ESSEX are now up into second place in the Friends Provident t20 South Division.

And they can strengthen their grip on a place in the next round by beating Surrey at Chelmsford this evening.

Essex beat Gloucestershire convincingly on Wednesday and will be halfway through the group stage.

Coach Paul Grayson said: “Surrey are a good side and when you look at their top-six on paper it’s as good as any side in the country.

“They’ve got a side full of internationals and they’ve under-achieved in the past couple of years, which they are fully aware of, but they are getting some good results now in the twenty20 and we know we have a tough game ahead of us.

“But our confidence is high at the moment, we are playing with a lot of flair and we are looking a really good outfit again.

“Momentum is a big thing in one-day cricket and we’ve got that and it’s been satisfying to get some really good performances even though we’ve been without Graham Napier and Ryan ten Doeschate.

“It shows we’ve got some quality players in our dressing room.”

Napier (lower back problem) and ten Doeschate (calf injury) continue to be sidelined and Essex will select from a 13-man squad with John Maunders and Maurice Chambers added to the side that beat Gloucestershire.

Essex (from): Ravi Bopara, Alastair Cook, Jaik Mickleburgh, Grant Flower, Scott Styris, Matt Walker, James Foster, Tim Phillips, David Masters, Danish Kaneria, Chris Wright, John Maunders and Maurice Chambers.