Essex’s opening pair of England captain Alastair Cook and Nick Browne shared an unbeaten century opening stand to cement the hosts’ control over Day One of the LV= County Championship fixture.
Derbyshire were asked to bat first in overcast conditions and struggled with the swinging new ball. Wickets fell at regular intervals as the visitors were bowled out for 148 with Shiv Thakor top-scoring with 44 during a valiant partnership with Wayne White, who finished 38 not out.
In reply, Cook and Browne managed to bat 38 overs until bad light forced an early close with Essex on 108-0, 40 runs behind going into Day Two at Chelmsford.
The overcast conditions at Chelmsford lent themselves to swing bowling and it was the swing of Jesse Ryder that saw Billy Godleman castled in the second over without scoring.
James Porter then enticed Ben Slater’s edge in the following over for Ryder to take the catch at third slip, before Ryder had his second victim in the sixth over of the match when Wayne Madsen was adjudged lbw without scoring.
Porter and Ryder continued to bowl dangerously in tandem with the new ball and had further reward when, on 14, Chesney Hughes was bowled via his pads by Porter before Scott Elstone fell without scoring, bowled by the same man.
Wes Durston offered a degree of resistance alongside Thakor but was eventually out when he was caught behind by James Foster off Matt Salisbury’s first ball for 18.
The measure of the gloomy conditions was evident when the players were forced off for bad light at 12.20pm before it began to rain lightly and the umpires decided to take lunch early at 12.50pm.
Play eventually got back underway at 2.00pm, with eight overs having been lost from the day, and Thakor alongside White played attacking cricket upon the restart and moved Derbyshire into three figures.
The pair put on an enterprising 60 from 57 balls for the seventh wicket to move their side from 53-6 up to 113-7 before Thakor was well held in the slips by Cook for a vital 44.
Tom Poynton came in at number nine and continued to attack with White. He scored 14 from 13 balls but was caught at deep fine leg off Porter with the score on 134-8.
By the time Derbyshire were dismissed for 148, White had scored an unbeaten 38 from 44 balls and helped his side recover from a difficult position.
England captain Cook and fellow opener Browne guided Essex to tea unscathed on 33-0 before continuing to bat resolutely upon the resumption.
The pair managed to bat the remainder of the day without being dimissed, passing the century opening stand in the process. Just before the close, Cook completed his half-century from 107 balls whilst Browne remains unbeaten on 47, three short of a fifty of his own in Essex’s 108-0.
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Derbyshire are back in home NatWest T20 Blast action on Thursday 18 June when they welcome Leicestershire Foxes to The 3aaa County Ground.
