Graham Gooch's return to Chelmsford as coach last season was a triumphant one.
After a season of failure and dressing-room acrimony in 2001, Essex won promotion in both the County Championship and the Norwich Union League and reached the final of the last-ever B&H Cup.
 Essex will benefit hugely from Andy Flower's undivided attention |
With four sides seemingly well established in the First Division of the championship - Surrey, Kent, Warwickshire and Lancashire - Essex are likely to be competing with the rest to stay up.
This time, with a more united camp, they could be good enough.
Little has changed over the winter months as the club has kept faith with the players who were successful last summer.
One player missing will be pace bowler Ashley Cowan, who has undergone surgery on a persistent knee injury and has been advised not to play again until 2004.
His obvious replacement is the club's second overseas signing, Scott Brant.
He is largely unknown, totally unproven and clearly a gamble, but he was a member of the Australian under-19 training squad last year and clearly has potential.
He is a left arm pace-bowler who was born in Zimbabwe but emigrated to Australia with his family and has played only five first-class matches for Queensland, taking 11 wickets.
Andy Flower returns as the club's main overseas player and will be available for whole season having retired from international cricket.
His experience and influence in the dressing room was vital last season. He also contributed 1,048 runs at an average of 52.40.
Essex will benefit hugely from his undivided attention.
ESSEX 2003 Coach : Graham Gooch Overseas players: Andy Flower, Scott Brant Captain: Ronnie Irani |
The team have a solid batting line-up. Aftab Habib and Darren Robinson both averaged in the 40s last season and have enough experience and ability to score sufficiently heavily in division one.
The promising young giant, Will Jefferson, is a player to look out for after 783 runs at 39.15 last season - at 6ft 10ins he is hard to miss.
Having relinquished the England one-day captaincy, Nasser Hussain might improve on the one championship match he has played in each of the last two seasons but the side's talisman is Ronnie Irani.
His contribution will be vital to Essex's chances of staying up, but his statistics make interesting reading.
Irani has enjoyed two brilliant seasons in Division Two, sandwiched around one mediocre season in Division One.
Essex's main problem could be bowling sides out.
Their attack is short of star quality and it is indicative that 38-year-old John Stephenson was their most successful bowler last season. His medium-pacers accounted for 48 wickets at 22.54.
The veteran will need some help and they have also signed two players on one-year contracts - Nick Denning, a member of Berkshire's Minor Counties side, and Adrian McCoubrey, who played for Ireland in the 2001 ICC Trophy in Canada.
MMIX
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