ESSEX captain Ryan ten Doeschate believes Essex are a better side than the one that took on Sussex earlier in the season, ahead of their County Championship match today.

Head Coach Chris Silverwood’s men head to Castle Park, in Colchester, leading the way in Division Two.

But with just one promotion spot up for grabs, the four-day match is a key one for Essex with just six matches remaining.

Essex have 137 points, seven more than Worcestershire followed by Gloucestershire and Leicestershire with 129 and 126 respectively. Sussex are in sixth place with 95 points having played nine matches.

Sussex and Essex met at Hove in the competition earlier in the season in a tightly-contested contest that ended in a draw but ten Doeschate believes that his side have improved since then.

“The game with Sussex offers us a stern test,” he said. “We had a good game with them down at Hove but I feel we are a better side than we were then and we are still progressing and there is more to come from us as a team.

“I believe that 80 per cent of the time in Championship cricket, we have played well. There have been a couple of setbacks but by and large, we’ve performed well. Some individuals have had a very good season, particularly people like Tom Westley and Nick Browne with the bat. With the ball, the wickets have been shared about but Ports (Jamie Porter), Napes (Graham Napier) and Quinny (Matt Quinn) have performed really well for us at various times. One or two injuries have meant that a couple of bowlers have had a heavy work-load but overall, things have gone well for us as a team.

“We are in a good position but we need to build on that throughout the remainder of the season. In previous years at this stage, we have been chasing the top-placed clubs but now we have a different challenge ahead of us and that is to consolidate our position at the top.

“I can feel the expectation of the players and the supporters and that is obviously good but the scenario from previous years is totally different this time around. In past years the attitude at this particular time was ‘let’s have a crack at it and see how close was can get’.

“Now it’s a case of protecting the position that we have worked hard to achieve. The way we do that is to win matches, hopefully starting at Colchester.”

Silverwood has named a 13-man squad that includes former Sussex all-rounder Ashar Zaidi and teenage all-rounder Callum Taylor.

l Essex squad: ten Doeschate, Foster, Taylor, Zaidi, Browne, Napier, Masters, Quinn, Westley, Lawrence, Bopara, Mickleburgh, Porter