6 of The Best Essex Cricketers & How to See Them Play Live in 2023

Discover our picks of the six best Essex County Cricket Club players. Enjoy their talent from the best seats in the house next season.

Last updated: 20/12/22 at 14:51

With a series of Championship wins and a T20 Vitality Blast triumph behind them, Essex County Cricket Club have enjoyed great success on the pitch.

The Club possesses some of the greatest talent that the sport has to offer, from fast-paced wicket takers through to big hitter batters.

Discover our top picks of the best First XI Essex Cricket players and find out how you can see them play next season.

Alastair Cook

Major record-holder Alastair Cook is the highest run-scorer and century-maker in England Test Cricket history.

The former England Test and ODI captain has played for Essex since the birth of his First-Class career in 2005.

During his international career, Cook reached huge milestones, one of which was leading England to their first Test victory against India for 28 years.

While not a typically elegant batter, his style of play has continuously contributed an incredible number of runs and victories over the years.

Since retiring from the international format, Alastair Cook continues to play a pivotal role in the success of ECCC sharing the experience with his valued teammates.

Simon Harmer

South African off-spinning all-rounder Simon Harmer has truly made his mark since joining ECCC in 2017.

After leaving South Africa, following a change in attitudes towards spin bowling, Harmer’s talents were warmly welcomed by ECCC when he played a key role in their first Championship title win in 25 years.

During the Championship, Harmer took an outstanding 72 wickets at less than 20. Two years later, ECCC won the championship yet again; and in the same year, Harmer was fundamental in the club’s T20 Blast success, taking seven wickets and hitting the winning runs on Finals Day.

Harmer is undoubtedly one of the most skilled players on the ECCC team, and has even regained the attention of his home country as he was called up for 2 Test series against Bangladesh in 2022.

Jamie Porter

Jamie Porter has made an incredible impression since breaking into the Essex side at the end of the 2014 season. He has now risen to prominence and gained himself great accolades internationally and domestically.

A seam-bowler with a classic county style of attack, Porter took over fifty wickets in 2015 and 2016. He continued to impress alongside Simon Harmer in the 2017 championship when he took 75 wickets at 16.83 runs.

After leading the wicket-taking table in that year, Porter has now attracted the attention of the international format and continues to deliver on the domestic scale.

Sam Cook

One of the fresher additions to the ECCC squad, Sam Cook, joined the club at the back-end of the 2017 season.

In the final four games of this season, he made his mark taking 20 wickets and played an important role in gaining the Championship title.

‘Little Cook' has now cemented himself as the opening bowler, and has taken an astronomical 160 wickets at an average of 18.64.

While often recognised for his red-ball abilities, the seamer has also been praised after playing for Trent Rockets in the Hundred and impressing in the white-ball format.

A player with great potential still yet to be unlocked, Sam Cook has now been recognised on the international scale after being called up to the England Lions squad in late 2021.

Dan Lawrence

Dan Lawrence is widely regarded as one of the most promising young cricketers around.

In his second County Championship match, at only 17 years old, Lawrence hit 161 against Surrey at The Oval. This unblemished performance reflected that expected of a well-seasoned cricketer and was enough to put Lawrence on the map as the youngest Essex first-class centurion.

Since then, Dan Lawrence has continued to impress, achieving multiple red-ball centuries championship hundreds and involvement in T20 and The Hundred formats.

Earlier this year, Lawrence enjoyed an incredible partnership with overseas player Daniel Sams during a T20 match against Glamorgan. This performance made history, achieving the Eagles highest ever score of 254-5.

The batter has also been called up to the England Lions squad but is yet to represent them on the international stage.

Nonetheless, Lawrence presents great hope for the future of ECCC and already deserves a place on our list of top players to watch out for!

Tom Westley

Tom Wesley has been with ECCC since playing for the Academy in 2006. He has since progressed to the first team where he has made a name for himself as an incredible batter.

In the 2014 season he recorded centuries in each format and gained himself the titles of ‘Players’ Player of the Year’ as well as ‘Batter of the Year’.

As a result of his incredible performances, Westley was called up to the Lions squad. He scored 100 for the team against South Africa and also played a pivotal role in Essex’s County Championship win in 2017.

Westley was appointed as Club Captain in 2020 and led the team to win the Bob Willis Trophy in which he scored a half-century paired with Alastair Cook.

As captain and a fundamental part of the team, Tom Westley continues to deliver incredible batting in both white-ball and red-ball cricket, making him a force to be reckoned with on the field.

How can you see these Essex cricket players live?

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