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Ed Marriage: Keith Fletcher's team of the 70s and 80s

One of the first things I did on giving up full time work at BBC Sport was to become a member of Essex County Cricket Club. I had always closely followed the fortunes of my home county’s cricketers – now I had the chance to spend sunny days sitting in the stands at the County Ground experiencing the unique joys of county championship cricket.

And what timing! My first season as a member in 2016 ended with Essex winning the second division title and gaining promotion back to the top flight. No-one – certainly not me – could have predicted that the following year Essex would win the county championship for the first time in 25 years.

“Fortress Chelmsford” undoubtedly has its charms, but even the most loyal supporter would be hard-pressed to dispute that the County Ground has changed little since Essex won their first bit of silverware back in 1979, so it was inevitable that memories of that golden summer would come flooding back.

This was the glorious era of Keith Fletcher, the captain who built a side of extraordinary talents which would go on to dominate the game for more than a decade after more than a century of serial under-achievement.

Christened “The Gnome” by his teammate Ray East, Fletcher was a deceptively tough cookie. The cricket writer Colin Bateman noted how Fletcher “turned a county of cheerful losers into an even happier bunch as the most successful side in the country through the 1980s.”

And what a team! Heading the list of Essex batters in that era was, of course, Graham Gooch, who would go on to be one of England’s finest openers. Alongside Goochie was the South African Ken McEwan and Fletcher himself.

Spearheading the bowling attack was the tireless left arm seamer John Lever and the spinner Ray East. Universally known as “JK”, Lever took 7 for 27 against Lancashire in the season Essex won their first county title. He went on to be named Wisden Cricketer of the Year

It’s fair to say that East was one of the most popular characters to play county cricket, remembered as much for his joking around on and off the field as for his fine bowling. In 410 matches for Essex, East took 1,019 wickets at 25.72.

Another joker was Keith Pont. A talented all-rounder who went on to have a trial as a pitcher with the New York Yankees, Pont is remembered for his antics in a match against Derbyshire. Pont was fielding on the third man boundary but was being told to jog over to fine-leg every time a single was scored. Soon fed up with the “journey”, Pont borrowed a bike from someone in the crowd and proceeded to cycle between his positions, parking the bike just outside the boundary each time he reached his destination. Proof that success can be achieved with a smile on its face!

Others from that team worth an honourable mention are right arm spinner David Ackfield, opening bat Brian Hardie, West Indian speedster Norbert Phillip and all-rounder Stuart Turner. Fletcher’s Essex went on to win six of 13 county championship titles as well as numerous one-day competitions.

Happy memories of a star-struck 18 year old watching on from the River End at Chelmsford. Forty-one years on, today’s Essex are fast becoming just as dominant in their own way.

Memory added on February 2, 2021

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