ESSEX legend Ronnie Irani has backed the county's two newest signings - Chris Wright and David Masters - to be a big success at the Ford County Ground.

The recently-retired club captain believes the seamers will make their mark at Chelmsford after turning down deals to remain with Middlesex and Leicestershire respectively.

Irani said the county would benefit greatly from the capture of two much-needed fast bowlers.

"David and Chris were identified as a couple of guys we wanted to sign and I can happily report we've snatched them both from under the noses of their counties," he said.

"Both of the bowlers had been offered new deals by their current clubs, but preferred to throw in their lot with Essex next season.

"And with Andy Bichel and Andre Nel not coming back and, Maurice Chambers and Mervyn Westfield still very sick (with back injuries), the signing of Masters and Wright has to be good news for Essex fans.

"I think it's great news. I really like the look of Chris Wright. He's a tall lively bowler who swings the ball out and Masters has a decent track record. He took 40-odd wickets last season."

Irani was also pleased to see Essex win for the first time in a month when they put Derbyshire to the sword in the Twenty20 Floodlight Cup - a competition also involving the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) Masters.

"It was great to see the Essex boys get the defence of our Twenty20 Floodlight Cup triumph under way with a five-wicket win," he said.

"Already reduced to 16 overs a-side because of rain, the game took another bizarre twist as all the bowling had to be done at one end because the sun from the other end was dazzling the batsmen's vision.

"This competition is a small consolation for missing out on the major Twenty20 Cup finals and we now have three more games to play, Derby again and the PCA, all at Chelmsford and it would be nice to see big crowds at all of them."