Under leaden skies...

Collapso cricket

The sun may be shining but it's hard to see any silver linings in the dark clouds that have engulfed Essex's start to the season.

Two comprehensive championships defeats to Kent and Middlesex have resulted from batting collapses.

At Lord's, Essex were bowled out twice in one day last Friday, having to follow on after a first innings total of just 115.

They offered a little more resistence in their second innings, making 215, but Middlesex wrapped up the game within the hour on the third day under the watchful gaze of Old Father Time.

Few batsmen came out of the game with much credit but Tom Westley managed 36 and 59 in those low totals while Jaik Mickleburgh got 41 in the second innings.

Having suggested before the season that it was the bowling rather than the batting that needed bolstering, it's been a surprise to see a line-up that boasts experienced hands like Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, James Foster and Matt Walker capitulate so cheaply four times this season.

What's been even more galling amidst this batting chaos has been seeing Essex old boys like Varuna Chopra, Will Jefferson and James Middlebrook amassing runs for their counties.

It seems likely that former captain Mark Pettini will return to the team to stiffen the batting and no doubt he'll feel he has a point to prove after being left out of the first two games.

The one silver lining in these dark days has been the emergence of Reece Topley as bowler to be reckoned with. In Middlesex's first innings he took five wickets to go with his similar haul in Kent's second innings at Chelmsford.

With South African bowler Lonwabo 'Lopsy' Tsotsobe now with the team, Paul Grayson's side will want to stop the rot and chalk up their first win of the seasson... but this won't be an easy prospect away to early Division Two leaders Northamptonshire.

But I think Essex are due a bit of both luck and form. The top order must be itching to notch up some runs and with two young left arm pace bowlers in Lopsy and Toppers in the attack alongside the ever-reliable David Masters, I reckon it'll be third time lucky for Fozzie's men in this year's Championship game.

Our man in the commentary box

Essex cricket fans should get down to the Cramphorn Theatre, Chelmsford tomorrow night (Thursday) for comedian Miles Jupp's show Fibber in the Heat. It's the story of how he decided after the final day of that wonderful Ashes series at the Oval in 2005 that he wanted to become a cricket correspondent... and promptly set about doing so by pretending he was one!

Jupp regales the tales of mishaps and misadventures as he gets press accreditation for England's tour of India and find out that being a cricket fan and a cricket commentator are two very different things.

When I intervied Jupp he said the whole thing was a mixture of comedy and awkward moments and it made him realise how hard cricket correspondents have to work. In short, he says, it's much better to be a fan!

You can read my interview here and I'll be going along to the show tomorrow so will post my thoughts on it afterwards.