With Surrey desperately needing a win, perhaps it was the knowledge that they had not beaten Essex in the Twenty20 Cup since their first encounter with the Eagles, at Imber Court in 2003, which picked away at their confidence as the Brown Caps’ first match under lights in this year’s competition developed into a somewhat one-sided affair.

Mark Ramprakash won his fifth toss out of six and after electing to insert his hosts Surrey made a promising start. Jade Dernbach had Mark Pettini caught at mid-off in the fifth over. Jason Gallian departed four overs later, caught at deep backward square leg off Abdul Razzaq. With Graham Napier looking to attack Chris Schofield’s first delivery and Grant Flower losing his middle stump to Chris Jordan the home side were 74-4 at the end of the 13th over.

But then James Foster and Ryan ten Doeschate went on the rampage. The whirlwind fifth wicket stand of 64 off 28 balls between the former England wicketkeeper and the Dutch all-rounder helped Essex post their highest total in this season’s Twenty20 Cup.

ten Doeschate wasted no time picking Schofield up for six and in the next over both batsmen deposited Jordan over the long-on boundary. Foster brought up the fifty partnership in 22 deliveries by hitting Razzaq out of the ground, then collected another maximum by launching Saqlain Mushtaq over extra cover.

The Brown Caps breathed a collective sigh of relief when Foster was caught by Ramprakash, running back from mid-off, off Saqlain in the 18th over for a 23-ball 41 and ten Doeschate was held at long-off. But with James Middlebrook swinging Razzaq over mid-wicket for two successive maximums, the visitors’ relief was shortlived.

Even with three wickets falling in the final over of the Essex innings, the momentum was firmly with the home side going into Surrey’s reply; a fact that was immediately underlined when Scott Newman was trapped leg before wicket first ball.

In the third over, Ramprakash clipped Napier through straight mid-wicket for four and drove the 28-year-old’s very next delivery straight down the ground for another boundary. Alistair Brown swung David Masters over square leg for six, but Napier struck again when Ramprakash was adjudged to be LBW by Richard Illingworth.

Three overs later, Brown launched Maurice Chambers over extra cover, but from being 53-2 in the ninth over, the visitors collapsed to 94 all out - their lowest ever total in the Twenty20 Cup.

Danish Kaneria, who finished with the amazing figures of 3-0-5-2, picked up the vital wickets of Brown and Razzaq, who both holed out in the deep. It was then left to the Eagles’ man-of-the-match, Ryan ten Doeschate, to add the icing by having Jonathan Batty caught at mid-on and cleaning up Jordan and Mushtaq.

Click here to watch the match highlitghts on Surrey TV.

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