Essex 421 for 6 (Elgar 120, Critchley 103*, Cox 67) Vs. Kent

Nothing changes with any speed in Chelmsford. Plans are currently underway for a grand renovation of the pavilion and surrounding concourse – the only corner of the stamp grounds with any room for expansion – although this week’s announcement that Hayes Close and River Ends of the ground have been renamed. In honor of its most storied Test performers, Graham Gooch and Sir Alastair Cook, there was no pretense of an upgrade in notation in the interim. Indeed, the interactive “Graham Napier Sixes Trail”, with 16 plaques commemorating each of Napier’s swings to the bleachers in his famous T20 foray against Sussex in 2008, is Chelmsford’s most prominent tribute to any former player or Graham. Appreciation.

And, as in Essex’s opening week victory at Trent Bridge, complimenting Elgar’s one-innings stand of 159 for the third wicket was a prospect with the same weight and range of strokes for England. Dean Lawrence recently departed. Between them, Elgar and Jordan Cox set out to convince the impressive first-day crowd of 2,226 that nothing had changed in Essex’s red-ball batting prowess. The first day’s scoreline of 421 for 6, with an unbeaten century from Matt Critchley, ably supported this pretension.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Essex after Tom Westley won an easy toss on the first truly shirt-sleeve day of the season. Considering the uneven challenge this month’s two-round experiment with the Kookaburra ball has created, Kent’s seamers wreaked havoc for 21 balls. At the time, Westley himself was caught for 5 off George Garrett, after Firoz Khushi – whose use of an ill-sized bat at Trent Bridge still threatened his side’s top-of-the-table status. – chose not to use it at all. The week of being bowled by Wes Agar, taking arms on the first ball.

Cox’s confidence on the front foot was enough excuse for Elgar to increase his intent with a series of compact drives of his own, but it was the introduction of Matt Parkinson’s legspin that kicked the Essex innings into overdrive. . Cox greeted the full toss on his first delivery with a dismissive slap through the covers – the first of three fours in a 13-run first over – and then he hardly conceded 25 runs in his first three. Permission to settle was granted.

After reaching his fifty off 61 balls, a chance came and went for Cox when Igger at fine leg thwarted a top-edge pull off Nathan Gilchrist, but he had only added seven runs when Garrett pushed the touch filler. Knee roll for 67. However, this was hardly the impetus for the Kent fightback. Critchley emerged with a platform of 169 for 3 but just as importantly, the Kookaburra entered their dead zone in the 39th over, and Essex punched properly at 4.5 per over, including themselves. There was no need to reach the maximum.

Elgar’s departure was something of a surprise when, on 120, he popped a brilliant catch at short midwicket off Parkinson and dropped his bat in frustration at his own lost opportunity, but he merely ” Long” opened Paul Walter’s long levers. Bombarded the long-off boundary with a four and two increasingly weighty sixes before making his third attempt to give Parkinson his second wicket.

Michael Pepper also peppered the boundary, with a full-faced lift over the cover boundary for a six, only to get a deep third with an attempted ramp, one short of his fifty. was However, Critchley made no mistake in leading Essex ahead with the second new ball, and with the promise of more, that’s where the first day’s offerings came from.