McGrath hopes his inside knowledge can help scale 'fortress' Chelmsford

It is known these days as the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground but they should probably just call it Fortress Chelmsford.

- by Chris Waters

Essex's record there is simply remarkable, a sporting stronghold if ever there was one.

Since the start of the 2019 season, when they won the last of their County Championships, Essex have played 37 fixtures at the ground in the four-day tournament, winning 21, drawing 13 and losing just three.

Throw in three wins out of three in the Bob Willis Trophy there in 2020, a competition they also won, and which replaced the Championship during that Covid year, and it is a measure of the task that Yorkshire face in the fixture that starts in Chelmsford today.