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Essex Eagles travel to Lord’s on Wednesday (May 28) for their final group match in the Friends Provident Trophy against Middlesex Crusaders.

The Eagles guaranteed their place in the quarter-finals by virtue of the point earned in the rained-off match at Hastings on Monday.

Victory by a sufficient margin in their final match would see the Eagles overhaul Kent Spitfires for top position in the South East Division – and secure a home draw in the quarter-finals in the process.

HOW QUALIFICATION WORKS
When teams finish level on points, their placings are decided by the following:
Most wins in Group matches (victory for Essex against Middlesex would see them gain their fifth win, the same as Kent)

When teams have both equal points and equal wins, the teams will be ordered according to which team achieved the most points in the matches played between them (Essex and Kent won one game each in their head-to-head meetings)

If still equal, the team with the higher net-run-rate in the Group matches will be placed in the higher position (should Essex beat Middlesex they would need to improve their current net-run-rate of +0.43 to better than Kent’s +0.67)

If still equal, the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in the Group matches in which results were achieved, will be placed in the higher position

In the event that teams cannot be separated by the above criteria, this will be done by drawing lots

TEAM NEWS
Essex have named a 13-man squad for the trip to Lord’s.
Grant Flower returns to the squad after missing the last two scheduled Friends Provident Trophy matches due to personal reasons. Tom Westley drops out from the squad that travelled to Hastings for the rained-off game on Monday. Tim Phillips is still unavailable following knee surgery.

Play is scheduled to get underway at midday.

Essex Eagles squad to play Middlesex Crusaders in the Friends Provident Trophy at Lord’s, Wednesday May 28
Mark Pettini, Jason Gallian, Grant Flower, Ravinder Bopara, Ryan ten Doeschate, James Foster, James Middlebrook, Graham Napier, Chris Wright, David Masters, Danish Kaneria, Alex Tudor, Varun Chopra.

PRE-MATCH COMMENTS FROM FIRST-TEAM COACH PAUL GRAYSON:
“We had a chat on the coach back from Hastings about how we are going to approach the game at Middlesex. A wash-out probably suited us against Sussex as it guaranteed our qualification for the quarter-finals. Now we can go to Middlesex with all guns blazing. It’s difficult to know exactly what we are going to need to do (to get a home quarter-final) until ‘half-time at Lord’s but we’ll be in regular contact with our scorer, Tony Choat, on what we require.

“We have nothing to lose so we can go into the game with a positive attitude. Most important for us is to win the game to give us a bit of confidence going into the quarter-final next week.”

TICKET NEWS
Tickets cost £16 for adults, £8 for concessions while a “Kids for a Quid” promotion will be in operation where any child under the age of sixteen will gain entry to Lord’s for just a pound.

FRIENDS PROVIDENT CLUB DAY
Essex’s visit to Lord’s coincides with Middlesex’s Friends Provident Club Day. Skills competitions, quizzes, free gifts, discounted entry prices, player autograph sessions, a dedicated ‘club stand’, prizes to be won and the “Friends Provident Club Superstar” competition are just a few of the things that visitors to Friends Provident Club Day will enjoy on the day. Check out the Middlesex CCC website at www.middlesexccc.com for more information.

Note to Essex supporters regarding a possible home Friends Provident Trophy quarter-final:
In the event that Essex Eagles beat Middlesex Crusaders by a sufficient margin to gain a home quarter-final: due to the short period between the final group match and the quarter-finals on Wednesday June 4 a procedure for ticket allocation has already needed to be agreed for a provisional home quarter-final. This will appear on the Essex CCC website – if applicable – late on Wednesday evening at www.essexcricket.org.uk and will also be distributed to the e-news list (email your address to administration.essex@ecb.co.uk to get on that list) on Thursday morning (at which stage Essex’s quarter-final opponents will also be known).

PROVISIONAL TOURIST MATCH v SOUTH AFRICA
Please note: with both Middlesex and Sussex now unable to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Friends Provident Trophy, Essex’s provisional Tourist Match against South Africa from July 4 to 6 will now not take place.