TEAM NEWS
Essex: Paul Walter, Dean Elgar, Luc Benkenstein, Charlie Allison, Matt Critchley, Michael Pepper (WK), Simon Harmer, Shane Snater, Zaman Akhter, Sam Cook (C), Jamie Porter.
Warwickshire: Rob Yates, Alex Davies (WK), Dan Mousley, Sam Hain, Beau Webster, Ed Barnard (C), Zen Malik, Jordan Thompson, Keith Baker, Ethan Bamber, Nathan Gilchrist.
MATCH DETAILS
Umpires: Ben Debenham & Richard Kettleborough
Match Referee: Dean Cosker
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to bowl
Result: Warwickshire Won by 41 runs
DAY FOUR HIGHLIGHTS
DAY FOUR REPORT
Keith Barker marked his return to Warwickshire with a match-winning wicket-haul as Essex were defeated by 41 runs in a gripping Rothesay County Championship Division One match at Edgbaston,
Chasing 206 to win, Essex were bowled out for 164 after a top order implosion left them 21 for four. Luc Benkenstein made a career-best 39 (93 balls) and debutant Zaman Akhter (35, 68) and Simon Harmer (32, 57) added 51 for the ninth wicket to set up a tense finish. But Warwickshire held their nerve as Keith Barker, playing his first championship game for Warwickshire for eight years, took four for 29 and Ethan Bamber added two wickets to his three in the first innings to take his tally to 14 in the first three games of the season,
An excellent match for the spectators, played on a good cricket wicket, brought Warwickshire their first win of the season while Essex will face Surrey at The Oval next week needing to hit back after successive defeats.
Essex resumed on the final morning on 11 without loss and the fourth instalment of this fascinating match had a spectacular start as Barker took three wickets in his first over. Dean Elgar fell lbw, offering no stroke to one which would have hit middle. Two balls later, Sam Cook chipped to cover and three balls after that, Charlie Allison was bowled by one that kept low.
If there was an element of self-destruction to two of those dismissals, it resurfaced three overs later when Matt Critchley lifted Bamber to cover. Essex were 21 for four and it could have got even worse for them when Benkenstein, still to score, watched the ball roll from a defensive shot against the stumps without dislodging a bail.
It was 58 for five when Paul Walter (eight from 45 balls) lifted Ed Barnard, who began with six successive maidens, to mid-off. Benkenstein and Michael Pepper added 22 from 16 overs up to lunch but the dogged sixth-wicket pair fell in the first two overs after the interval. Pepper edged Barker to first slip and Benkenstein’s off-stump was trimmed by a lovely ball from Bamber.
Harmer and Shane Snater added 30 to bring the target within 100 before Snater edged an outswinger from Jordan Thompson to wicketkeeper Alex Davies to leave his side 112 for eight. This terrific, fluctuating match was not over yet.
Harmer batted with composure and skill for the second time in the match and Akhter settled alongside him. When the latter struck five fours in two overs from Bamber and Nathan Gilchrist, taking the runs required below 50, that the home fans started to worry.
Their worries receded when Harmer edged Beau Webster to slip where Rob Yates took an excellent low catch under pressure. That left Akhter and Jamie Porter with 43 to find and they collected just one before the former ramped Webster and was brilliantly caught by Sam Hain running round from fine leg.
DAY THREE HIGHLIGHTS
DAY THREE REPORT
A fascinating final day awaits in the Rothesay County Championship at Edgbaston where Essex will resume on 11 without loss, chasing a target of 206 to beat Warwickshire.
On the third day on this rain-affected game, Essex took a slender lead of 15 when they extended their first innings to 205 thanks to Simon Harmer’s 48 (91 balls). Nathan Gilchrist took four for 40, his best figures for Warwickshire, and Ethan Bamber three for 44.
Warwickshire then made 220 second time round as Beau Webster unfurled a majestic 91 (123). Sam Cook took five for 58 and Shane Snater three for 15 but a tenth-wicket stand of 32 between Gilchrist and Ethan Bamber evened a low-scoring contest right up
Essex are slight favourites to win, though they have plenty to do on a pitch offering some assistance to seamers. It is an engrossing contest which supports the argument that cricket is most entertaining when conditions offer the bowlers some (but not too much) assistance.
Essex resumed on the third morning on 110 for three, just 80 behind, but were soon hit by a burst of three for eight in 16 balls from Gilchrist. The overnight batters were removed when Charlie Allison 44 (94) fell lbw and nightwatcher Cook, having resisted for 53 minutes, was caught high at second slip by Rob Yates.
Michael Pepper then fell second ball when he couldn’t resist a half-volley and Beau Webster took a smart low catch at cover. If Pepper contributed to his own downfall, so did Matt Critchley 18 balls later when he lashed a wide ball from Bamber to point.
Harmer knuckled down defiantly but Ed Barnard defeated Shane Snater’s leg-side swipe to win an lbw decision. When Keith Barker disturbed debutant Zaman Akhter’s off-stump, Essex were still four behind with the last pair together. Harmer twice lifted Barnard into the Hollies Stand to take Essex in front and past 200, but then played on to Gilchrist with the lead just 15.
Warwickshire’s second innings reached 14 without loss but they then lost three wickets in 22 balls without adding a run. Jamie Porter inflicted the damage in the first innings. This time it was Cook as Alex Davies and Sam Hain edged to second slip either side of Dan Mousley driving to cover.
At 14 for three, Webster settled into an innings of the highest quality but support was fleeting as Essex kept breaking through again just as partnerships developed. Stands of 44, 36 and 50 respectively with the Aussie ended when Yates lifted Snater to cover, Barnard edged the same bowler into the cordon and Zen Malik plonked Porter straight into the hands of deep square leg.
Harmer chipped in with the wicket of Jordan Thompson, caught at slip. When Cook completed his 15th first-class five-for when Barker edged behind, it was 188 for nine but Bamber (19 not out) and Gilchrist 17 eked out a potentially invaluable 32 from 48 balls before Snater bowled the latter.
Faced with an awkward four overs to bat, Essex survived unscathed with acting captain Cook completing his excellent day with another successful mission as nightwatcher.
Essex closed the second day on 110 for three in reply to the home side’s 190. Warwickshire had been lifted from their overnight 113 for seven to 190 all out by Hain’s unbeaten 88 (179 balls). Jamie Porter took four for 59, supported by two wickets each for Sam Cook, Shane Snater and Zaman Akhter.
Essex then dipped to 19 for two in reply but Paul Walter (46 from 97 balls) and Charlie Allison (40 not out, 85) batted with great care and concentration to add 84 from 23 overs before Walter fell five overs before the close.
Warwickshire resumed on the second morning badly in need of late-order ballast and Hain and Keith Barker added 31 before the latter clipped Akhter to mid-wicket. Ethan Bamber’s fatal edge off Snater in the next over left the home side on 145 for nine but Hain’s highly-skilled innings then found another dimension.
He lifted Akhter for sixes over mid-wicket and long off while cleverly shielding number 11 Nathan Gilchrist from the strike. The tenth wicket added 45, the biggest partnership of the innings, and Hain was 12 short of a richly-deserved century when Gilchrist’s off-stump was struck by a fine ball from Cook,
Essex’s reply soon hit turbulence when Dean Elgar edged Bamber to second slip and Luc Benkenstein nicked behind to supply Barker with his 360th first-class wicket for Warwickshire and his first since he bowled Joe Denly at Edgbaston on 26 September 2018. Walter and Allison dug in impressively against some testing seam bowling but, after a long rain-break, they were faced with an awkward late ten overs during which Walter leading-edged Bamber to point.
Despite the loss of 81 overs to the weather on the first two days, this match has advanced far enough to retain the potential, weather permitting, to deliver a fascinating contest on the last two.
DAY ONE REACTION
Porter blasted out the host's top three with the new ball and ended the day with four for 36 as Warwickshire limped to 113 for seven before rain wiped out the last session.
Sam Hain defied with skill and sound judgment for an unbeaten 44 from 93 balls but Porter, well supported by three other seamers who all took a wicket, provided Essex with the strong day they needed to bounce back from last week's ten-wicket defeat to Somerset.
It was a good toss for Essex to win as they chose to bowl under heavy cloud cover, likely to be the only helpful bowling conditions in the match as Edgbaston pitches tend to get better for batting the longer a game goes.
Porter made the most of the conditions in an aggressive and skilful opening spell of 7-1-19-3, all his wickets coming from potent deliveries which left the batter blameless. Alex Davies fell first ball when he nicked a perfectly-shaped outswinger to wicketkeeper Michael Pepper, Rob Yates edged a similar ball to third slip and Dan Mousley was lbw to a ferocious in-ducker.
Beau Webster plumped for a policy of counter-attack but, after inside-edging a fortuitous four, he charged again and missed at Shane Snater. Zaman Akhter, making his Essex debut, added the wicket of Ed Barnard with a big inswinger that won an interesting lbw decision.
Warwickshire were grateful for the resolve and watchfulness of Hain but he lost two more partners quickly after lunch. Porter returned to trap Zen Mailk lbw and Jordan Thompson was spectacularly caught at third slip by a diving Paul Walter off Sam Cook. Rain then arrived so the rest followed Thompson into the pavilion before another ball could be bowled.
Warwickshire have made three changes from the team that was beaten by Sussex at Hove last week with Malik, Keith Barker and Nathan Gilchrist replacing Kai Smith, Michael Booth and Chris Woakes. For Essex, former Gloucestershire seamer Akhter has replaced Wiaan Mulder, who has returned to South Africa for personal reasons. Tom Westley failed a fitness test on his damaged finger so must wait a little longer to find the 17 runs he needs to become the 21st Essex player to reach to score 13,000 in first-class cricket.
