Essex held up by ninth-wicket Warwickshire stand

Warwickshire v Essex – LV Insurance County Championship – Edgbaston – Day Two – Summary

Essex: 295 (89.5 overs)

Warwickshire: 243/8 (100.0 overs)

Essex won the toss and elected to bat

Warwickshire trail Essex by 52 runs with two wickets standing

Peter Siddle and Simon Harmer each claimed three wickets, but Essex’s progress was hampered by an unbroken ninth-wicket stand between Danny Briggs and Craig Miles which has pulled Warwickshire off the canvas.

Siddle’s return saw the Australian right-arm medium-fast finish with 3/52, while Harmer took 3/83 as the visitors looked to establish a notable first-innings advantage.

Briggs and Miles had put on fifty before the close. Previously, Matthew Lamb’s 47 off 117 balls had been the highlight as the hosts struggled to make inroads into Essex’s total of 295 on the opening day – Nick Browne, Paul Walter and Ryan ten Doeschate all hitting half-centuries, while Alastair Cook scored 46 of 47 balls for the champions.

Despite Briggs and Miles heroics, Essex remains in a strong position, holding a lead of 52 – Play resumes on Saturday at 11am.

Warwickshire: WMH Rhodes (Capt), RM Yates, SR Hain, GH Vihari, MJ Lamb, MGK Burgess (WK), TT Bresnan, CN Miles, OP Stone, DR Briggs, OJ Hannon-Dalby

Essex: T Westley (Capt), AN Cook, NLJ Browne, DW Lawrence, PI Walter, RN ten Doeschate, AJA Wheater (WK), SR Harmer, PM Siddle, SJ Cook, JA Porter 

Umpires: M Burns and AG Wharf

Scorers: MD Smith and RJ Dickinson

Match Referee: SJ Davis