Ronnie Irani firmly believes that Essex will be in the shake-up for promotion when the last round of Championship matches begin in a month's time.
The county end their campaign at Trent Bridge against Nottinghamshire, a side who lead the Second Division table, but before then they have battles against Durham, Glamorgan and Derbyshire.
"I know it's asking a lot but I'm very optimistic we'll be knocking on the promotion door at the death," said the Essex skipper ahead of tomorrow's clash against Durham at Colchester.
"We are playing some of our best cricket of the summer and an added bonus is the return of legspinner Danish Kaneria now that he is not wanted by Pakistan for the ICC Trophy competition.
"He showed what a marvellous bowler he is before he left us in June and I feel sure he will give us that cutting edge to keep us in the race for Division One. We have the quality and belief to come storming through to grab one of the top three places."
It is something of a miracle that even a super-optimist like Irani is thinking in terms of promotion after such a disastrous first half of the season.
The county failed to win any of their opening nine matches but recent triumphs over Leicestershire and Hampshire have lit the promotion touchpaper.
Kaneria arrived back in this country at the weekend after appearing in Pakistan's Asia Cup campaign, but still remains the county's leading wicket-taker in the Championship with 40 victims.
Published Tuesday August 17, 2004
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