Derek Pringle compares last season’s surprise County champions to the great Essex sides of old

Porter call: Jamie Porter laid waste to most batting line-ups with 75 wickets last season
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Essex’s defence of their Championship title lacks one crucial element from last year – that of complete surprise. Newly promoted from Division Two in 2017, they caught teams on the hop especially with their bowling.
Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer were not names that came with health warnings at the season’s start but by the end of it the...