CAMERON Delport suffered pre-match nerves before his astonishing innings against Surrey.

Delport smashed 129 from only 49 balls as Essex crushed Surrey by 52 runs in their Vitality Blast battle at Chelmsford.

But the 30-year-old started the evening feeling quite anxious.

“I was a bit nervous at the start of my innings particularly after the previous night at Lord’s,” said Delport.

“I wanted to get off to a great start with Essex and this innings certainly helped.”

Delport made just two on his debut against Middlesex but he quickly to work last night.

"I went onto aggression a bit earlier than I normally would do because we only had 15 overs but the timing and hitting felt really good right from the start,” said Delport.

"When things are going right for you, that’s the time to cash in. You just watch the ball and try to clear the boundaries.

"That innings ranks high in the list of centuries I have scored, I really enjoyed it and so did the crowd."