Bears beat Essex

After bowling Essex out in their second innings before lunch for 193, Warwickshire reached their target of 153 for victory with seven wickets in hand and 21 overs to spare at Edgbaston

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DAY 4

Essex were set back early on the final day when Matthew Walker 38 was run out by a direct throw from Varun Chopra and when Woakes trapped Foster 8 lbw, Essex were 120-5.

Rikki Clarke bowled tenDoeschate 10 and Pettini 35, while Darren Maddy knocked two of Palladino's stumps out of the ground before Clarke and Carter wrapped up the Essex innings for 193 setting Warwickshire a target for victory of 153.

Westwood 40 and Chopra put on sixty two for the first wicket before Westwood was lbw in Kaneria's opening over and at tea, Warwickshire were 68-1 still needing a further eighty five to win.

Varun Chopra 36 was next to go taken at short-leg off Masters and when Troughton 4 followed lbw, the Bears had a slight wobble before Clarke and Maddy took control in an unbeaten fourth wicket partnership of forty seven, to take Warwickshire to a much needed seven wicket victory, keeping alive their survival hopes in the first division.

Darren Maddy completed his half century just before the close and the final score of 155-3 was the fourth time this season in the two championship matches that Warwickshire made that exact total against Essex.

Is this a record?

After the match Ashley Giles said, "If we can stay up it will be a miraculous effort." 

"We know this win doesn't suddenly make everything rosy, but we've some signs of improvement with the bat and some glimpses of confidence. It makes next week's game against Kent, in effect, a double-pointer. We've some massive days coming up."

"But, so far, we've done what we needed to do. We've showed a lot of spirit and we've made sure our fate remains in our hands. To win a game where we've lost the best part of a day and two-thirds to the opposition, is a great effort."
 

DAY 3

Boyd Rankin took all three remaining Essex wickets in the opening hour's play on the third morning as Warwickshire dismissed the visitors for 114 with just twenty four runs being added to the overnight total.

Palladino, Chambers and Kaneria all fell without scoring, while Bopara's half century helped Essex pass three figures on a difficult wicket.

Warwickshire lost skipper Ian Westwood for four bowled by Masters who then repeated the process to claim Varun Chopra's wicvket for fourteen as the Bears went to the interval on 41-2.

A clatter of wickets immediately after lunch when Maddy 7 and Troughton 5 fell to Palladino and Ateeq Javid offered no shot and was bowled by Masters without scoring.

Rikki Clarke made a useful twenty four before he and Chris Woakes were out in the same tenDoeschate over, but Carter 28 and Johnson 39 put on ffity four for the eighth wicket to help the Bears to a first innings lead of forty one.

Chris Woakes' double early strike, removing Mickleborough and Bopara before the lead had been erased gave the Bears an early advantage, but Godleman and Walker battled to add thirty six runs for the third wicket to take the visitors into a lead.

Darren Maddy collected Goldelman's wicket for thirty nine before the close when Essex had extended their lead to fifty eight.

 

DAY 2

Heavy rain for  24 hours in Birmingham prevented any play.

DAY 1

The Bears had one of their best sessions of the season on the opening morning at Edgbaston after winning the toss and putting Essex into bat on a day when rain threatened throughout.

Essex openers Goldeman and Mickleburgh made good early progress against the new ball attack of Woakes and Carter, reaching thirty six without looking in trouble before Godleman edged Woakes to Johnson for twenty two.

Five runs later, Mickleburgh 14 followed, lbw to Woakes and when Walker offered no shot to a delivery in Woakes' next over, Essex had lost three wickets for just five runs.

Clarke bowled Pettini for three and skipper Foster was neatly caught at second slip by Javid off Maddy without scoring.

Boyd Rankin came into the attack just before lunch and immediately picked up the wickets of tenDoeschate 7 and on the interval, Masters 0.

Ravi Bopara was unbeaten on forty two at lunch, with Essex 90-7 from 27 overs.

The forecasted rain began to fall during the lunch interval and play was abandoned for the day midway through the afternoon.