got is what they deserve.”
Ten Doeschate: “This is a small club with limited resources, so I don’t care how other people value it, for us it feels like a World Cup. You won’t have a better feeling than this.”
Bopara: “I think winning the Championship is the best you can get. Essex is my home, it’s where I really, really enjoy playing my cricket with some of my best mates. Obviously Tendo, who I’ve spent the best part of 15 year playing with, is my best mate in cricket as well so to win something with him was always my dream.”
Belief
‘Mind the gap’ is the warning all newly promoted counties get, given so many struggle in the top tier. Essex, though, decided they would ignore any perceived gulf in class between the divisions and play their way. It worked.
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