The Middlesex members who have forced the club to hold a special general meeting next month by signing a petition expressing a lack of confidence in the committee after the team's dispiriting start to the season may have been a trifle premature. They promptly won two championship matches to move into a challenging position in the second division and last night they cruised to their second victory in 24 hours in the Twenty20 Cup.

It was not much of a spectacle for the 15,000 crowd - the great ground was either half full or half empty, depending on your point of view - because Essex batted so poorly that only Neil Dexter, signed on a month's loan from Kent, saved them from a complete rout.

Dexter made 46 off 40 balls with a six and four fours out of a feeble total of 115 for nine. Grant Flower was the only other batsman to reach double figures and there were only four more boundaries against a disciplined Middlesex attack, well led by Tim Murtagh.

Middlesex lost Andrew Strauss in the fourth over but he was soon back as runner for his captain, Ed Smith, who was dropped twice before he and Eoin Morgan made victory a formality by putting on 67 in eight overs.

Nothing had gone right for Essex from the moment that Varun Chopra was caught at cover in Murtagh's second over. Mark Pettini chipped Dirk Nannes to mid-on and James Middlebrook hoisted Shaun Udal's third ball to long-on.

Flower, reverse-sweeping, and Ryan ten Doeschate, pulling, were leg-before in successive overs from Murali Kartik, James Foster and Graham Napier perished in the same over from Murtagh and Dexter's gallant innings ended when he was caught at cover off Tyron Henderson.

Napier gave Essex a glimmer of hope by bowling Strauss off an inside edge but Middlebrook could not hold on to the two chances that Smith offered to first slip and after that the game was as good as over.

Smith, limping with what looked like a knee injury, had made 33 off 30 balls with five fours when he sliced Danish Kaneria to backward point and Morgan, the Ireland batsman, showed why he hopes to play for England one day. He had reached 47 off 36 balls with a six and four fours when he was run out in a mix-up with Dawid Malan but Middlesex still won with 19 balls to spare.

Scoreboard

Essex
*M L Pettini c Henderson b Nannes 6
V Chopra c Malan b Murtagh 8
N J Dexter c Kartik b Henderson 46
J D Middlebrook c Joyce b Udal 9
G W Flower lbw b Kartik 12
R N ten Doeschate lbw b Kartik 7
†J S Foster c Udal b Murtagh 5
G R Napier c Nannes b Murtagh 1
D D Masters c Nannes b Henderson 7
Danish Kaneria not out 7
M A Chambers not out 2
Extras (lb 4, w 1) 5

Total (9 wkts, 20 overs) 115

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-21, 3-40, 4-62, 5-74, 6-90, 7-97, 8-98, 9-111.

Bowling: Nannes 4-0-22-1; Murtagh 4-0-24-3; Henderson 4-0-26-2; Kartik 4-0-15-2; Udal 4-0-24-1.

Middlesex
A J Strauss b Napier 11
*E T Smith c Chambers b Kaneria 33
E J G Morgan run out 47
D J Malan not out 18
E C Joyce not out 1
Extras (b 1, w 3, nb 2) 6

Total (3 wkts, 16.5 overs) 116

S D Udal, †B J M Scott, T J Murtagh, T Henderson, M Kartik and D P Nannes did not bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-89, 3-109.

Bowling: Masters 2-0-12-0; Napier 3-0-17-1; Chambers 3-0-23-0; Kaneria 4-0-30-1; Ten Doeschate 3.5-0-26-0; Middlebrook 1-0-7-0.

Umpires: G I Burgess and T E Jesty.