It’s a winning combination of talent and work ethic
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 newlypromoted 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.
Silverwood: “The line we said to ourselves was: ‘We are going to make our presence felt in Division One.’ That was our aim and we have gone into every game believing it is must-win. We thought if we go out and perform well every time hopefully that will bring success and thankfully it has.”
Ten Doeschate: “Too much emphasis is placed on the gulf between the divisions. If teams come up they need to have a crack like we’ve done and just believe and fight in every session. We’ve given everything in every session.”
The Silverwood factor…
Essex’s coach has transformed the club since taking over two years ago. Backed by Ronnie Irani, Essex’s cricket committee chairman, the Yorkshireman has fostered an environment the players have clearly taken to.
Ten Doeschate: “Chris has brought a far more relaxed environment and has squeezed every inch out of the squad we’ve had. That’s probably the reason why we’ve won so many games.”
Bopara: “He’s been brilliant. He’s let the senior lads do the plans really. That’s what you need – the cricketers run the show because they’re the ones who are out there playing and that’s where’s he’s been really, really good. He hasn’t been forceful in any way.
“A lot of coaches I’ve played under have been forceful and I personally don’t think that’s the best way. He’s sat back and said: ‘When I need to step in I will, otherwise you boys run the show.’ And that’s been the best thing.”
Silverwood: “All we try and do is create an environment for these guys to go out and thrive in. If we do that and give them that room to spread their wings it just shows what can happen.
Academy rewards
Eight of the Essex XI that have played
We try to create an environment for these guys to go out and thrive in. If we give them room to spread their wings, it shows what can happen
the last two rounds of Championship matches have been home-grown players, with more graduates from the academy in Alastair Cook, Paul Walter, Adam Wheater and Aaron Beard on the sidelines. More than anything, the development of a talented crop of youngsters that includes Dan Lawrence, Nick Browne and Jamie Porter has been pivotal to the club’s success this year.
Silverwood: “One thing you do get is the pride running through. There are people wanting to play for Essex, they love wearing that badge and once they’re on the field they give everything for it and each other. I think if you’ve got the youngsters coming through and a
strong academy as we have then that will build the foundations hopefully for many years to come.”
Ten Doeschate: “The foundations are here and there’s other young players coming through. The guys we are looking to be our major players are still very young. There are only a couple of us over 30 so in terms of looking forward the club is in a very good state and can make our mark in four-day cricket over the next few years.”
Bopara: “I said for a long time Tom Westley would one day play for England. I feel the same about Browney. The way he plays – he can definitely go on and play for England. Jamie Porter? Why not?”
Quality
More than anything, successful teams need good players and Essex have been smart enough to add astutely to their homegrown core. None was smarter than the Kolpak deal to bring Simon Harmer to the club, the spinner and Porter taking over 100 wickets between them. The overseas signings of left-arm quicks Neil Wagner and Mohammad Amir also had a big impact, while the availability of Cook for the first seven games of the season did much to help the team acclimatise to the top flight. Ten Doeschate: “The numbers tell a story and Jamie and Simon deserve so much credit for the way they’ve run through teams. I also think the number of match-winners we’ve had is different to other years.” Silverwood: “We’ve had two guys who have 60-plus wickets but also eight guys who have scored 12 hundreds between them, which is an amazing feat. At different points the youngsters have stuck their hands up, as has Cooky when he’s come in.” Bopara: “Cooky made a huge contribution at the start of the season. To have him at the top of the order scoring the runs that he did gave a calmness to everybody and it allowed the middle-order to express themselves as well.”