• Essex retain County Championship

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    Essex successfully retained their crown as the best County Championship team in the UK after their Bob Willis Trophy final clash with Somerset ended in a draw at Lord’s on Sunday.

    What was set to be an enthralling conclusion to the season, Somerset battled their way into a competitive position by declaring on 272-7 early on the final morning – setting Essex a target of 237 for victory.

    And, with gloomy skies surrounding London throughout Sunday, it was always going to be a difficult task for Tom Westley and his team to bat against time in pursuit of a victory.

    READ: Harmer key to more Essex success

    Instead, it became clear that Essex was going to fight for a draw, which would hand them the title after finishing with the most points across the three groups prior to the final.

    Somerest, however, wasn’t going down without a fight and had Essex in a spot of bother when the dangerous Alastair Cook departed with his team on 68-3.

    England spinner Jack Leach proved to be particularly lethal as he picked up the further wickets of Dan Lawrence, Paul Walter and Ryan ten Doeschate as Essex found themselves on 179-6 late in the final session.

    But, it wasn’t enough for Somerset as the umpires called it a day, handing Essex their third crown in the last four years with former Proteas spinner Simon Harmer finishing as the leading wicket taker once again in the competition with 38 scalps in the six matches.

    Scorecard

     

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    Andre Huisamen