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Essex head to Edgbaston on Saturday to take their place among an all-South Group quartet of teams at Vitality Blast Finals Day.

When the Eagles step onto the field to begin their clash with Hampshire Hawks in the first semi-final of the day, it will mark the fifth time they have played on the shortest-format competition’s showpiece day.

In honour of this weekend’s latest Edgbaston appearance, this is a look below the surface at some of the statistics and numbers that have driven those four previous trips to Finals Day.

798 off the bat

In four appearances at Finals Day, and having played five matches across those days, the Eagles have scored a total of 798 runs.

Having batted out their full 20 overs in all five games, those runs have come at a rate of just under eight an over, with an average innings total of 159.

Essex’s highest innings score at Finals Day came in 2013, with a total of 168-5 in a semi-final against Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

Meanwhile, the Eagles went on to prove that it’s not always necessary to hit a giant score to win a match, as their lowest total of 148-6 actually came in securing glory in the 2019 final against Worcestershire Rapids.

Pettini leads the way

Of those 798, Mark Pettini – who played at Finals Day on three occasions for Essex – has scored 138 of them, making him the Eagles’ top scorer on the occasion.

He hit consecutive half-centuries on Essex’s first two outings to Finals Day, notching 57 off 32 against Leicestershire Foxes in 2006, and 54 off 47 in 2008 against Kent Spitfires.

Pettini then made 27 from 23 in that Eagles high score against Northamptonshire in 2013, and a decade on, will now again travel to Edgbaston as part of Anthony McGrath’s coaching staff.

Second to the opener in the Essex run-scoring charts on Finals Day is Ravi Bopara, with 111, while third-placed Tom Westley will be looking to add to the 75 he hit across two games in 2019.

33 with the ball

Meanwhile, the Eagles have taken 33 collective wickets across their five Finals Day matches, with their top two performances and more than half of those scalps, unsurprisingly, having come in the 2019 victory.

Essex dismissed Derbyshire Falcons for 126 in the semi-final four years ago, the first time they had bowled a side out on Finals Day, before taking nine Worcestershire wickets in the final.

All those 33 victims are unique, with no man ever having been dismissed more than once by Essex across the four Finals Day appearances, though quirkily, that could change on Saturday.

Should Ross Whiteley turn out for Hampshire in the semi-final and be out, he would become the first man to fall twice to Essex on the showpiece day, having been removed by Cameron Delport when playing for Worcestershire.

Harmer’s magnificent seven

Simon Harmer has often been invaluable to Essex since joining in 2017, and his worth in T20 is displayed by the fact he is the Eagles’ leading wicket-taker on Finals Day, despite only playing on the occasion once.

He led from the front in 2019, snaring 4/19 in the semi-final against Derbyshire, and at one point was on a hat-trick after the back-to-back wickets of Leus du Plooy and Anuj Dal.

The South African then picked up three more scalps in an even more miserly return of 3/16 against Worcestershire in the final to complete figures across the day of 7/35 from eight overs.

Ravi Bopara is again second after his appearance in the same place in the run-scoring stakes, with five dismissals, while three men – Graham Napier, Dan Lawrence, and Aron Nijjar – are in joint third, with three wickets each.

29 Eagles have dared

Across Essex’s four appearances at Finals Day, and the five matches played within those, the Eagles have been represented by 29 different players.

Of those 29 men, 13 of them have played in just one game on Finals Day, while a further ten have appeared across two games on the showpiece.

The remaining six are part of a select group to have played at least three games for Essex on Finals Day, and it is Ravi Bopara and Ryan ten Doeschate who lead the way, having played in all five Eagles matches on the occasion.

Four others – James Foster, Graham Napier, Mark Pettini, and Tim Phillips – have all appeared three times, and there is the potential for six current players to equal them, should they turn out against Hampshire.

One victorious day

Eagles fans will need absolutely no reminder of what happened at Edgbaston on 21 September 2019, with the events of the day etched into Essex history, but that hardly means they cannot be talked about repeatedly.

Having seen off semi-final opponents Derbyshire by a comfortable margin of 34 runs thanks to Cameron Delport’s 55 and spin twins Simon Harmer and Aron Nijjar’s combined figures of 7/45, Worcestershire lay in wait.

Chasing 146 for victory in that final, Anthony McGrath’s men needed 17 from the final eight balls as Harmer entered the fray, and the skipper struck his first ball viciously straight for four.

That set up his compatriot Wayne Parnell to defend 12 from the last over, which became a nerve-jangling six off two with the skipper on strike.

The penultimate ball took a big chunk out of what was left as Harmer hammered it for another straight four, prior to a square drive for another boundary that brought the Vitality Blast title back to Chelmsford.

Lancashire v Essex

LV= Insurance County Championship

Stanley Park, Blackpool Cricket Club

Team News:

Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Matt Critchley, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer, Will Buttleman (wk), Doug Bracewell, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Lancashire: Keaton Jennings (c), Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon, Dane Vilas, Rob Jones, Phil Salt (wk), Colin de Grandhome, Tom Hartley, Jake Blatherwick, Tom Bailey, Will Williams.

Match Details:

Umpires: Peter Hartley and Steve O’Shauhnessy
Match Referee: Will Smith
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Essex won by 43 runs

Scorecard: View Here

Day Four Highlights:

Day Four Reaction: Tom Westley

“It’s an unbelievable win – because the points for the draw have been taken away we did expect them to keep going for the win for a long time and testament to them they did – even when (Tom) Bailey came out they were looking to hit boundaries. Credit to them for wanting to force the win.

“It was an outstanding team performance from Essex and it puts us in a nice position with five games to go.

“We’ve been blessed for a number of years now that Simon Harmer will take six or seven wicket in the fourth innings but he didn’t take one today and that’s the way it goes sometimes so for the other lads to stick their hands up and chip in with wickets is outstanding.

“Lancashire are a very good team and we know how dangerous they are – we’ve had some great matches with them in recent times so it’s a huge win for the Club.”

Day Four Report:

A battling century from Lancashire’s Rob Jones took his side to within 47 runs off pulling off a record-breaking run chase against victors Essex on a thrilling final day of this LV= Insurance County Championship Division One clash at Blackpool.

An overnight declaration from the visitors on 292 for eight left Lancashire requiring an unlikely 430 runs to win – their highest ever to win a county game and a considerable improvement on their first innings total of just 145.

As it was, Jones’ brilliant 111 along with half-centuries from Luke Wells and Josh Bohannon, made for an enthralling contest in which all results were possible going into the last hour and which ended with Essex fielders crowded around the bat as Lancashire finally succumbed with 11 balls to go when a heartbroken Jones edged Doug Bracewell to Dan Lawrence.

In a game where opening batters had struggled, Keaton Jennings and Wells got Lancashire off to an encouraging start with Wells quickly shrugging off the burden of being on a pair with an attacking knock that had the Lancashire support dreaming of the Red Rose’s biggest ever fourth innings chase.

Taking the attack to Simon Harmer, Wells swept the South African for six, and laid down a template for what became a near perfect morning session for the hosts in which Jennings was the only wicket to fall, caught spectacularly one-handed by wicketkeeper William Buttleman off Bracewell for 30.

At lunch and with excitement growing around this beautiful ground, the hosts were 140 for one with Wells going nicely on 69 not out and Bohannon unbeaten on 32.

Record books were checked and we began again after lunch as the game titled back towards Essex with Wells only able to add six more runs before he reverse swept Matt Critchley into the hands of a diving Paul Walter.

Two down quickly became three down with the horribly out of form Dane Vilas completing a pair in the match when he walked all around a Critchley wrong ‘un to give the Lancashire-born all-rounder two in the over and leave the home side 155 for three.

Jones joined Bohannon in the middle for what felt like a pivotal partnership and so it proved as the pair not only staged a recovery but also upped the run rate and took the attack to Essex before the latter was caught pulling by Porter off Walter for a well-made 68 that included three sixes.

The incoming Phil Salt took over as he and Jones continued the run-chase with a degree of calm urgency that belied the situation. Jones, so often a bit-part player in Lancashire’s four day side, rose to the occasion, playing the situation perfectly as the fifth wicket pair constructed a crucial partnership of 85.

Critchley was beginning to make a difference bowling round the wicket into the rough from the North End and Salt became his third victim when he top-edged to Sam Cook on the fine leg boundary for 41 to make it 279 for five.

Colin de Grandhomme came and went for just nine after hooking Walter to Porter while Tom Hartley hung around long enough to hit 17 and further raise hopes of improbable victory before he edged Cook to Buttleman.

While Jones remained so did the chance of a win but with Jack Blatherwick and Tom Bailey adding just nine runs between them the situation suddenly worsened especially when the latter fell to a brilliant diving catch in the deep by Harmer off Bracewell with 54 runs still needed and just one wicket required for an Essex win.

For the first time throughout the day Lancashire finally dug in as Jones and a steadfast Will Williams battled to see out the remaining 44 balls with the final stand ending in the penultimate over as Essex clinched a last-gasp 46 run victory through Bracewell who ended with three for 50.

Day Three Highlights:

Day Three Report:

A century for Dan Lawrence and a disastrous morning session for the hosts in which Lancashire lost eight wickets for 45 runs put Essex in complete control at the end of the third day of this LV=Insurance County Championship Division One game at Blackpool.

Resuming on 37 for one after a 45 minute delay for rain and replying to Essex’s first innings total of 282, the Red Rose’s hopes of batting all day and building a lead were scuppered by Sam Cook and Paul Walter who took four for 42 and three for 20 respectively as Lancashire crumbled to 145 all out.

Will Williams’ removal of both Essex openers, including Sir Alistair Cook, without scoring, did give Lancashire a glimmer of hope as the southern outfit began their second innings, but the visitors rallied superbly and brutally to close on 292 for eight with a lead of 429 runs going into the final day thanks to a brilliant century from Lawrence who was out to the last ball of the day for 135 having scored eight fours and nine sixes.

It was Cook who sparked the collapse when he induced Lancashire skipper Keaton Jennings to edge to Matt Critchley for 29 and 76 for two quickly became 76 for three when Dane Vilas failed to make ground running for a quick single and was out without scoring.

Rob Jones wafted at a wide one from Doug Bracewell before the introduction of the giant Walter brought the key wicket of Josh Bohannon who was pouched by a well-placed Simon Harmer at leg slip for 44.

There was still time just before lunch to see the back of Colin de Grandhomme, trapped in front second ball by Cook, Tom Hartley, well caught at slip by Sir Alistair Cook first ball, and Jack Blatherwick, lbw to Walter, again without scoring.

Suddenly Lancashire had lost four wickets for two runs and any thought of a lead or even parity had gone out the window with Essex pondering an unlikely following on invitation as the players departed for the interval.

While the carnage occurred at the other end Phil Salt was acquitting himself well and together with Tom Bailey, the wicketkeeper, who finished unbeaten on 35, managed to get Lancashire beyond the follow on target but only just as Cook took the wickets of Will Williams and Bailey to dismiss the hosts for 145.

A lead of 137 ensured Essex were in total command but a degree of jeopardy was introduced when first Nick Browne and then Sir Alistair Cook departed without scoring, quickly followed by skipper Tom Westley who became Williams’ second wicket of the innings as the visitors were reduced to 27 for three.

Quick runs were needed and Lawrence and Critchley obliged as the fourth wicket pair put on 95 runs before the latter was bowled sweeping by Hartley for 40.

Walter swung the bat for his 24 before he fell to Bailey with Harmer becoming the seamer’s third wicket when he was brilliantly caught one-handed by Jennings for four.

Hartley picked up another with William Buttleman lbw for four and it was left to Bracewell, who hit a very effective half-century of his own off just 29 balls, to safely usher Lawrence to his third century of the season which the England hopeful brought up with a towering six over long on.

With the brakes off and a demoralised Lancashire on the metaphorical canvas, Lawrence proceeded to hit four more sixes, taking Essex to an unassailable lead while sending a timely message to the England selectors.

Day Two Highlights:

Day Two Report:

Tom Westley’s 28th first-class century and his record-breaking century partnership with Paul Walter rescued Essex from a poor start on the second day of this LV= Insurance County Championship encounter at Blackpool before a late fight back by Lancashire saw the visitors bowled out for 282.

Skipper Westley made 135, his third century of the season, to put Essex in a strong position at tea but Tom Bailey, with six for 59, led a good reply by the hosts who closed on 37 for one to be behind by 245 runs.

A day played mainly in glorious sunshine, in sharp contrast to the wet conditions twenty-fours earlier, began with Lancashire enjoying the better of the opening hour as Essex, resuming on 12 for one, lost three wickets for 35 runs.<

Two fine opening spells from Bailey and Will Williams had the visitors in early trouble, starting when Alastair Cook was caught for 11 edging Williams to Keaton Jennings at first slip.

Bailey then had Dan Lawrence dropped at slip, but caught for one from the following delivery in bizarre circumstances. The Essex batter’s fierce drive flew straight back at the bowler who inadvertently deflected the ball to Bohannon at mid-off.

Having made 13, Matt Critchley became the third wicket of the day to fall, when he edged a beautiful seaming delivery from Williams to wicketkeeper Phil Salt to put the hosts firmly on top.

Westley and Walter slowly but surely turned the innings around either side of lunch with Walter hammering two sixes off left arm spinner Hartley in the last over before the interval.

The pair dominated the afternoon, Westley reaching his fifty with a sweetly timed on drive for four just after the resumption, and he produced some stylish shots across the session to reach his third century of the season from 166 balls, with his 15th four also breaking the Essex fifth wicket record partnership of 147 against Lancashire – set coincidentally at Blackpool – by Sonny Avery and Tom Pearce in 1948.

The only blemish of a fine innings came when Westley was on 78, with Hartley unable to cling to a sharp chance at midwicket off Colin de Grandhomme.

Walter went to his 80-ball half century in style, pulling Jack Blatherwick over midwicket for his third six. His crisp striking of the ball was a feature of his controlled, slightly more aggressive approach that had brought the left-hander 76 runs before he was spectacularly caught one-handed by Blatherwick at midwicket off de Grandhomme just before tea with Essex 210 for five.

Essex continued to prosper after the break as Simon Harmer (24) lent good support to Westley with 65 runs added for the sixth wicket before Lancashire hit back with the second new ball, taking the last five wickets for seven runs inside seven overs.

Westley’s excellent innings came to an end after five and a half hours at the crease when he edged Williams to Rob Jones at second slip and Bailey then ran through the tail, taking the remaining four wickets in 20 balls.

Lancashire lost Luke Wells for a duck, playing on against Jamie Porter but Jennings (13 not out) and Josh Bohannon (20 not out) survived to reach stumps safely.

Day One Highlights:

Day One Report:

The first day of Lancashire’s match with second-placed Essex in the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Blackpool was badly affected by the weather with just 28 balls possible in which time Essex made 12 for one.

Both teams came into the fixture with enforced changes, Essex opener Feroze Khushi having sustained a sore hand last week in the Vitality Blast while Lancashire rested Daryl Mitchell to help the overseas all-rounder manage a groin issue.

The day was split into two short tranches of play that book-ended this unusual day.

After a misleadingly sunny morning, Essex won the toss and elected to bat under increasingly gloomy skies, a mood probably shared by Nick Browne after he edged the fourth delivery of the day from Tom Bailey to Colin de Grandhomme at third slip without a run on the board.

In the 25 balls bowled in the morning there was time for Alastair Cook to punch a four off the back foot from Will Williams and Essex skipper Tom Westley to glance Bailey to fine leg for four off the first ball of the fifth over.

At that point the rain arrived to take the players from the field for more than six hours, and it was a testament to the Blackpool club that their outfield, re-laid three years ago, coped admirably with the deluge that fell during the day.

That allowed umpires Peter Hartley and Steve O’Shaughnessy to restart play at 5.30pm following several inspections, but only three balls had been bowled in Bailey’s interrupted over before bad light halted play once again, with more rain minutes later ending a very frustrating day.

Cook (4 not out) and Westley (8 not out) will resume the Essex first innings tomorrow.

Lancashire v Essex

LV= Insurance County Championship

Stanley Park, Blackpool Cricket Club

Team News:

Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Matt Critchley, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer, Will Buttleman (wk), Doug Bracewell, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Lancashire: Keaton Jennings (c), Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon, Dane Vilas, Rob Jones, Phil Salt (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Hartley, Jake Blatherwick, Tom Bailey, Will Williams.

Match Details:

Umpires: Peter Hartley and Steve O’Shaughnessy
Match Referee: Will Smith
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Essex won by 43 runs

Scorecard: View Here

Day Four Highlights:

Day Four Reaction: Tom Westley

“It’s an unbelievable win – because the points for the draw have been taken away we did expect them to keep going for the win for a long time and testament to them they did – even when [Tom] Bailey came out they were looking to hit boundaries. Credit to them for wanting to force the win.

“It was an outstanding team performance from Essex and it puts us in a nice position with five games to go.

“We’ve been blessed for a number of years now that Simon Harmer will take six or seven wicket in the fourth innings but he didn’t take one today and that’s the way it goes sometimes so for the other lads to stick their hands up and chip in with wickets is outstanding.

“Lancashire are a very good team and we know how dangerous they are – we’ve had some great matches with them in recent times so it’s a huge win for the Club.”

Day Four Report:

A battling century from Lancashire’s Rob Jones took his side to within 47 runs off pulling off a record-breaking run chase against victors Essex on a thrilling final day of this LV= Insurance County Championship Division One clash at Blackpool.

An overnight declaration from the visitors on 292 for eight left Lancashire requiring an unlikely 430 runs to win – their highest ever to win a county game and a considerable improvement on their first innings total of just 145.

As it was, Jones’ brilliant 111 along with half-centuries from Luke Wells and Josh Bohannon, made for an enthralling contest in which all results were possible going into the last hour and which ended with Essex fielders crowded around the bat as Lancashire finally succumbed with 11 balls to go when a heartbroken Jones edged Doug Bracewell to Dan Lawrence.

In a game where opening batters had struggled, Keaton Jennings and Wells got Lancashire off to an encouraging start with Wells quickly shrugging off the burden of being on a pair with an attacking knock that had the Lancashire support dreaming of the Red Rose’s biggest ever fourth innings chase.

Taking the attack to Simon Harmer, Wells swept the South African for six, and laid down a template for what became a near perfect morning session for the hosts in which Jennings was the only wicket to fall, caught spectacularly one-handed by wicketkeeper William Buttleman off Bracewell for 30.

At lunch and with excitement growing around this beautiful ground, the hosts were 140 for one with Wells going nicely on 69 not out and Bohannon unbeaten on 32.

Record books were checked and we began again after lunch as the game titled back towards Essex with Wells only able to add six more runs before he reverse swept Matt Critchley into the hands of a diving Paul Walter.

Two down quickly became three down with the horribly out of form Dane Vilas completing a pair in the match when he walked all around a Critchley wrong ‘un to give the Lancashire-born all-rounder two in the over and leave the home side 155 for three.

Jones joined Bohannon in the middle for what felt like a pivotal partnership and so it proved as the pair not only staged a recovery but also upped the run rate and took the attack to Essex before the latter was caught pulling by Porter off Walter for a well-made 68 that included three sixes.

The incoming Phil Salt took over as he and Jones continued the run-chase with a degree of calm urgency that belied the situation. Jones, so often a bit-part player in Lancashire’s four day side, rose to the occasion, playing the situation perfectly as the fifth wicket pair constructed a crucial partnership of 85.

Critchley was beginning to make a difference bowling round the wicket into the rough from the North End and Salt became his third victim when he top-edged to Sam Cook on the fine leg boundary for 41 to make it 279 for five.

Colin de Grandhomme came and went for just nine after hooking Walter to Porter while Tom Hartley hung around long enough to hit 17 and further raise hopes of improbable victory before he edged Cook to Buttleman.

While Jones remained so did the chance of a win but with Jack Blatherwick and Tom Bailey adding just nine runs between them the situation suddenly worsened especially when the latter fell to a brilliant diving catch in the deep by Harmer off Bracewell with 54 runs still needed and just one wicket required for an Essex win.

For the first time throughout the day Lancashire finally dug in as Jones and a steadfast Will Williams battled to see out the remaining 44 balls with the final stand ending in the penultimate over as Essex clinched a last-gasp 46 run victory through Bracewell who ended with three for 50.

Day Three Highlights:

Day Three Report:

A century for Dan Lawrence and a disastrous morning session for the hosts in which Lancashire lost eight wickets for 45 runs put Essex in complete control at the end of the third day of this LV=Insurance County Championship Division One game at Blackpool.

Resuming on 37 for one after a 45 minute delay for rain and replying to Essex’s first innings total of 282, the Red Rose’s hopes of batting all day and building a lead were scuppered by Sam Cook and Paul Walter who took four for 42 and three for 20 respectively as Lancashire crumbled to 145 all out.

Will Williams’ removal of both Essex openers, including Sir Alistair Cook, without scoring, did give Lancashire a glimmer of hope as the southern outfit began their second innings, but the visitors rallied superbly and brutally to close on 292 for eight with a lead of 429 runs going into the final day thanks to a brilliant century from Lawrence who was out to the last ball of the day for 135 having scored eight fours and nine sixes.

It was Cook who sparked the collapse when he induced Lancashire skipper Keaton Jennings to edge to Matt Critchley for 29 and 76 for two quickly became 76 for three when Dane Vilas failed to make ground running for a quick single and was out without scoring.

Rob Jones wafted at a wide one from Doug Bracewell before the introduction of the giant Walter brought the key wicket of Josh Bohannon who was pouched by a well-placed Simon Harmer at leg slip for 44.

There was still time just before lunch to see the back of Colin de Grandhomme, trapped in front second ball by Cook, Tom Hartley, well caught at slip by Sir Alistair Cook first ball, and Jack Blatherwick, lbw to Walter, again without scoring.

Suddenly Lancashire had lost four wickets for two runs and any thought of a lead or even parity had gone out the window with Essex pondering an unlikely following on invitation as the players departed for the interval.

While the carnage occurred at the other end Phil Salt was acquitting himself well and together with Tom Bailey, the wicketkeeper, who finished unbeaten on 35, managed to get Lancashire beyond the follow on target but only just as Cook took the wickets of Will Williams and Bailey to dismiss the hosts for 145.

A lead of 137 ensured Essex were in total command but a degree of jeopardy was introduced when first Nick Browne and then Sir Alistair Cook departed without scoring, quickly followed by skipper Tom Westley who became Williams’ second wicket of the innings as the visitors were reduced to 27 for three.

Quick runs were needed and Lawrence and Critchley obliged as the fourth wicket pair put on 95 runs before the latter was bowled sweeping by Hartley for 40.

Walter swung the bat for his 24 before he fell to Bailey with Harmer becoming the seamer’s third wicket when he was brilliantly caught one-handed by Jennings for four.

Hartley picked up another with William Buttleman lbw for four and it was left to Bracewell, who hit a very effective half-century of his own off just 29 balls, to safely usher Lawrence to his third century of the season which the England hopeful brought up with a towering six over long on.

With the brakes off and a demoralised Lancashire on the metaphorical canvas, Lawrence proceeded to hit four more sixes, taking Essex to an unassailable lead while sending a timely message to the England selectors.

Day Two Highlights:

Day Two Report:

Tom Westley’s 28th first-class century and his record-breaking century partnership with Paul Walter rescued Essex from a poor start on the second day of this LV= Insurance County Championship encounter at Blackpool before a late fight back by Lancashire saw the visitors bowled out for 282.

Skipper Westley made 135, his third century of the season, to put Essex in a strong position at tea but Tom Bailey, with six for 59, led a good reply by the hosts who closed on 37 for one to be behind by 245 runs.

A day played mainly in glorious sunshine, in sharp contrast to the wet conditions twenty-fours earlier, began with Lancashire enjoying the better of the opening hour as Essex, resuming on 12 for one, lost three wickets for 35 runs.<

Two fine opening spells from Bailey and Will Williams had the visitors in early trouble, starting when Alastair Cook was caught for 11 edging Williams to Keaton Jennings at first slip.

Bailey then had Dan Lawrence dropped at slip, but caught for one from the following delivery in bizarre circumstances. The Essex batter’s fierce drive flew straight back at the bowler who inadvertently deflected the ball to Bohannon at mid-off.

Having made 13, Matt Critchley became the third wicket of the day to fall, when he edged a beautiful seaming delivery from Williams to wicketkeeper Phil Salt to put the hosts firmly on top.

Westley and Walter slowly but surely turned the innings around either side of lunch with Walter hammering two sixes off left arm spinner Hartley in the last over before the interval.

The pair dominated the afternoon, Westley reaching his fifty with a sweetly timed on drive for four just after the resumption, and he produced some stylish shots across the session to reach his third century of the season from 166 balls, with his 15th four also breaking the Essex fifth wicket record partnership of 147 against Lancashire – set coincidentally at Blackpool – by Sonny Avery and Tom Pearce in 1948.

The only blemish of a fine innings came when Westley was on 78, with Hartley unable to cling to a sharp chance at midwicket off Colin de Grandhomme.

Walter went to his 80-ball half century in style, pulling Jack Blatherwick over midwicket for his third six. His crisp striking of the ball was a feature of his controlled, slightly more aggressive approach that had brought the left-hander 76 runs before he was spectacularly caught one-handed by Blatherwick at midwicket off de Grandhomme just before tea with Essex 210 for five.

Essex continued to prosper after the break as Simon Harmer (24) lent good support to Westley with 65 runs added for the sixth wicket before Lancashire hit back with the second new ball, taking the last five wickets for seven runs inside seven overs.

Westley’s excellent innings came to an end after five and a half hours at the crease when he edged Williams to Rob Jones at second slip and Bailey then ran through the tail, taking the remaining four wickets in 20 balls.

Lancashire lost Luke Wells for a duck, playing on against Jamie Porter but Jennings (13 not out) and Josh Bohannon (20 not out) survived to reach stumps safely.

Day One Highlights:

Day One Report:

The first day of Lancashire’s match with second-placed Essex in the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Blackpool was badly affected by the weather with just 28 balls possible in which time Essex made 12 for one.

Both teams came into the fixture with enforced changes, Essex opener Feroze Khushi having sustained a sore hand last week in the Vitality Blast while Lancashire rested Daryl Mitchell to help the overseas all-rounder manage a groin issue.

The day was split into two short tranches of play that book-ended this unusual day.

After a misleadingly sunny morning, Essex won the toss and elected to bat under increasingly gloomy skies, a mood probably shared by Nick Browne after he edged the fourth delivery of the day from Tom Bailey to Colin de Grandhomme at third slip without a run on the board.

In the 25 balls bowled in the morning there was time for Alastair Cook to punch a four off the back foot from Will Williams and Essex skipper Tom Westley to glance Bailey to fine leg for four off the first ball of the fifth over.

At that point the rain arrived to take the players from the field for more than six hours, and it was a testament to the Blackpool club that their outfield, re-laid three years ago, coped admirably with the deluge that fell during the day.

That allowed umpires Peter Hartley and Steve O’Shaughnessy to restart play at 5.30pm following several inspections, but only three balls had been bowled in Bailey’s interrupted over before bad light halted play once again, with more rain minutes later ending a very frustrating day.

Cook (4 not out) and Westley (8 not out) will resume the Essex first innings tomorrow.

Essex v Warwickshire

LV= Insurance County Championship

The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford

Team News:

Essex: Alastair Cook, Feroze Khushi, Tom Westley (c), Matt Critchley, Paul Walter Feroze Khushi, Simon Harmer, Will Buttleman (wk), Doug Bracewell, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Essex: Rob Yates, Alex Davies, Will Rhodes (c), Jacob Bethell, Dan Mousley, Ed Barnard, Michael Burgess (wk), Dom Bess, Hassan Ali, Jake Lintott, Chris Rushworth.

Match Details:

Umpires: Richard Kettleborough and Tom Lungley
Match Referee: Peter Such
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Essex won by nine wickets

Scorecard: View Here

Day Three Reaction: Simon Harmer:

Day Three Highlights:

Day Three Report:

Simon Harmer claimed the fourteenth 10-wicket match haul of his career (9th for Essex) as he helped Essex to a nine-wicket victory that catapulted them into second place in the Division One table.

The South African off-spinner had played a key part in dismissing Warwickshire for 158 in the first innings with his 32nd five-wicket haul for the county, and he added no. 33 second time around. He bowled unchanged from the River End throughout the 94 overs of Warwickshire’s second innings for match figures of 10-230. He now has 36 wickets this season.

However, it was not all plain sailing for Harmer and his team-mates. That Essex did not have the win wrapped up much earlier was down to two lower-order half-century stands, both involving Yorkshire loanee Dom Bess (63).

He shared 82 runs from 75 balls with Dan Mousley (61) for the seventh wicket, and 64 runs for the ninth with Jake Lintott, whose T20-esque hitting garnered him a career-best 78.

The three of them helped take Warwickshire past and then beyond the total needed to make Essex bat for a second time. The Bears were eventually all out for 381, leaving Essex requiring 83 from a minimum of 122 overs.

In the end they needed just 15 of them as Sir Alastair Cook (23) and Tom Westley (12) saw them over the line under leaden Chelmsford skies, reaching the target with four byes. However, en route they lost the aggressive Feroze Khushi who hit two sixes and five fours in a 46-ball 40 before chipping up to bat-pad off the ubiquitous Bess.

The back-to-back home wins provided ample amends for Essex’s only defeat in the LV= Insurance County Championship this season in the corresponding fixture at Edgbaston last month.

With 299 the target to make Essex bat again, Rob Yates and Will Rhodes, the not-out overnight pair, looked as if they were going to dig in until Christmas. They knocked off 31 in the first 55 minutes of the third day.

However, the early tension in the home camp was eased when Jamie Porter brought one in from outside off-stump to Rhodes and Will Buttleman took the catch down legside. Rhodes batted for 118 balls for his 46.

Five overs later, Yates became Harmer’s 400th first-class wicket for Essex when the left-hander leaned forward tentatively and fell to another catch behind.

Warwickshire sent in Ed Barnard to break up the left-handed sequence at the top of the order. He did not last long, dollying a leading edge off Doug Bracewell to mid-off.

Jacob Bethell had looked composed, driving the majority of his seven fours through the covers, but he departed to a bat-pad catch off Matt Critchley for 36. Three balls on, the leg-spinner who has gained a reputation this season as a ‘golden arm’, also accounted for Michael Burgess, caught by a diving Cook at slip.

The 21-year-old Mousley reached his fourth Championship fifty of the season during a Harmer over from which he plundered 18 runs.

However, as so often, Harmer had his revenge when Mousley charged down the wicket in an attempt to land a fourth maximum and was stumped by several country miles. His disgust with himself was plain to see.

Hassan Ali cracked Critchley for a six but his was a short stay as he picked out Khushi at deep midwicket to give Harmer his fourth wicket of the innings.

Eight down, Warwickshire were then still 30 runs away from returning Essex to the crease, but Bess reached a well-deserved fifty just before that breakthrough point was reached in the 83rd over. He departed in an eventful over from Porter in which he hooked a six, was dealt a painful blow in the solar plexus and nicked behind.

Lintott’s maiden first-class fifty came at a run-a-ball and had Essex struggling to defend the boundary, His free-wheeling innings of 14 fours and two sixes was ended when Khushi held on in the deep to provide Harmer with another match-ball for his burgeoning collection.

Day Two Highlights:

Day Two Reaction: Mick Lewis

That was pretty much the dream day wasn’t it?

Yeah it was the perfect day for us. Getting those quick runs this morning was great and the bonus point, with a few balls to spare. Then the bowlers were brilliant and bowled as a whole unit today.

Is game an example of the blueprint of how Essex want to play?

Yeah obviously that’s how it’s worked out this game and it’s been a pretty faultless performance from us, but I think we just take it as it comes. Looking back to the last game against Somerset, we had to bowl them out on the final day. So of course this is an ideal way to play, but we back ourselves to deliver in any scenario.

You must be delighted with the efforts of all of the bowlers today?

It was really pleasing to see Doug come back from injury and put a few up them today. Porter and Cook just don’t move from the stumps and Harmy was obviously brilliant.

We’ve seen plenty of spinners bowl here and struggle to match Harmer, and opposition batters fail to find a way to play him. What is it that makes him so effective?

I think other spinners can try too much when they come here, but he just doesn’t move from his length and gets that extra bit of bounce that batters really struggle with.

Harmer bowled more than 30 overs today. How important is not only his effectiveness but also the amount of overs he gets through?
It’s a real luxury for us to be able to rotate the seamers especially at the moment. I think of the past 26 days 24 have been playing, travelling or training so it’s important to keep the seamers as fresh as possible and Harmy allows us to do that.

Do the bowlers want to hang on to the Kookaburra, or are they looking forward to getting back to the Dukes? Or aren’t they bothered?

They’d bowl with a tennis ball if they had to and still take wickets.

Day Two Report:

Warwickshire capitulated in the face of Simon Harmer’s mesmeric off-spin as they stared down the barrel of a demoralising defeat at Chelmsford.

Harmer notched up his 32nd five-wicket haul in seven summers at Essex as Warwickshire were forced to follow-on 299 runs in arrears on first innings. Having already taken five for 65, Harmer added another wicket in the 24 overs of Warwickshire’s second innings in the early evening sunshine, taking his season’s tally to 32.

The South African spinner bowled 33 overs from the River End during the day broken only by three interval breaks. He was backed up by seamer Jamie Porter, who took three front-line wickets as Warwickshire were dismissed for 158.

Essex head into the third day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match needing nine wickets to leapfrog their second-placed opponents in the Division One table. The visitors closed on 74-1 after an unbroken second-wicket stand of 66 between Rob Yates and Will Rhodes.

Essex had been forced to reshuffle their line-up overnight after Dan Lawrence, who had tops-scored with 152 of their first-innings 457, was summoned to Lord’s in preparation for Wednesday’s second Ashes Test. Nick Browne had already been named as the nominated replacement and duly took his place in his regular close-catching position.

Warwickshire’s first knock on a cooler, overcast day lasted 50 overs; the die was cast when they lost two wickets inside the first 24 deliveries. Yates was taken low down at second slip by Harmer diving forward to give Porter his first, and Alex Davies followed when he withdrew his bat to one that swung in from Sam Cook.

Jacob Bethell joined Rhodes in a rearguard third-wicket stand of 67 runs in 21 overs that stemmed the tide for a while. It was a partnership that was peppered with some pugnacious hitting from Bethell, who hit eight fours in his 64-ball 37, including three in succession off Doug Bracewell.

However, the 19-year-old left-hander stepped back to give himself room to cut Harmer and only managed to edge to Will Buttleman.

The wicketkeeper took two further catches in the space of four balls from Porter to reduce Warwickshire to 107 for five. The seamer got one to leave Dan Mousley before Rhodes played down the wrong line to depart for 43.

The collapse continued three balls after Michael Burgess had lofted Harmer for six over long leg. Burgess thrust forward his front leg rather extravagantly but was deceived by the equally extravagant turn and was bowled. Dom Bess was similarly undone by Harmer, turning the ball into leg slip’s lap.

Harmer’s fourth wicket came with the last ball before tea when Hassan Ali popped up a catch to Browne at bat-pad.

Bracewell joined the party when he induced an edge from Jake Lintott’s bat to give Buttleman a fourth catch in the innings before Harmer had Chris Rushworth chipping up to mid-on to complete the innings. Ed Barnard watched six of the wickets fall from the other end and remained not out 23 from 47 balls.

Kookaburra ball or not, Essex threw it to Harmer at the start of Warwickshire’s second innings and he continued where he left off. Eleven balls into his spell he had Davies caught by Browne high above his helmeted head.

Much, much earlier, Essex chalked up a fifth batting point with two balls of the allotted 110 overs to spare when Sam Cook smashed the delivery back past Jake Lintott for the four to take them to 450.

That Essex reached maximum points for the second time this season was due to some lusty hitting by Bracewell and Buttleman in a seventh-wicket stand of 46 in 10 overs that was only ended when the New Zealander was trapped lbw by Rushworth.

Once the morning’s target was achieved, Buttleman was caught for a spritely 43 at back-stop when mis-hooking Hassan Ali. Lintott wrapped up the innings by bowling Cook to finish with figures of 3-68.

Day One Reaction: Tom Westley

Day One Highlights:

Day One Report:

Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence, England past and present, combined for an imperious double-century stand that put Essex firmly in control of the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Warwickshire.

Lawrence, allowed to play by England on the proviso he is ready to scuttle down to Lord’s if required, when he will be replaced in the Essex line-up by nominated substitute Nick Browne, gave full range to his shots in an immaculate 152, his second century of the season.

The third-wicket pair put on 227 in 59 overs of elegant stroke-play until Westley dragged Ed Barnard to short midwicket. His 193-ball 114 took his season’s tally to 739 runs, by far the most of any player in Division One.

Matt Critchley upped the tempo with 47 from 43 balls in a 70-run stand with Lawrence, who finally departed after five and a half hours, 225 balls and 15 fours, a second victim for Warwickshire loanee Dom Bess. By the close, Essex had amassed 391 for seven 

Westley had won the toss on a green-tinged Chelmsford wicket used previously for a one-day international between Bangladesh and Ireland, and consigned Warwickshire to a sweaty day under floppy sunhats in the field.

The captain found himself at the wicket at the end of the first over after Feroze Khushi – replacing Browne at the top of the order – dabbed at a ball from Chris Rushworth and nicked behind. 

Lawrence joined Westley five overs later to resurrect Essex from 20 for two after Sir Alastair Cook was tucked up by Hassan Ali and also went caught behind. 

Warwickshire had lost spinner Danny Briggs when he limped out of the Blast last week with a hamstring injury and acted quickly by bringing in Bess on loan from Yorkshire. 

Westley took a liking to the one-time England spinner and cracked two fours through the covers before bouncing down the wicket and striking him over midwicket for another boundary. Bess toiled in the sun and ended the first day of his Warwickshire spell with figures of 32-1-143-2.

Westley passed fifty for the sixth time in the Championship this season when he drove his 72nd ball to mid-on for a single. It was marginally quicker – by two balls – than Lawrence’s third score beyond fifty this year.

The partnership was worth 99 at lunch and clicked on to three figures from 150 balls straight after. By tea, another 128 runs were added in 34 overs.

In between, Lawrence was showing what Essex will miss when he moves to Surrey at the end of the season. There was a glorious off-drive to the fence off Hassan Ali and then an effortless straight-drive off the Pakistan bowler.

Warwickshire had also brought in the 30-year-old wrist spinner Jake Lintott at the expense of Olly Hannon-Dalby for only his second first-class appearance. Westley took a liking to him, too. Indeed, his 17th boundary, driven through the covers, took him to his century from 154 balls.

Lawrence’s ton also came from 154 balls when he flicked Will Rhodes through midwicket for his 11th four.

After Westley’s four-hour stay ended to the first ball after tea, Critchley took up the cudgels, punishing Barnard for his audacity in removing the captain with three boundaries in an over. 

A six straight back over Bess’s head by Critchley brought up the fifty partnership in just 10 overs. But the ball after he had deposited Lintott over midwicket for a second maximum, he presented the spinner with his first red-ball wicket by slashing a skyer to backward point. He later added Simon Harmer, caught behind, to return figures of 2-56

In between, Bess took a debut wicket when he had Paul Walter chipping to short mid-on, but was then reverse-swept for the four that brought up Lawrence’s 150. However, Bess claimed Lawrence’s scalp when he flicked a catch off his legs.

Essex v Warwickshire

LV= Insurance County Championship

The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford

Team News:

Essex: Alastair Cook, Feroze Khushi, Tom Westley (c), Matt Critchley, Paul Walter Feroze Khushi, Simon Harmer, Will Buttleman (wk), Doug Bracewell, Sam Cook, Jamie Porter.

Essex: Rob Yates, Alex Davies, Will Rhodes (c), Jacob Bethell, Dan Mousley, Ed Barnard, Michael Burgess (wk), Dom Bess, Hassan Ali, Jake Lintott, Chris Rushworth.

Match Details:

Umpires: Richard Kettleborough and Tom Lungley
Match Referee: Peter Such
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Essex won by nine wickets

Scorecard: View Here

Day Three Reaction: Simon Harmer:

Day Three Highlights:

Day Three Report:

Simon Harmer claimed the fourteenth 10-wicket match haul of his career (9th for Essex) as he helped Essex to a nine-wicket victory that catapulted them into second place in the Division One table.

The South African off-spinner had played a key part in dismissing Warwickshire for 158 in the first innings with his 32nd five-wicket haul for the county, and he added no. 33 second time around. He bowled unchanged from the River End throughout the 94 overs of Warwickshire’s second innings for match figures of 10-230. He now has 36 wickets this season.

However, it was not all plain sailing for Harmer and his team-mates. That Essex did not have the win wrapped up much earlier was down to two lower-order half-century stands, both involving Yorkshire loanee Dom Bess (63).

He shared 82 runs from 75 balls with Dan Mousley (61) for the seventh wicket, and 64 runs for the ninth with Jake Lintott, whose T20-esque hitting garnered him a career-best 78.

The three of them helped take Warwickshire past and then beyond the total needed to make Essex bat for a second time. The Bears were eventually all out for 381, leaving Essex requiring 83 from a minimum of 122 overs.

In the end they needed just 15 of them as Sir Alastair Cook (23) and Tom Westley (12) saw them over the line under leaden Chelmsford skies, reaching the target with four byes. However, en route they lost the aggressive Feroze Khushi who hit two sixes and five fours in a 46-ball 40 before chipping up to bat-pad off the ubiquitous Bess.

The back-to-back home wins provided ample amends for Essex’s only defeat in the LV= Insurance County Championship this season in the corresponding fixture at Edgbaston last month.

With 299 the target to make Essex bat again, Rob Yates and Will Rhodes, the not-out overnight pair, looked as if they were going to dig in until Christmas. They knocked off 31 in the first 55 minutes of the third day.

However, the early tension in the home camp was eased when Jamie Porter brought one in from outside off-stump to Rhodes and Will Buttleman took the catch down legside. Rhodes batted for 118 balls for his 46.

Five overs later, Yates became Harmer’s 400th first-class wicket for Essex when the left-hander leaned forward tentatively and fell to another catch behind.

Warwickshire sent in Ed Barnard to break up the left-handed sequence at the top of the order. He did not last long, dollying a leading edge off Doug Bracewell to mid-off.

Jacob Bethell had looked composed, driving the majority of his seven fours through the covers, but he departed to a bat-pad catch off Matt Critchley for 36. Three balls on, the leg-spinner who has gained a reputation this season as a ‘golden arm’, also accounted for Michael Burgess, caught by a diving Cook at slip.

The 21-year-old Mousley reached his fourth Championship fifty of the season during a Harmer over from which he plundered 18 runs.

However, as so often, Harmer had his revenge when Mousley charged down the wicket in an attempt to land a fourth maximum and was stumped by several country miles. His disgust with himself was plain to see.

Hassan Ali cracked Critchley for a six but his was a short stay as he picked out Khushi at deep midwicket to give Harmer his fourth wicket of the innings.

Eight down, Warwickshire were then still 30 runs away from returning Essex to the crease, but Bess reached a well-deserved fifty just before that breakthrough point was reached in the 83rd over. He departed in an eventful over from Porter in which he hooked a six, was dealt a painful blow in the solar plexus and nicked behind.

Lintott’s maiden first-class fifty came at a run-a-ball and had Essex struggling to defend the boundary, His free-wheeling innings of 14 fours and two sixes was ended when Khushi held on in the deep to provide Harmer with another match-ball for his burgeoning collection.

Day Two Highlights:

Day Two Reaction: Mick Lewis

That was pretty much the dream day wasn’t it?

Yeah it was the perfect day for us. Getting those quick runs this morning was great and the bonus point, with a few balls to spare. Then the bowlers were brilliant and bowled as a whole unit today.

Is game an example of the blueprint of how Essex want to play?

Yeah obviously that’s how it’s worked out this game and it’s been a pretty faultless performance from us, but I think we just take it as it comes. Looking back to the last game against Somerset, we had to bowl them out on the final day. So of course this is an ideal way to play, but we back ourselves to deliver in any scenario.

You must be delighted with the efforts of all of the bowlers today?

It was really pleasing to see Doug come back from injury and put a few up them today. Porter and Cook just don’t move from the stumps and Harmy was obviously brilliant.

We’ve seen plenty of spinners bowl here and struggle to match Harmer, and opposition batters fail to find a way to play him. What is it that makes him so effective?

I think other spinners can try too much when they come here, but he just doesn’t move from his length and gets that extra bit of bounce that batters really struggle with.

Harmer bowled more than 30 overs today. How important is not only his effectiveness but also the amount of overs he gets through?
It’s a real luxury for us to be able to rotate the seamers especially at the moment. I think of the past 26 days 24 have been playing, travelling or training so it’s important to keep the seamers as fresh as possible and Harmy allows us to do that.

Do the bowlers want to hang on to the Kookaburra, or are they looking forward to getting back to the Dukes? Or aren’t they bothered?

They’d bowl with a tennis ball if they had to and still take wickets.

Day Two Report:

Warwickshire capitulated in the face of Simon Harmer’s mesmeric off-spin as they stared down the barrel of a demoralising defeat at Chelmsford.

Harmer notched up his 32nd five-wicket haul in seven summers at Essex as Warwickshire were forced to follow-on 299 runs in arrears on first innings. Having already taken five for 65, Harmer added another wicket in the 24 overs of Warwickshire’s second innings in the early evening sunshine, taking his season’s tally to 32.

The South African spinner bowled 33 overs from the River End during the day broken only by three interval breaks. He was backed up by seamer Jamie Porter, who took three front-line wickets as Warwickshire were dismissed for 158.

Essex head into the third day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match needing nine wickets to leapfrog their second-placed opponents in the Division One table. The visitors closed on 74-1 after an unbroken second-wicket stand of 66 between Rob Yates and Will Rhodes.

Essex had been forced to reshuffle their line-up overnight after Dan Lawrence, who had tops-scored with 152 of their first-innings 457, was summoned to Lord’s in preparation for Wednesday’s second Ashes Test. Nick Browne had already been named as the nominated replacement and duly took his place in his regular close-catching position.

Warwickshire’s first knock on a cooler, overcast day lasted 50 overs; the die was cast when they lost two wickets inside the first 24 deliveries. Yates was taken low down at second slip by Harmer diving forward to give Porter his first, and Alex Davies followed when he withdrew his bat to one that swung in from Sam Cook.

Jacob Bethell joined Rhodes in a rearguard third-wicket stand of 67 runs in 21 overs that stemmed the tide for a while. It was a partnership that was peppered with some pugnacious hitting from Bethell, who hit eight fours in his 64-ball 37, including three in succession off Doug Bracewell.

However, the 19-year-old left-hander stepped back to give himself room to cut Harmer and only managed to edge to Will Buttleman.

The wicketkeeper took two further catches in the space of four balls from Porter to reduce Warwickshire to 107 for five. The seamer got one to leave Dan Mousley before Rhodes played down the wrong line to depart for 43.

The collapse continued three balls after Michael Burgess had lofted Harmer for six over long leg. Burgess thrust forward his front leg rather extravagantly but was deceived by the equally extravagant turn and was bowled. Dom Bess was similarly undone by Harmer, turning the ball into leg slip’s lap.

Harmer’s fourth wicket came with the last ball before tea when Hassan Ali popped up a catch to Browne at bat-pad.

Bracewell joined the party when he induced an edge from Jake Lintott’s bat to give Buttleman a fourth catch in the innings before Harmer had Chris Rushworth chipping up to mid-on to complete the innings. Ed Barnard watched six of the wickets fall from the other end and remained not out 23 from 47 balls.

Kookaburra ball or not, Essex threw it to Harmer at the start of Warwickshire’s second innings and he continued where he left off. Eleven balls into his spell he had Davies caught by Browne high above his helmeted head.

Much, much earlier, Essex chalked up a fifth batting point with two balls of the allotted 110 overs to spare when Sam Cook smashed the delivery back past Jake Lintott for the four to take them to 450.

That Essex reached maximum points for the second time this season was due to some lusty hitting by Bracewell and Buttleman in a seventh-wicket stand of 46 in 10 overs that was only ended when the New Zealander was trapped lbw by Rushworth.

Once the morning’s target was achieved, Buttleman was caught for a spritely 43 at back-stop when mis-hooking Hassan Ali. Lintott wrapped up the innings by bowling Cook to finish with figures of 3-68.

Day One Reaction: Tom Westley

Day One Highlights:

Day One Report:

Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence, England past and present, combined for an imperious double-century stand that put Essex firmly in control of the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Warwickshire.

Lawrence, allowed to play by England on the proviso he is ready to scuttle down to Lord’s if required, when he will be replaced in the Essex line-up by nominated substitute Nick Browne, gave full range to his shots in an immaculate 152, his second century of the season.

The third-wicket pair put on 227 in 59 overs of elegant stroke-play until Westley dragged Ed Barnard to short midwicket. His 193-ball 114 took his season’s tally to 739 runs, by far the most of any player in Division One.

Matt Critchley upped the tempo with 47 from 43 balls in a 70-run stand with Lawrence, who finally departed after five and a half hours, 225 balls and 15 fours, a second victim for Warwickshire loanee Dom Bess. By the close, Essex had amassed 391 for seven 

Westley had won the toss on a green-tinged Chelmsford wicket used previously for a one-day international between Bangladesh and Ireland, and consigned Warwickshire to a sweaty day under floppy sunhats in the field.

The captain found himself at the wicket at the end of the first over after Feroze Khushi – replacing Browne at the top of the order – dabbed at a ball from Chris Rushworth and nicked behind. 

Lawrence joined Westley five overs later to resurrect Essex from 20 for two after Sir Alastair Cook was tucked up by Hassan Ali and also went caught behind. 

Warwickshire had lost spinner Danny Briggs when he limped out of the Blast last week with a hamstring injury and acted quickly by bringing in Bess on loan from Yorkshire. 

Westley took a liking to the one-time England spinner and cracked two fours through the covers before bouncing down the wicket and striking him over midwicket for another boundary. Bess toiled in the sun and ended the first day of his Warwickshire spell with figures of 32-1-143-2.

Westley passed fifty for the sixth time in the Championship this season when he drove his 72nd ball to mid-on for a single. It was marginally quicker – by two balls – than Lawrence’s third score beyond fifty this year.

The partnership was worth 99 at lunch and clicked on to three figures from 150 balls straight after. By tea, another 128 runs were added in 34 overs.

In between, Lawrence was showing what Essex will miss when he moves to Surrey at the end of the season. There was a glorious off-drive to the fence off Hassan Ali and then an effortless straight-drive off the Pakistan bowler.

Warwickshire had also brought in the 30-year-old wrist spinner Jake Lintott at the expense of Olly Hannon-Dalby for only his second first-class appearance. Westley took a liking to him, too. Indeed, his 17th boundary, driven through the covers, took him to his century from 154 balls.

Lawrence’s ton also came from 154 balls when he flicked Will Rhodes through midwicket for his 11th four.

After Westley’s four-hour stay ended to the first ball after tea, Critchley took up the cudgels, punishing Barnard for his audacity in removing the captain with three boundaries in an over. 

A six straight back over Bess’s head by Critchley brought up the fifty partnership in just 10 overs. But the ball after he had deposited Lintott over midwicket for a second maximum, he presented the spinner with his first red-ball wicket by slashing a skyer to backward point. He later added Simon Harmer, caught behind, to return figures of 2-56

In between, Bess took a debut wicket when he had Paul Walter chipping to short mid-on, but was then reverse-swept for the four that brought up Lawrence’s 150. However, Bess claimed Lawrence’s scalp when he flicked a catch off his legs.

A visit from high-flying Warwickshire signals the return of the LV= Insurance County Championship to Chelmsford from Sunday, and Head Coach Anthony McGrath is up for the challenge presented by the Bears.

Essex currently sit fourth in Division One and come into the clash off the back of a 196-run home victory over Somerset two weeks ago.
Warwickshire, two places higher and inflictors of Essex’s only Championship defeat so far this season, will pose a stern test, but McGrath says the squad is in a good place and heavily motivated by the prospect of payback.

“It will be a little bit of a revenge mission, but it’s two good teams and we always have good games against Warwickshire,” he said. “The weather is set fine, so hopefully it’ll be a good four days at Chelmsford.

“It was a good win against Somerset, which keeps us in the hunt, and it was a tremendous effort. Coming off the schedule and with the heat, it’ll [need to] be similar against Warwickshire.

“The guys know what we’re playing for. We’ve just got to make sure that come that last day, we’re in with a chance and hopefully we can take the points.”

The Head Coach noted the punishing fixture list of the last month, which has seen red-ball cricket intertwined with the Vitality Blast, has been difficult to manage ahead of a crunch clash with the West Midlands side.

However, McGrath accepts the situation is identical everywhere, and he talked up the value of a deep squad permitting rest and rotation for key players, especially in the bowling department.

“The schedule has been crazy, and it tests the squad, but it’s the same for every county, so you have to be smart with resting people,” said McGrath. “I think we’ve played 16 out of 21 days recently.”

“It is tough, especially for the guys who play both forms. Sam [Cook] had a rest, [Shane Snater] had one the week before, and Dougie [Bracewell] also missed out with injury so hopefully he’ll be fresh.”

One potential factor that could be influential to an as-yet-unknown extent is that this round of Championship matches will be the first of two to see the Kookaburra ball being used, as opposed to the regular Dukes.

The Head Coach admits he is unsure how the ball might behave due to the schedule permitting limited practice with the Kookaburra, but he is again keen to express that everyone is in the same boat.

“Honestly, I have no idea [how it might behave]!” he smiled. “We haven’t had much opportunity to practice because of the T20, but we will get a report back off the second XI who have been using it up in Chester.

“It will be similar for all teams, though, and we’ll just have to adapt. It will be different to the Dukes, we know that, things like the seam are different, but it will be the team that adapts best.

“I’d be lying if I said I knew what’s going to happen! But hopefully we can get plenty of runs, and then it spins so [Simon Harmer] can come into play.

“It’s just about adapting and getting on with it, and there’s another round with it after this one, away to Lancashire, so it will also be interesting how it plays up and down the country.”

While the brand of ball is an unknown, McGrath does have controllables that he is able to influence far more, with one of the most important being the quality of the team he selects for the match.

The 47-year-old believes that the ability to play as strong a squad as possible will be crucial against Warwickshire, who have themselves also lost just once this season and count several big names among their ranks.

“It’ll be a difficult challenge,” he said. “They’ve played five seamers on occasions this year, so [they have] a really strong attack, and also their batsmen have been in form as well.

“It’s going to be a good test. Hopefully we’re coming into some form at the right time, but we’ve just got to make sure we’re on it for all four days.

“We saw against Somerset, when we get four full days, there’s normally a result, so hopefully that’s the case going forward.”