Essex and Warwickshire Battle to a Stalemate as Rain Disrupts Play

Essex and Warwickshire clashed in a thrilling County Championship encounter at Chelmsford. Sadly, rain ended the action and caused the match to be declared a draw. Essex then declared their first innings at 602-6, with Warwickshire performing well as they replied with a strong 485. The weather ultimately made it impossible for either team to continue making any real progress in the match, forcing both teams to split the points.

In the Final, Matt Critchley proved his 2023 bowling strength, with 40 overs bowled and an excellent 5-171 on the card. His impressive prosecution of and attempt to prescribe seemed a footnote, however, to Ed Barnard’s extraordinary hitting display. Barnard overnighted on 90 not out. He became the fifth centurion of the match with a four off Critchley, taking him to 108 runs – previously Warwickshire’s first-innings total. His 123-ball innings included ten boundaries and increased his season total to 815 runs, including three centuries.

Tom Westley was the star with the bat for Essex. He had now passed fifty for the fifth time in only eight County Championship innings. Wesley ended the day unbeaten on 51, having hit seven fours in his 103-ball innings. From there, he created a solid working relationship with Deputy Paul Walter. They put on 86 for the second wicket in only 28 overs before the rain came to wash away England’s hopes. Walter’s contribution of 35 runs took the scoreboard past 300, giving Essex a useful lead of 213 runs to bank on.

While the downpour started in Chelmsford, Warwickshire would have faced a formidable follow-on target of 453 runs. Ethan Bamber had already made his impression with the ball before the rain came to play. He even removed one off the pitch that grazed the outside edge of Noah Thain’s bat when Thain was just two runs in.

In the end, the match finished with Essex taking 14 points for their efforts, with Warwickshire picking up 12 points. The rain delay ended that hard work before it really got started. It eliminated any chance for either team to realistically go for the win in the final minutes.