Essex began their Twenty20 Cup with a loss against Sussex Sharks, but came back to beat Kent Spitfires and the Sharks in their two next matches. Rainy weather in the South Division resulted in two abandoned matches, meaning that five teams were challenging for two or three play-off places, and Essex were one of them, as they were third with a game to play after beating Surrey in a five-over match at Chelmsford by a solitary run. Their last match was against the Spitfires, who were yet to win in seven Twenty20 matches this season, but Kent came up trumps as they won by five runs, sending Essex into fifth place in the group and out of the quarter-finals.