Some excerpts:
"While many counties are reaping the rewards of outground cricket, Essex haven't been able to pull that particular lever for close to a decade. Castle Park also hosted their last List A and T20 matches away from Chelmsford in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Essex celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2026, so what better way to do so than by returning to the venue which has previously showcased the best of Doug Insole, Ken McEwan, Don Topley, Mark Waugh, Harbhajan Singh and Jesse Ryder.
"We keep discussing it and keep looking at it," club chief executive Dan Feist told The Cricketer. "The challenge we have is it's very expensive to set up outside the ground, and you're obviously then taking away the cost of (Chelmsford) still running at the same time. A lot of those outgrounds that are being used, I believe, a number of those counties get sponsorship. We constantly look at that.
...
"Colchester would be a really key one probably, especially next year, being our 150th year, to still look at. But actually, to set that up and go through would need support from someone else to help around that point."
Garon Park in Southend-on-Sea is perhaps the most realistic option available to the county. But that doesn't mean the challenges get any easier. Among them is achieving minimum standards around the players and match officials' area (PMOA) to ensure they fall in line with the ECB's anti-corruption code, a costly, necessary measure.
But the idea of matches returning to Leyton, Essex's main HQ until 1933, or Valentine's Park in Ilford, where they last played in 2002, is fanciful at best.
"East London would be great," Feist added, "but there just isn't the ground at the moment that is suitable without the work.
"It would be very romantic for us to go back to Leyton and Ilford, but that wouldn't mean quite a bit of work to get on to a level to be able to host. It's certainly something we keep an eye on and with the number of games being played on the square.
"Is there a chance to go back? It's about looking at the whole picture as a key part. It's lovely from a romantic point of view, to say, yes, we're going to go back to Castle Park, or to Garon, and Valentine's, but when you look at the whole picture around it, it becomes quite a sizeable task to do."
