BLUE is the colour.Essex will be wearing blue shirts next season instead of the predominantly yellow and red jerseys preferred since the inception of coloured clothing.

BLUE is the colour.

Essex will be wearing blue shirts next season instead of the predominantly yellow and red jerseys preferred since the inception of coloured clothing.

Essex Eagles will don the shirts in the ECB One-Day Trophy and NatWest Pro40 competitions.

Sport@Essex shop owner Danny Greaves told the Essex CCC website that his dad Jimmy, the England football legend, had a part to play in deciding the colour of the new shirts.

Greaves said: “We went for blue because my dad likes it and, as an ex-Chelsea player, he wanted both the champions of the Premiership in football and the NatWest Pro40 in cricket to wear the same colour.

“In addition, when I spoke to people within the club they told me that blue, red and yellow have historically been the Essex colours so it was time to give blue an opportunity!”

Essex's new one-day shirt is now available from the shop at The Ford County Ground in Chelmsford. Telephone 01245 254020 or e-mail info@sportatessex.com.