Description Available in: Essex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, whose team colours are all-blue. Founded in 1876, the club had minor county status until 1894 when it was promoted to first-class status pending its entry into the County Championship in 1895. Essex is classified as an unofficial first-class team by substantial sources in 1894; classified as an official first-class team from 1895 by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the County Championship clubs; classified as a List A team since the beginning of limited overs cricket in 1963; and classified as a senior Twenty20 team since 2003.
The club plays most of its home games at the County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford. It also plays some games at Lower Castle Park in Colchester. The club has formerly used other venues throughout the county including Ilford, Leyton Cricket Ground, Romford, Billericay, and Garon Park and Southchurch Park, both in Southend.