ESSEX start their final match of the 2012 season when they entertain Division Two title contenders Yorkshire in the LV= County Championship at The Ford County Ground starting on Tuesday.

It is the last round of matches in the competition and the White Rose county begin the match just one point behind current leaders Derbyshire while Kent are also in the mix holding in third place five points adrift of Yorkshire.

Two teams will be promoted to Division One to replace relegated Lancashire and Worcestershire and although Essex are resigned to spending the summer of 2013 in Division Two, they will have a significant part to play in determining the outcome of this year’s promotion race.

David Masters, who has been awarded a Benefit by the county in 2013, continues to be sidelined by a side muscle injury that forced him to miss the win against Hampshire and he is joined in the treatment room by Maurice Chambers.

The fast bowler suffered a quad strain during while bowling during Hampshire’s second innings and his place will be taken by Tymal Mills in an otherwise unchanged team.

This latest victory brought Essex their third success in the Championship this season and head coach Paul Grayson is ruing the imminent end to the campaign.

“The team is playing and functioning well and there is a lot of confidence around our place at the minute, it’s just a pity that we haven’t got three or four matches to go,” he said.

“We turned in a very efficient performance against Hampshire and we are playing very well as a unit at the moment. Despite missing our senior and leading bowler, we still managed to bowl Hampshire out twice to win the game and everyone in the squad stepped up to make important contributions.

“This is a big game against Yorkshire, they are chasing promotion and they are a strong side but we want to finish as high as we possibly can in the table and that’s by trying to win the game this week.

“We are already putting plans in my place for next year as to how we are going to play our cricket but if we can start next season in the same manner that we’ve finished this season, then that should give everyone a lot of confidence about having a successful time in 2013.”

Essex: T Westley, J Mickleburgh, O Shah, M Pettini, R ten Doeschate, J Foster (capt/wkt), A Wheater, GNapier, T Craddock, R Topley, T Mills.