August began with a win over Championship leaders Durham at their secondary home ground in Southend, as Essex took third place in the table and closed the gap to 22 points. Middlesex visited Southend the following day, and Essex won a closely fought game by two runs to take an eight-point lead over second-placed Middlesex with two games in hand – with 16 points to number three and six games to play. The next week-end, they suffered a 60-run loss to Gloucestershire after they were bowled out for 122, but as Middlesex also lost to Northamptonshire the next week-end, Essex went closer to the title. A midweek Championship match saw the team go down to a 120-run first innings deficit against Derbyshire in Derby, but they still won the match, sending them into second place in the Division Two table. A no-result in the National League extended their lead to ten points with four games remaining, before they declared twice in a rain-hit match with Somerset and lost by five wickets. The next day – the last Sunday in August – they won the National League win over Hampshire Hawks to take their first major trophy since winning the Natwest Trophy in 1997.