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County Championship, Group One

vs Essex

Day One

Morning: Essex won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny but bitterly cold early April morning in Chelmsford. It was a fairly straightforward decision on what quickly proved to be a batting pitch, but some very tight and disciplined bowling from Worcestershire kept the Essex openers on a leash and generated a couple of half-chances in the first hour. The breakthrough eventually came courtesy of a full, straight delivery from Charlie Morris which tempted Sir Alastair Cook onto the front foot and rapped him plumb on the pad for 15. Trundling along at scarcely more than two runs an over, the home side attempted to up the tempo as the session wore on, but after edging one ball from Ed Barnard that fell just short of first slip, Nick Browne finally drove low and hard to cover for 26, and a cagey couple of hours concluded with Essex going in for lunch on 74-2.

Afternoon: By two o'clock the pitch was incredibly benign, but the half-chances kept coming here and there, and Barnard was rewarded a second time when a delivery nipped back to dismiss Dan Lawrence LBW for 46. That proved to be the final wicket of the day, though Brett D'Oliveira did sterling work tying up one end on a wicket hardly conducive to early leg-spin, and Essex reached tea on 167-3.

Evening: A little more excitement in the fading light as Dolly came close to dismissing Paul Walter twice; once with a ball that trickled back of the pads and nearly hit the stumps, and once with a spectacular effort for a caught and bowled. Ultimately, despite the floodlights being used, the umpires and their meter held sway and the day's play concluded seven deliveries after the second new ball was taken, with Essex 207-3. A promising start for the home side, and definitely one they can build on if there's no significant deterioration in conditions tomorrow; however, in the circumstances Worcestershire also have plenty to be proud of in their bowling performance, and will remain in the game as long as they can sustain their discipline.