Essex will begin their County Championship title defence at Yorkshire in April.

Last season's unbeaten champions visit Headingley on Friday, April 13 with Head Coach Anthony McGrath returning to his old stomping ground to get proceedings underway.

The first home match of the season will be against Lancashire a week later, with a big crowd expected to greet the County Champions on Friday, April 20.

The Eagles will return to One-Day Cup action with a visit to Radlett to take on Middlesex on May 17, with Essex looking to go one further than 2017’s semi-final appearance.

The opening One-Day Cup fixture will be followed by trips to Gloucestershire and Hampshire, before three home games against Somerset, Surrey and Glamorgan.

Play-off dates will take place in June, should Essex progress, with the final once again being held at Lord’s on June 30.

Essex Eagles’ T20 Blast campaign begins with a home fixture against Sussex Sharks at Chelmsford, followed by the visit of Middlesex just two days later for the first of the Friday night clashes.

There will be brief interludes in the Blast for Championship fixtures, and in particular for the visit of India – currently the number one ranked Test team in the world - for a four-day fixture beginning on July 25.

The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravi Ashwin will all travel to Chelmsford as India prepare for their Test series against England.

The Blast will be concluded with a trip to Canterbury to take on Battle of the Bridge rivals Kent Spitfires, and Essex will hope to be in contention for a quarter-final place, and potential Finals Day on Saturday, September 15.

Ryan ten Doeschate’s team conclude their Championship season at Chelmsford with a visit from newly-promoted Worcestershire.

Essex’s title defence will then be finished at the Kia Oval against Surrey on Monday, September 24.