The Brown Caps missed a great chance to go top of the T20 South Group under the Chelmsford floodlights as James Foster and former Surrey skipper Adam Hollioake provided the firepower to inspire the Essex Eagles to a three-wicket victory with seven balls to spare.

Having had no opportunity to make an impact in his first two Twenty20 Cup outings for Essex, it was almost inevitable that Hollioake would play some part in the downfall of his former colleagues on a chilly night at a packed Chelmsford. While Foster, with an excellent 52 from just 34 balls, was the real star of the show for the Eagles as he led them from 45 for three to the greater prosperity of 124 for five before falling to Chris Schofield (three for 31), it was Hollioake’s 12-ball cameo of 21 that ultimately sealed Surrey’s fate. After replacing Foster at the crease with 51 needed from six overs, Hollioake struck an off-key Nayan Doshi for two fours and a six in an over costing nineteen and by the time the former Surrey captain had his stumps rearranged by Azhar Mahmood, Essex’s requirement had been reduced to a comfortable nineteen runs from nineteen balls. The visitors were offered one last chance to turn the game around two balls later when James Middlebrook was dropped by the normally reliable Ali Brown at long off with the score 159 for seven – the ball running away for four to compound the unfortunate fielder’s misery – before the Eagles claimed victory with seven balls to spare when Graham Napier clipped Matt Nicholson to the midwicket boundary. It was Nicholson who had earlier put his side in control with an excellent opening burst of 15 for three, though his bowling colleagues struggled for consistency on a very slow, low-bouncing pitch after the Brown Caps had posted a seemingly above-par total of 174-4.

Surrey’s impressive batting effort had been led by James Benning (69 from 48 balls) and Mark Ramprakash (72 not out from 48 balls), who put together a partnership of 103 in twelve overs before Benning was bowled by Hollioake, the man who mentored him during his formative years at the Brit Oval. Both batsmen struck three sixes, with Ramprakash’s all resulting from majestic drives back over the bowler’s head, though neither man was able to get after Danesh Kaneria, who sent down four immaculate overs to earn figures of one for 20. Even though Mark Butcher and Jon Batty batted purposefully in the latter stages, it was perhaps significant to the final outcome that the well-set and in-form Ramprakash faced only 22 balls in the final nine overs of the Brown Caps innings.

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