Evergreen Foster helps Essex into position of strength

SAM MORSHEAD AT CHELMSFORD: Once again, Mother Nature conspired to convince us otherwise but what was going on in the middle acted as a timely reminder that yes, this was mid-April and, yes, the UK has only recently emerged from a long, wet winter

^{James Foster was in fine form for Essex}

Chelmsford (day two of four): Essex 150 & 313, Lancashire 144 - Lancashire require 320 runs to win

Stephen Hawking, the late scientist whose childhood home in St Albans is just a short drive from Chelmsford, had a snappy way of describing how a quiet life was impossible for someone of his public profile.

“It is not enough for me to wear dark sunglasses and a wig,” he said. “The wheelchair gives me away.”

This weekend’s County Championship action might be similarly surmised. It is not enough for the competition to be played in front of Cornetto-toting punters in short sleeves and shades. The scorecards give the whole thing away.

Once again on Saturday, Mother Nature conspired to convince us otherwise but what was going on in the middle acted as a timely reminder that yes, this was mid-April and, yes, the UK has only recently emerged from a particularly wet, particularly long winter.

Although the sun beat down on this part of the south east and a faint smell of barbecue floated around the County Ground, this was far from high-summer cricket.

Bowlers enjoyed the benefits of a helpful pitch, batting was tricky for most and Essex did very well indeed to reach 313 all out at the close, setting their opponents 320 to win, having been 113 for nine at one stage in their first innings on Friday.

^{Lancashire will need 320 for victory}

That they enjoy a position of such control going into day three was thanks largely to a 70th first-class half-century from the evergreen James Foster, a bumptious 49 from Simon Harmer and the pair’s crucial eighth-wicket partnership of 103.

Foster was typically assertive, unafraid to take on both pace and spin, and comfortable to allow Harmer the strike. His colleague repaid the compliment by showing staying power where others had failed, and picking off the bowlers when the time came. For Essex, it was a useful blend.

The visitors, a little careless in the field, have a daunting chase on their hands in conditions which the Met Office have suggested will start to behave more like their usual selves from Sunday.

Lancashire, who ended day one on 141 for eight, lasted just nine balls on the second morning.

Porter sent Graham Onions’ middle stump cartwheeling to complete the eighth five-wicket haul of his first-class career before Harmer wrapped up the innings with his fifth.

In retort, the champions were fast out of the traps. Varun Chopra’s sparky 32, made on the same day he was awarded his county cap, featured seven boundaries before he was bowled by Onions.

By comparison, Nick Browne was studious, taking more than an hour over 17 before he was caught by a toppling Dane Vilas at gully, though the opener initially refused to walk, not satisfied that the take was clean.

It was not the first sign of discontent from a dismissed batsman in this match - both Vilas and Liam Livingstone aired objections in Lancashire’s first innings - and it would not be the last.

^{Graham Onions in action}

Five overs later, Dan Lawrence nicked Mennie to second slip. Livingstone claimed the catch, Lawrence was not satisfied. When he was told to be on his way, the England Lion slapped the square in frustration.

His exit, with the score on 70, might have heralded a collapse but Tom Westley stabilised the situation.

For a two-and-a-half-hour period, interrupted by lunch, Westley seemed to have the better of a track offering assistance for both seam and spin.

With many of England’s batting options failing to impress across the country, now is the time for any wannabe number one to six make a claim for inclusion in that first Test squad of the summer.

Westley will surely rate himself as a contender.

Here, he ably negated both the wily experience of Onions and Mennie’s Antipodean zip.

Driving elegantly and combating the turning ball with super-soft wrists, Westley was just one run shy of a half-century when he slapped young legspinner Matt Parkinson to cover on 49.

His slow turn for the pavilion, head tipped backwards in frustration, told you everything you needed to know about the opportunity that had just been squandered.

Where Westley failed, however, Foster succeeded. The wicketkeeper battled his way to 69, sharing in a stand of 34 with Paul Walter for the seventh wicket before combining with Harmer to take Essex past 300.

A late flurry of wickets - three for two runs in two-and-a-half overs at the end of the day - might have buoyed Lancashire a little. The reality of the match situation, plus the likelihood of overnight rain, might temper that enthusiasm. 

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