Essex 110 for 3 (Walter 46) trail Warwickshire 190 (Hain 88*, Porter 4-59) by 80 runs
Essex were delayed by a superb innings from Sam Hain but remain on top against Warwickshire after two rain-affected days of their Rothesay County Championship match at Edgbaston.
Essex closed the second day on 110 for 3 in reply to the home side's 190. Warwickshire had been lifted from their overnight 113 for 7 to 190 all out by Hain's unbeaten 88 (179 balls). Jamie Porter took 4 for 59, supported by two wickets each for Sam Cook, Shane Snater and Zaman Akhter.
Essex then dipped to 19 for 2 in reply but Paul Walter (46 from 97 balls) and Charlie Allison (40 not out from 85) batted with great care and concentration to add 84 from 23 overs before Walter fell five overs before the close.
Warwickshire resumed on the second morning badly in need of late-order ballast and Hain and Keith Barker added 31 before the latter clipped Akhter to mid-wicket. Ethan Bamber's fatal edge off Snater in the next over left the home side on 145 for 9 but Hain's highly-skilled innings then found another dimension.
He lifted Akhter for sixes over midwicket and long-off while cleverly shielding No. 11 Nathan Gilchrist from the strike. The tenth wicket added 45, the biggest partnership of the innings, and Hain was 12 short of a richly-deserved century when Gilchrist's off stump was struck by a fine ball from Cook,
Essex's reply soon hit turbulence when Dean Elgar edged Bamber to second slip and Luc Benkenstein nicked behind to supply Barker with his 360th first-class wicket for Warwickshire, and his first since he bowled Joe Denly at Edgbaston on 26 September 2018. Walter and Allison dug in impressively against some testing seam bowling but, after a long rain-break, they were faced with an awkward late ten overs during which Walter leading-edged Bamber to point.
Despite the loss of 81 overs to the weather on the first two days, this match has advanced far enough to retain the potential, weather permitting, to deliver a fascinating contest on the last two.
