Essex hopes of bidding farewell to the Second Division were finally blown apart at Chelmsford yesterday when they suffered an eight wickets defeat against Lancashire.
The visitors, left a modest 155 target, never looked in danger of being denied the victory that guaranteed them promotion.
The defeat left Essex skipper Ronnie Irani bitterly disappointed but in no mood to offer excuses.
"We had the good fortune to win the toss but didn't put enough runs on the board. And then our bowlers under-performed as a unit," he said.
"We can't complain about this defeat. As for promotion, the fact is we weren't good enough to go up.
"We are at least one good seamer short and that's something I hope will be addressed in time for next summer."
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