ESSEX Eagles have two matches in 24 hours when they resume their Twenty20 Blast campaign tonight.

The Eagles welcome Gloucestershire to Chelmsford tonight (7pm start) before travelling down to Hove tomorrow to meet the Sussex Sharks.

Head coach Paul Grayson has named a 13-man squad for the two matches although Alastair Cook, who played in last week’s success over Surrey, is not available. However opener Mark Pettini, who missed that match because of a hip injury, does return.

Grayson was encouraged by the Eagles performance in last week’s win over Surrey at The Oval, a victory that saw them swap places with Surrey at the foot of the South Division Group “I was very pleased with the manner of the win although Surrey got a few more runs than we would have liked towards the end of their innings,” he said.

“But generally, I thought we bowled well and then produced a good run-chase. Tom Westley continued his good form in white ball cricket with his third half-century in as many innings since he came back from a broken thumb whilst Ravi Bopara had an excellent night with both the bat and ball to illustrate what a quality all-rounder he is.

“It was vital that we got a win after some disappointing results and hopefully, we can carry the momentum from that victory into these next two or three games in this format.”

The Eagles are seeking to add to that success in an attempt to join the race for a top-four place after their poor start to the campaign that has provided them with just two wins in their opening six matches.

“We haven’t given up hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals because we know that we quite capable of going on a lengthy unbeaten run as we did last year,” Grayson added.

“We will need to be at the top of our game if we are to build on last week’s win because Gloucestershire and Sussex have shown that can be dangerous opponents in this format.”

Essex squad: Ryan ten Doeschate (captain), Mark Pettini, Jesse Ryder, Tom Westley, Ravi Bopara, Kishen Velani, James Foster (wicket-keeper), Nick Browne, Greg Smith, Graham Napier, David Masters, Reece Topley, Shaun Tait.