Essex take on Middlesex at Lord's today in the County Championship buoyed by their emphatic 268-run success over Nottinghamshire at the weekend.

Fast bowler Scott Brant is eagerly looking forward to the match.

The Zimbabwe-born left-armer who is now qualified to play for Australia having taken up residency there, admitted that stepping out at cricket's headquarters will be something special.

"It's a dream to go to Lord's and play," the 20-year-old said.

"The place is steeped in history and it's the ambition of every player to take part in a game there."

Brant was instrumental in the amazing sequence of events that saw Nottinghamshire dismissed for 79 at Trent Bridge having at one stage been 19-9 as he returned career-best figures of 6-45.

"There was nothing wrong with the pitch but the ball did swing around," he reflected.

"It was important to get it in the right areas and it was a very enjoyable place to bowl. I thought it was a good game of cricket."

Brant admitted that despite his best ever haul, there was a tinge of disappointment that the last wicket Nottinghamshire pair managed to avoid the follow-on with a 60-run partnership.

But even when Notts were on 19-9 they were some way ahead of the lowest scoring game in Brant's career.

"It was when I was playing for Hellenic Primary School in Harare," he said.

"We bowled out our opponents Chipenbere for three and thought the game was won but then we got bowled out for two, so you never predict anything about cricket."

Essex are likely to retain the same 11 that did duty at Trent Bridge to earn their first Championship win of the season.

That means 18-year-old all-rounder Ravinder Bopara retains his place in the side, although Ronnie Irani is once again ruled out with his continuing right knee problem.

Published Wednesday, June 4, 2003

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