Cup has come at a good time for Ryan

ESSEX skipper Ryan ten Doeschate believes the Eagles’ One-Day Cup opening fixture will serve as a welcome distraction from what has been a gruelling start to the County Championship season.

Essex host Hampshire on Sunday looking to get their white-ball campaign off to the perfect start, after losing to eventual winners Warwickshire Bears in the quarter-final stage last season.

The Eagles have earned two draws and a win in their first three County Championship matches since promotion to the top flight and were saved by the rain in their most recent outing against reigning champions Middlesex.

Ten Doeschate’s men face a lengthy block of white-ball matches before they return to four-day action and the Dutchman is relieved to be putting the longer form of the game to one side.

“It has been tiring and hard work and the white-ball block of cricket is certainly a welcome diversion,” said ten Doeschate.

“We are obviously very ambitious in that (One-Day Cup) as well, it is more fun in a sense.

“It is nice to box away these first three County Championship games and have a good push at the white-ball stuff then come back and start afresh with it.

“We are not going to gloss over it, we have found the fourday season brutal so far. There haven’t been any easy sessions.”

Essex take on Hampshire in their opener having beaten them in a close encounter in last season’s curtain-raiser.

And despite failing to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition last season – finishing fifth in the South Group – Hampshire director of cricket Giles White is confident his side can improve on their showing this time around.

“We’re excited about the competition starting and we feel we’ve got a good side,” said White, whose side faced Kent in their one-day opener yesterday before Sunday’s trip to Essex.

“It’s about getting off to a good start and every side will feel the same. If you get a couple of wins early on, it sets you up for the competition and to qualify for the latter stages.”