Will Jefferson came back with an almighty bang as Essex collected a three-wicket victory against Middlesex in their Twenty20 Cup duel at Chelmsford.

In his first game of the season, the opener smashed 51 from 27 balls as the county replied to a challenging 177 for six.

Jefferson's onslaught followed an horrendous start by Essex during which they lost Ronnie Irani and Darren Gough for ducks in Chris Silverwood's opening over.

But if the crowd of nearly 6,000 was silenced then, they soon found their voices as Jefferson produced his punishing array of strokes.

All his runs came during a partnership of 74 in seven overs with Mark Pettini.

Essex stumbled as they lost three wickets in the space of eight deliveries while approaching the winning post, one they finally reached with four balls to spare as Ryan ten Doeschate finished with an unbeaten 39 from 31 deliveries.