Ronnie Irani was left a disconsolate figure after Essex suffered a four-wicket defeat at the hands of Glamorgan at Chelmsford that effectively signalled the end of their Championship promotion hopes.

Mathematically, they still have the remotest chance but the Essex captain was in no mood to clutch at straws.

"We've blown it. There is no way we can go up now and we have only ourselves to blame," he said.

"To score 642 in the first innings and lose was nothing short of criminal. But we didn't hold our catches and paid the ultimate price. It's a real sickener after the way we dominated the first couple of days but in the end we let ourselves down."

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Published Monday, September 6, 2004

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