The Eagles started well, but ultimately fell short against Gloucestershire: Image courtesy of Essex Cricket

The Eagles could be set to introduce a new face into their line-up when they face Hampshire at The Ageas Bowl in the Royal London One-Day Cup tomorrow.

Anthony McGrath will select from a 13-man squad that includes Zimbabwe-born bowler Shane Snater, who now plays international cricket for the Netherlands.

At 22 years of age, the right-armer has claimed 12 wickets in three first-class matches, including two five-wicket hauls, plus 7 wickets in 10 List A games, with best figures of 3 for 30 against Zimbabwe.

All-rounder Callum Taylor is also named in the party as Jamie Porter is given a rest, whilst young paceman Aaron Beard is due to get overs under his belt for the Second XI.

Ryan ten Doeschate is looking for an improved performance on Wednesday, particularly from the batting unit, as the Eagles look to get back to winning ways down on the South Coast.

The Eagles skipper saw his side beaten by Gloucestershire on Sunday when four wickets fell in the space of 33 balls after a promising opening partnership had laid the foundations for a score in excess of 300.

In the end, the visitors were left to settle for a total of 287 for 7, but were beaten as Gloucestershire reached their target with 11 balls and four wickets to spare.

“We didn’t bat well, we lost four quick wickets after the first powerplay when some of our batters lost their wickets cheaply,” ten Doeschate admitted.

“We weren’t at our best and didn’t deserve to win. People are allowed to make mistakes as they are human, but it is about how we learn from them going forward. Overall, we were a bit off the pace and we certainly need to be better as a batting unit if we are to do well against Hampshire.”

Head Coach Anthony McGrath endorsed ten Doeschate’s views. “We were probably 30 runs short of what we would have liked to have scored after our openers put on 70 odd runs,” he said.

“Now we need to focus on getting everything right for the Hampshire game. We knew starting this competition with three away games would be tough and with only eight matches in the qualifying group, you don’t want to be playing catch-up. You can’t afford a slow start and it’s really important to get the points on the board as soon as you can.

“The 50 over competition is a format that we’ve done well in over the past couple of years and we want to continue that. We played some fantastic cricket last year and the standards we can achieve are evident so we need to rediscover that touch quickly.”

Injuries have restricted the choice of selection thus far but the positive news is that a number of players are close to returning.

“Paul Walter, Matt Quinn and Matt Coles are all close to being available for selection and that will give us the opportunity to refresh our bowling unit,” the Eagles Head Coach stated.

“Meanwhile, we have to pick ourselves up after Sunday’s game and look to record our second win in the competition which would set us up nicely because we then have three home matches in succession.”

Eagles squad:

Ryan ten Doeschate (27) Captain
Ravi Bopara (25)
Varun Chopra (6)
Sam Cook (16)
James Foster (7)
Simon Harmer (11)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Shane Snater (29)
Callum Taylor (67)
Neil Wagner (13)
Tom Westley (21)
Adam Wheater (31)
Ashar Zaidi (99)

Report provided by Essex CCC