Crunch time for Essex's T20 hopes (From Echo)

Crunch time for Essex's T20 hopes

8:00am Friday 8th July 2011 in Other cricket By James Colasanti

ESSEX host Glamorgan in a do-or-die Twenty20 match at Chelmsford tonight.

Only victory against the Dragons will keep alive the Eagles’ hopes of reaching the lucrative knock-out stages.

Essex’s hopes were dealt a major blow on Wednesday as Hampshire won their rain-affected match at the Rose Bowl.

The county now must win against Glamorgan tonight, and Kent next Friday, and hope a clutch of other results go their way.

Both games are at home and Essex coach Paul Grayson says they need to need to make that advantage count.

He said: “Our lack of consistency within the side is a real concern. It seems that whenever we put on a really good performance we follow-up with a disappointing display in the next game.

“We haven’t played the sort of cricket we wanted in the competition this year but I still fancy that if we can get those two wins, then we are capable of going on to win this competition.”

Graham Napier is still ruled out with a hamstring problem, but there is a chance that Scott Styris could recover from a calf injury to play.

Club captain James Foster will serve the second of his two-match ban disciplinary ban, so Ravi Bopara will deputise as skipper.

Reece Topley is also unavailable having joined the England under-19 squad ahead of their one-day series against South Africa.

The Eagles won the reverse fixture in Cardiff last month by six wickets as Owais Shah scored 60, and spinner Tim Phillips claimed 3-18.

But the Dragons won on their last t20 visit to Chelmsford when a brutal 89 from Mark Cosgrove saw them chase down 192 with 14 balls to spare.

Cosgrove faces a fitness test on a side strain before tonight’s match.

But one man who will definitely be missing for Glamorgan will be their leading wicket-taker Robert Croft.

The 41-year-old former England off-spinner has decided to step aside to give some of the club’s younger players an opportunity to play.

Tonight’s match starts at 7pm, with gates opening at 5pm.

Essex squad: Pettini, Wheater, Shah, Bopara, Walker, ten Doeschate, Styris, Westley, Phillips, Southee, Wright, Masters, Craddock.

Glamorgan squad: Petersen, Cosgrove, Allenby, Rees, Walters, O’Shea, Cooke, Brown, Wallace, James, Harris, Jones, Jones, Owen.