The Eagles opened their Royal London One-Day Cup campaign with an emphatic victory away to Glamorgan

Essex Eagles opener Varun Chopra praised his team-mates after Wednesday’s 180-run victory over Glamorgan in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

After scoring 326-7 from their 50-overs in the South Group tie, the visitors dismissed the home side for 146 in reply.

Chopra top scored with 111, but was able supported by Alastair Cook (40), Tom Westley (69) and Dan Lawrence (56).

The Eagles then produced a solid display in the field with Ravi Bopara doing most of the damage with 3-26 after impressive early work by Jamie Porter (1-44), Sam Cook (2-25) and Peter Siddle (2-27).

Essex opener Chopra said “It was the perfect start for us, we had control from ball one and overall it was a good team performance.

“It was a little tricky at the start, but once we had three good partnerships up front, it gave licence for Dan Lawrence to show his talent.

“Our bowlers then gave us a great start, and once a side loses three wickets in the power play it gets more difficult from then on.”

Glamorgan head coach Matthew Maynard added: “I was disappointed with our performance, but it’s only one game and I am expecting a much better show at Hampshire.

“They got 50 runs too many, and our bowlers bowled too short and didn’t attack the edge enough. They got off to a good start, and then smashed us in the middle. They bowled very well, made us play high risk shots, and we paid the penalty.”

Additional reporting by Edward Bevan.