By Dave Buxton
April 2 2003

Essex have won the triangular tournament in their last match on the tour to South Africa, with another excellent victory over county rivals Lancashire in the final, this time by 3 wickets at Newlands. The in-form men contributed again, with James Middlebrook taking 4-19 & Will Jefferson scoring 61.

Essex Win Triangular Final By Beating Lancashire

A fantastic end to the tour was rounded off by another excellent team performance and a final victory to boot, showing that the lads are ready for the season over here.

The final was a day/night floodlight 45 over-a-side affair at the wonderful Newlands ground in Cape Town, home of Western Province and the base for the county on this tour.

Surprisingly though, the host team were not Essex's opponents for this triangular tournament final. Lancashire beat WP yesterday and did so convincingly enough to reach the final and with Essex trashing the red rose county on Monday, it meant our place was secure anyway.

Team changes saw Ravi Bopara, John Stephenson and Andy Clarke come in for Andy Flower, Tim Phillips and Joe Grant. James Foster had the gloves again and the team otherwise was unchanged.

It must be something about Essex captain's and the toss, because for the fifth consecutive time on this tour, Paul Grayson lost the toss and once again also, Essex were asked to field first.

It seemed a setback, because most sides perfer to bat first rather than second under the lights, however, the bowling and fielding was on top form again.

None more so than James Middlebrook, who has been nothing short of outstanding on this tour. He's scored runs (including a hundred) and taken a hatful of wickets and added 4 more today, with fantastic figures of 9 overs, 3 maidens, 4-19. That's 8 wickets in the one-day matches and he's been economical every time as well.

Every bowler performed well, with Andy Clarke also impressive with 7.5 overs, 3 maidens, 2-22. Bishop (1-28) Stephenson (1-21) and Larry himself (1-24) all took a wicket, while Jon Dakin was the only bowler wicketless.

Once Essex target Iain Sutcliffe scored 45, while youngster Mark Currie scored 29, but the Essex attack didn't let the rest settle down and bowled out Lancs for just 142 with 7 balls of the 45 overs not used.

144 seemed a straightforward target and it looked like the match wouldn't even need the use of the floodlights, as Will Jefferson helped himself to more quickfire runs off the Old Trafford attack.

After scoring 101 against the same oppo in Monday's win, Jeffers smashed 61, with his fifty taking only 32 balls. Darren Robinson played second fiddle again, in scoring 16.

They alone looked to have won the match, but when they fell and Habib (6) and Grayson (9) fell cheaply, Essex were looking over their shoulders.

A simple win still looked likely, but a further 3 quick wickets (Bopara for 0, Dakin and Midders for 3) put the result and the champers on ice. The track was obviously taking spin, as Gary Yates notched up 4-39.

But James Foster with 27 not out (more runs for the England man) found a partner in Stepho (10 not out) and they took Essex to victory by 3 wickets with 53 balls to spare and the final win making Essex the triangular tournament champions.

So, a fantastic end to the tour. Two wins over Lancashire and a tournament victory to boot. It looks as if this tour has been a fantastic success. A slow start, perhaps down to not playing for several months, but the 3 defeats suffered were only by small margins and could have gone Essex's way. Once into the swing of things, the red rose side were easily brushed away twice and this will bring confidence going into the season over here.

Will Jefferson, James Middlebrook and James Foster have been the star men and Justin Bishop has also bowled very well when selected. Everyone had a game (except Tim Phillips) and although a couple of players look short of form, I'm sure this will be rectified come 18th April and Middlesex at Chelmsford.

The tour has also been a success in terms of the fitness side and preparing for the new season. The lads are now in full flight and I'm sure raring to go over here. They'll get another chance next week, when Middlesex (again!) travel to Chelmsford for a friendly spanning 3 days and starting next Tuesday. Then, it starts for real a week later against the same opponents and at the same venue. Bring 'em on!

LANCASHIRE INNS: 142 All Out (43.5 Ovs) -

Dakin	.........	5-0-24-0
Bishop	.........	7-0-28-1
Clarke	.........	7.5-3-22-2
Stephenson	.........	6-0-21-1
Middlebrook	.........	9-3-19-4
Grayson	.........	9-0-24-1

ESSEX INNS: 144-7 (36.1 Ovs) -

W.I. Jefferson	.........	61
D.D.J. Robinson	.........	16
A. Habib	.........	6
* A.P. Grayson	.........	9
+ J.S. Foster	.........	27 Not Out
R.S. Bopara	.........	0
J.M. Dakin	.........	3
J.D. Middlebrook	.........	3
J.P. Stephenson	.........	10 Not Out
Did-Not-Bat:	J.E. Bishop, A.J. Clarke

RESULT: ESSEX WON BY 3 WICKETS

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Date: 2/4/03

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