ESSEX County Cricket Club will begin their 2016 County Championship campaign against Gloucestershire on Sunday, April 10 as they bid to secure promotion to Division One.

The home clash precedes a trip to Fenner’s to take on Cambridge MCCU for the traditional University curtain raiser.

The format of the 2016 season remains the same, with the home season comprising of eight County Championship fixtures and four Royal London One-Day Cup matches, with a trip to former bowler Reece Topley’s Hampshire first up.

The return of the NatWest T20 Blast sees seven games at The Essex County Ground, as the Eagles look to progress to the quarter-finals. The first game home game sees local rivals Surrey make the trip to The E.C.G, on Friday, May 20 at 7pm.

The County will also host a tourist match in 2016, as Sri Lanka visit ahead of their series against England. The match will take place from Sunday, May 8 to Tuesday, May 10.

The Colchester Cricket Festival sees Sussex visit Castle Park in the County Championship, with both sides starting the season with promotion in their sights.

The 2016 campaign also sees the England Women return to Chelmsford, as they take on Pakistan Women in a NatWest International T20 on Thursday, July 7.