Woakes, Bamber tighten title grip as Warwickshire take control

If there was a sense the air has been squeezed out of the race for the title and relegation battle in Division One, a little more left after the opening day of the final round of the County Championship.

A 14-wicket day was Warwickshire's to savour, closing on 130 for 4 after dismissing Leicestershire for 125. Their three bowling points added to the 11-point lead over Somerset that they had brought into this match, as they close in on a ninth title. But it was a bonus point elsewhere that carried more significance for the hopefuls in Birmingham.

Leicestershire's inability to procure any of five potential batting points meant that, at around 5:30pm, when Essex had their third Glamorgan wicket for a first bowling point, the gap between ninth and 10th had grown to an insurmountable 20-point lead.

Leicestershire, effectively, are relegated. Officially, however, they are in limbo. On Thursday morning, Leicestershire's chief executive Emma White announced the club would be appealing a 27-points deduction handed down for a poor pitch in their match against Glamorgan last month. Not for the first time, the identity of the second relegated club may only be confirmed behind closed doors, once the season is over.

The lead-in to this fixture had been overshadowed by the penalty handed down by the Cricket Discipline Panel (CDP) following an investigation by The Cricket Regulator. But the intervening defiance from Leicestershire, vocal and valiant, has stuttered.

On Sunday, they suffered defeat to Middlesex in the Royal London Cup. Their consolation centurion, Nick Kelly, was subsequently ruled out of this match, which already saw them unable to call upon Hamza Shaikh (ineligible having been signed from Warwickshire this summer) and Rehan Ahmed (England duty). Five-and-a-half hours after White's open letter dropped, Leicestershire had been rolled in 47 overs. And to add insult to injury, Warwickshire's go-ahead runs came via an ankle-high skidder from seamer Ben Green that nutmegged Ben Cox and clattered into the wicketkeeper's helmet for five penalty runs midway through Thursday's 91st over.

Ian Holland's decision to bat first upon winning the toss was no doubt motivated by bright blue skies above. On an Edgbaston pitch that has undergone a personality shift, and with Warwickshire winning more Championship matches this season (six) than in the previous two (four), they had no qualms playing to their strongest suit.

All four seamers got in on the act, led once more by Ethan Bamber, who took 4 for 42. The haul has drawn him level on 64 dismissals with Kyle Abbott at the top of Division One's wicket charts, 19 of which have come in September alone.

Bamber struck after just four deliveries, taking out Sheridon Gumbs' off stump due to an ill-judged leave. It was the 27-year-old's 300th first-class dismissal. Chris Woakes returned serve at the end of the very next over from the City End, this time Rishi Patel deciding not to offer a shot and adjudged LBW for Woakes' 650th in red-ball cricket.

Stevie Eskinazi's loose drive - caught at backward point - brought Woakes No. 651 before Oliver Hannon-Dalby broke Jonny Tattersall's stubborn 32-ball resistance. Warwickshire skipper Ed Barnard then saw off Sol Budinger with the very next delivery - the start of the 19th over - caught exceptionally well by Rob Yates at second, who would have been partially sighted with Kai Smith standing up when the left-hander was squared up on off stump.

Budinger was daring to unleash in just his third appearance of the summer. A shot-maker at heart, he survived the early nip with an array of plays-and-misses but at least committed to each one. Three fours - a square drive off Bamber, through cover off Woakes, and thumped back past Hannon-Dalby - were hints that this pitch wasn't all that precarious. Alas, his stay was capped at 27.

Only Cox followed his lead with a typically engaging 33. The keeper-batter is leaving Grace Road at the end of the season, and there are plenty keen on his signature - perhaps even here. A tidy sweep off left-arm spinner Manav Suthar got him moving, then came a trio of boundaries off Bamber, the first two through the off-side as the lead seamer veered a little too full. But a hard-handed defensive push off Woakes brought another catch for Yates - his 38th of the campaign - leaving Leicestershire on 99 for 8. Bamber and Barnard cleared the rest.

Warwickshire's innings looked like following suit when Yates scythed Holland onto his stumps without a run in reply. Leicestershire's captain then squared up Dan Mousley - taken well by Gumbs diving forward at third slip - prompting New Zealand overseas Will Young and the home side's leading batter Sam Hain began taking the sting out of the situation.

Though they only added 26 before Young was removed by Ben Green shortly after the tea break, their 11.1 overs did seem to settle matters. Vansh Jani stepped in to upset that calm, winding up his backswing and letting loose for 22, though snatched at a chance to hit Ajaz Patel down the ground for a third time and was caught by sub-fielder Ben Mike at mid on.

Hain, by then, was ticking over through to 37 not out, accompanied through to the close by the ever-reliable Barnard, the scoreboard ticked only after Josh Hull had missed a diving chance at fine leg to remove Barnard for a duck; a top edge off a swivel-pull to a bouncer from Tom Scriven. That six - the first of the match - got Barnard off the mark.

It was a tough day for Hull, wided twice for consecutive over-head-height bouncers in the final over, as Leicestershire tried but failed to break a stand that will resume tomorrow on 44.

After winning their last two matches in two days, a hat-trick is still on the cards for Warwickshire even with just a slim five-run going into Friday. They could seal the title with days to spare. For Leicestershire, the wait to learn their fate looks set to drag on after the summer is done.