Essex

Essex County Cricket Club was formed on 14 January 1876 at a meeting in the Shire Hall, Chelmsford. The new club had minor status initially, and played its inaugural first-class match on 14, 15 & 16 May 1894 against Leicestershire at Leyton. It was also Leicestershire's inaugural first-class match, and they won by 68 runs. Essex failed to win any of their inter-county matches that season. Essex, Leicestershire, and Warwickshire joined the County Championship in 1895. In Essex's first match, James Burns scored 114 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston—the first century for Essex in first-class cricket. George Frederick Higgins scored their second century in the same match, putting on 205 with Burns for the fourth wicket. The club made a high score of 692 against Somerset with the veteran Bunny Lucas scoring 145, but the most notable feat was by Walter Mead who took 17/119 against Hampshire at Southampton.

Essex improved rapidly from 1895, so that by 1897 they were in the running for the Championship, only losing it when Surrey beat them at Leyton. They fell off after this despite beating a fine Australian team on a dubious pitch in 1899, never finishing higher than sixth between 1899 and 1932. Their batting on Leyton's excellent pitches was generally good with the "Essex Twins" of Perrin and McGahey and the sound and skilful Jack Russell, but the bowling depended too much on Mead, Buckenham and later Douglas and when available Louden. With the decline of these players, Essex fell to some of their lowest levels ever during the late 1920s. Their bowlers conceded over 40 runs a wicket in 1928 – about the highest ever with uncovered pitches. The emergence of Jack O'Connor, Stan Nichols and when available, the amateur fast bowlers Ken Farnes and Hopper Read, though, made Essex during the 1930s a dangerous if inconsistent side. They finished as high as fourth in 1933, and owing to their pace bowling maintained almost as high a standard up to the outbreak of war. The batting, however, tended to depend too much upon O'Connor and a number of amateurs who were rarely available, and Essex lost too many games to break the North's stronghold on the Championship. After World War II Essex fell off, taking their first wooden spoon in 1950.