Warwickshire v Essex
LV= Insurance County Championship
Edgbaston, Thursday 21 – Sunday 24 April
Team News:
Warwickshire: Dom Sibley, Rob Yates, Will Rhodes (c), Sam Hain, Matthew Lamb, Alex Davies, Michael Burgess (wk), Danny Briggs, Henry Brookes, Liam Norwell, Oliver Hannon-Dalby.
Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Matt Critchley, Adam Rossington, Adam Wheater (wk), Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Mark Steketee, Sam Cook.
Match Details:
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough & Neil Mallender
Match Referee: Philip Whitticase
Toss: Essex, who elected to bat
Result: Warwickshire win by 10 wickets
Scorecard: View Here
Day Four Highlights:
Day Four Reaction: Anthony McGrath
“The hour after Lunch on the first day, when we lost a lot of wickets, really put us behind the eight-ball. To make 168 on a good wicket, you are not going to win too many games from there. We fought back well but when you are facing a deficit of over 200 it’s going to be tough to save the game. We scrapped but didn’t have anyone who made the big hundreds and the big partnerships and that cost us.
“It’s a match to forget for us, really. It’s a resounding victory for Warwickshire and they well-deserved it and I don’t want to take anything away from them. Even though we played below our standard, you have got to congratulate Warwickshire on the way they played.”
Day Four Match Report:
Essex fell to a first defeat of the season after losing to Warwickshire by 10 wickets on the final day of the LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Edgbaston.
Essex resumed on the last morning on 290-8, just 73 ahead and needing something special from their last 2 wickets to stay in the game.
But they added only another 33 to be all out for 323 and leave the home side a victory target of 107 in more than two sessions. Both wickets fell to concussion substitute Craig Miles who ended with 4/85 while Simon Harmer was left stranded on 75 (156 balls, 10 fours, 1 six).
Openers Alex Davies (65, 131 balls) and Dom Sibley (41, 96) eased Warwickshire to victory with an unbroken stand of 110 in 37.4 overs.
Essex were left to digest their first defeat of the campaign and also the blow of England batter Dan Lawrence’s hamstring injury, the extent of which is not yet known. Tom Westley’s side will also reflect on some careless first innings batting as the root cause of their defeat.
Miles, who was drafted into the team as a concussion sub on Friday afternoon when Liam Norwell took a short ball on the head, proved to have a significant impact on the match. Within minutes of arriving at the ground, summoned from home, he was batting at number 11 and helped Michael Burgess add 64 for the last wicket.
Then he took 2 important wickets late on the third day and added the final two on the last morning. An inswinger trapped Mark Steketee lbw and an outswinger did for Sam Cook whose edge gave wicket-keeper Burgess his fifth catch of the innings. Harmer ran out of partners, frustratingly as he looked untroubled in the excellent batting conditions.
Chasing 107 in a minimum of 85 overs, Davies and Sibley took their time. They acquired 8 runs from the first 9 overs as Cook and Shane Snater bowled testing new ball spells, but the true pitch throttled any Essex hopes of triggering the requisite clatter.
Warwickshire eased to 50 in the 23rd over after which Davies advanced to a fluent half-century (107 balls), maintaining his proud record of having scored a half-century in every first-class match he has played at Edgbaston.
Day Three Highlights:
Day Three Reaction: Tom Westley
“It was a good effort from the batters today. Matt Critchley and Adam Rossington putting a partnership together was really important and then it was a brilliant effort in the last session from Harmy [Simon Harmer] and Shane Snater.
“One of the special character traits of Harmy is that he always finds a way to contribute. He probably hasn’t got the wickets he would have liked in this game so far but he always finds a way to make a contribution and it was a fantastic knock from him. Hopefully, Mark Steketee can now add to his 2 first-class fifties and then you never know.
“If you look at our batting in the whole game we have probably gifted them a few too many wickets but, with a lead going into the fourth day, hopefully we can put on another little partnership tomorrow, and you never know. Look at us last week against Somerset. If we have got some runs to bowl, a win is still possible.”
Day Three Match Report:
Dan Lawrence defied Warwickshire despite a hamstring injury as Essex battled to avoid defeat in a gripping LV=Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.
Trailing by 217 on the first innings, Essex closed the third day on 290-8, leading by 73, with Lawrence, who batted at 7 and with a runner, having bolstered their resistance with a valiant 44 from 105 balls.
The 24-year-old’s movement was restricted by the injury he sustained while chasing a ball in the field on the first day. But his resolve, in alliance with Simon Harmer (60 not out, 129 balls) in a 7th-wicket stand of 81 in 29 overs, kept the Essex chances alive.
On a good batting pitch, Warwickshire’s bowling was superbly led Oliver Hannon-Dalby (22-13-36-3) but they missed pace spearhead Liam Norwell, ruled out of the rest of this match by concussion after being hit on the head while batting. A scan has revealed no serious damage for Norwell who will now rest for a few days.
Essex resumed on the third morning on 0-1, under serious pressure, but applied themselves diligently to the rearguard action. Several of the batters will have been disappointed with their dismissals in the first innings, but this time they ensured that wickets had to be winkled out.
In the morning, Tom Westley, having added 10 runs from 62 minutes, fell to Will Rhodes and Alastair Cook (36, 85 balls) to Hannon-Dalby, both caught by wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.
Matt Critchley (49, 82 balls) batted attractively after Lunch until his middle-stump was uprooted by Hannon-Dalby. Adam Wheater was bowled by a Henry Brookes no ball on 6, but soon skied a good length delivery from the same bowler to mid-off.
Lawrence’s entry with a runner showed Essex’s determination to fight every inch of the way. He soon lost Adam Rossington who made a compact half-century (52, 80 balls) before nicking an attempted cut at Danny Briggs.
That was 172-6 and Essex were still in deep trouble, but Harme knuckled down assiduously alongside Lawrence. The pair batted with patience and composure until Lawrence edged concussion substitute Miles to Burgess.
Harmer and Shane Snater then added 46 in 10 overs but the latter’s punchy contribution (21, 33 balls) concluded in the day’s penultimate over when he chipped Miles to mid-wicket.
Day Two Highlights:
Day Two Reaction: Anthony McGrath
“On the first day with the bat we gave quite a few soft wickets away but then fought back really well. We were unlucky to only get two wickets last night and then today to have them 124 for five and keep the scoring rate down pretty much all day, the bowlers did a great job.
“At the end things got away from us a little bit, but that can happen. Credit to Michael Burgess, he played absolutely magnificently and very smart, and once they got in front the momentum changed a little bit. Now we have got to bat well tomorrow.
“We hope, first and foremost that Liam Norwell is well. The concussion sub rule is there because we just want everyone to be safe and I have absolutely no problem with it.
“Dan Lawrence has pulled a hamstring. We haven’t been able to get him a scan because the hospitals are very busy but hopefully we are getting him in the morning so won’t find out the severity of the injury until we get confirmation from the specialist. But he will only bat if absolutely necessary.”
Day Two Match Report:
Michael Burgess’ second successive ton lifted Warwickshire to a first innings lead of 217 over Essex in a pulsating LV=Insurance County Championship tussle at Edgbaston.
Replying to Essex’s 168, the home side made 385 with Burgess following his 178 against Surrey last week with 170 (217 balls, 20 fours, 5 sixes).
Along with Matt Lamb (71, 140 balls, 10 fours), the wicket-keeper ensured that Essex would start their second innings under serious pressure, which soon told as, given three awkward overs to bat before the close, they lost Nick Browne, to reach stumps at 0-1.
With two powerful teams going toe to toe, the cricket has been absorbing, hard-fought and bruising, with Bears paceman Liam Norwell out of the match, concussed after taking a Mark Steketee lifter on the head.
Craig Miles has replaced his former Gloucestershire team-mate for the rest of the game as a concussion substitute.
After Warwickshire resumed on the second morning on 76-2, Essex had a dream start when Dom Sibley (33, 80 balls) edged the first ball of the day from Shane Snater to wicket-keeper Adam Wheater. Snater soon struck again when Will Rhodes was well held by Simon Harmer above his head at second slip.
When Sam Hain’s obdurate 29 (107 balls) was ended by an edge to the keeper off Steketee, at 124-5 Essex scented an opportunity, but Lamb and Burgess batted positively to add 113 in 36 overs.
Lamb batted nicely, timing the ball well before a fine delivery from Sam Cook found his middle stump. The impressive Cook, who ended with 3/72, soon had Danny Briggs caught at slip before Henry Brookes chipped Steketee to mid-on and Norwell took a rising delivery from the Aussie on the head and was forced to retire hurt.
Burgess responded to the arrival of number 11 Olly Hannon-Dalby with a blitz of 4 successive fours off Steketee which took him to a superb century and his team past 300. After Simon Harmer trapped Hannon-Dalby lbw, with Norwell incapacitated, Miles went in as concussion sub.
As Burgess climbed into spectacular attack, the last wicket added 64 in 7 overs to turn the lead from handy to significant. Burgess was finally castled by Steketee who finished 4/130.
The scoreboard pressure then brought an immediate victim when Browne edged Hannon-Dalby’s seventh ball to Sam Hain at second slip, meaning Essex start Day Three on 0-1 and with a lot of batting to do.
Day One Highlights:
Day One Match Report:
Champions Warwickshire enjoyed a strong first day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Essex at Edgbaston.
Tom Westley won the toss and chose to bat on a good-looking pitch but his side were bowled out for 168, with the skipper the only standout batter, making 80.
From a relatively solid 98-2 just after Lunch, the visitors suffered an implosion of 5 wickets for 11 runs in 43 balls. Seam bowlers Olly Hannon-Dalby and Liam Norwell shared 5 wickets before Danny Briggs did a consummate spinner’s job by briskly taking out the lower order with 4/31.
Warwickshire’s batsmen were then made to work hard in reply but they reached the close on 76-2 with Dom Sibley unbeaten on 33.
Essex, unchanged from the team that beat Somerset at Taunton last week, did not hesitate to bat against a Warwickshire attack without injured England pair Olly Stone and Chris Woakes, but soon lost both openers. Nick Browne (2) edged Hannon-Dalby behind, then Alastair Cook (23) was lbw to Will Rhodes’s sixth ball.
Dan Lawrence started like a train, hitting 5 fours from his first 14 balls, then lost steam in reaching 30 from 62 and was derailed by a full-length Hannon-Dalby delivery which eluded an airy drive to hit off-stump.
That triggered a collapse as Matt Critchley nicked a slash at Hannon-Dalby and Adam Rossington lifted Norwell to cover. Simon Harmer was then bowled by Briggs without score after Adam Wheater nicked a good one from Norwell.
Shane Snater lifted Briggs for six but sent an attempted repeat into the hands of deep mid-wicket. Warwick-born Aussie Mark Steketee hung around to help Westley add 30 but then played back fatally to Briggs, who polished off the innings when Westley tried to land one in the Family Stand but was calmly taken by Matt Lamb millimetres inside the rope.
Warwickshire’s reply was given a lively launch by debutant Alex Davies who raced to 22, but Essex hit back through Sam Cook who had him edging to Harmer at second slip, before Steketee trapped Yates lbw.
The seamers bowled well and got a few past the bat in an intense and high-quality last hour but Sibley and Sam Hain survived to add an unbroken 30 in 16 overs.
Warwickshire will start Day Two on 76-2, trailing by 92 runs.
