Bamber stars with six but Essex battle back on 19-wicket day

Ethan Bamber claimed a career-best 6 for 26 to keep Warwickshire nervously clinging on to hopes of landing the Rothesay County Championship title on a day of 19 wickets at Chelmsford.

In the process of helping skittle relegation-threatened Essex for 134 in 44 overs, the 27-year-old Bamber passed 100 first-class wickets for Warwickshire in two seasons since moving from Middlesex, 59 of them so far this summer. In a display of controlled pace bowling, Bamber took three of the first four Essex wickets for seven runs in eight overs, then wrapped up the innings with the final three for 11 in five overs.

Only wicketkeeper-batsman George Bell and tail-ender Zaman Akhter in a stand of 68 for the eighth wicket applied any real resistance. Bell, coming in at 33 for 5, soon to be 33 for 7, was unbeaten on 61 to take his tally in three innings on loan from Lancashire to 153 for once out.

However, injury-hit Essex refused to submit. They had Warwickshire, who began the game in third place, five points behind leaders Somerset, in similar disarray on 151 for 9 at the close, just 17 runs ahead. Shane Snater had three of those wickets before succumbing to injury, while Sam Hain was the glue in the visitors' response with 58 not out.

Warwickshire posted four slips from the start of Essex's innings and three of the quartet had catches to their name in an action-packed first hour. Essex had decided to bat first on a pitch that had been used within the past week for both a women's one-day match and the England Lions' T20 demolition of Sri Lanka. Whatever the thinking in the Essex dressing room, the decision played immediately into the hands of a rampant Warwickshire attack.

The Essex slide started as early as the second ball of the day when Bamber had Paul Walter looking to play into the legside but caught by Vansh Jani at fourth slip. Westley briefly bucked the slip-catch trend by falling lbw to Chris Woakes for a third successive duck before Charlie Allison played down the wrong line to Bamber and was held at second slip by Rob Yates.

Matt Critchley became Bamber's third victim, guiding the ball into Dan Mousley's hands at fourth slip. And Dean Elgar, who had watched the first four wickets go down from the non-striker's end, was the fifth to depart, another catch for Yates, this time off Olly Hannon-Dalby.

Bamber was finally given a break, but his absence from the attack did not stop the clatter of wickets. His replacement, Ed Barnard, struck with his fourth ball as Noah Thain hung out his bat and was caught behind. Snater then wafted at the Warwickshire captain to give Yates a third catch.

Bell brought some calm, yet aggressive hitting to the Essex innings. He took 19 balls to get off the mark but then masterminded the stand with Akhter that was only ended when Bamber returned to the attack after lunch.

Bamber induced a leading edge from Akhter to claim the catch himself high to his right before finishing off the innings by trapping Mitch Killeen lbw and then sending Sam Cook's stumps in all directions.

Warwickshire's innings was no less dramatic than Essex's. Yates played over the top of Snater's first delivery and was palpably lbw, Mousley misjudged Cook to first slip and Malik left alone a ball from Snater that jagged back to take off-stump.

Hain and Jani put on 42 either side of tea before Snater had Jani attempting to swipe across his pads to go lbw. The first 14 wickets had fallen to seam until Critchley had Barnard sweeping and bowled round his legs.

Kai Smith joined the never-ending procession of batsmen coming and going when he skied Akhter to short midwicket and Woakes mistimed against Killeen to be bowled. Critchley then had Manav Suthar looping up to bat-pad and Bamber lbw three balls later.