Essex begin their season in earnest this weekend when they embark on the defence of their Benson & Hedges Cup title.

They could not have contemplated a more difficult opening match, with last year's County Champions Surrey the visitors to Chelmsford tomorrow (Saturday).

The following day, Essex make the short journey to Lord's to play Middlesex and on Tuesday, the heavy schedule continues with a trip to Canterbury to face Kent.

Speaking at the club's Press day on Monday, Essex's newly appointed team captain, Ronnie Irani, was in a positive mood, stating: "We've just had a couple of good practice games against Durham, everybody has worked extremely hard during pre-season and we are confident.

"Obviously it is a tremendous boost to have Nasser Hussain available for the Benson & Hedges Cup games and with Stuart Law back in the side, we have two international class batsmen.

"Our prospects are looking good, everyone is really sharp and we are positive about our chances, but we need to transfer that into performances out in the middle in the matches that are coming up''.

Positive captain: Ronnie Irani.

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