Essex County Cricket Club begin their domestic pre-season friendly programme when they face Surrey today and tomorrow at The Ford County Ground in Chelmsford.
Captain Ronnie Irani said: "Surrey were by far the best team in four-day cricket we came up against last year, although we enjoyed success against them in Twenty20 cricket, so we are looking forward to coming up against one of the best teams in the country.
"It's a bit early yet but it's good to test ourselves against tough opposition."
For more on this story, see today's Colchester Gazette.
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