ESSEX bowed out of the T20 Blast competition after a 19 run quarter-final defeat to the Birmingham Bears at Chelmsford.
It was a disappointing result for the Eagles who would have gone into the contest as favourites, having topped the South Group.
After having won nine from their first ten games of the competition, the defeat would be their fourth - and ultimately most important - loss in a row in the T20 format.
Former Essex player Varun Chopra came back to haunt the Eagles as he batted through the innings to reach 86 not out, with the visitors finishing on 197-2.
And despite the best efforts of skipper Ryan ten Doeschate's half century, no other Eagle's batsman was able to help push the host to the target.
Ten Doeschate won the toss and, true to form this season, he decided to bowl first.
It was a steady start from the Bears batting, with Will Porterfield (32) hitting consecutive fours off Graham Napier in the third over.
And the Irishman also pounced when David Masters strayed off line, clipping two fours down to fine leg.
Along with captain and former Essex batsman Varun Chopra, the visitors moved to 49-0 from their six powerplay overs.
Reece Topley and Ravi Bopara came into the attack and bowled tight overs, with Bopara bowling Porterfield and then Jonathon Webb (1) in the ninth over.
But Rikki Clarke (70*) joined his captain and the duo pushed the Birmingham score to past the hundred mark in the 13th over.
Chopra then got to 50 in 37 balls but required Porterfield to come back on to the pitch to act as his runner when he picked up and injury.
Clarke then smashed Topley for six over midwicket, with Chopra repeating the feat in the 16th over off Tim Phillips.
The veteran Clarke then moved on to his 50 from just 27 balls as Birmingham continued to punish the Eagles attack.
And the duo would see the Bears right through to the end of the innings, Chopra hitting monster sixes in the final over to finish on 197-2.
Jesse Ryder (20) set the tone, clipping a six over fine leg on his first ball as he and Mark Pettini (26) went along nicely.
However, after hitting another six, the New Zealander holed out after a full toss from Recordo Gordon.
The in-form Tom Westley (13) joined Pettini at the crease, with Pettini beautifully guiding a four through the covers off Oliver Hannon-Dalby.
Westley then swept Jeetan Patel for the square leg boundary, but then the introduction of Boyd Rankin changed the face of the game.
He trapped Westley in front, before cleaning up Pettini with Essex on the ropes on 65-3.
With the Eagles needing 123 from the final ten overs Bopara (24) and ten Doeschate (61*) came to the crease.
Bopara smashed two massive sixes over long-on but then also succumbed to a full-toss as he clipped the ball to Laurie Evans at square leg.
James Foster (15) entered the fray and he and the skipper samshed sixes from Ateeq Javid's bowling, with ten Doeschate also pulling Rankin over the ropes for another maximum.
Foster was caught off the midwicket boundary, but ten Doeschate tried his best to get near the total, reaching 50 off just 30 balls.
However, the Eagles required 29 from the final over and could only finish on 178 from their 20 overs.
