Date-stamped : 03 Sep96 - 22:31 =========================================>Day 1 Swing in fortunes for Essex By Neil Hallam at Edgbaston First day of four: Warwicks (14-3) trail Essex (238) by 224 runs ESSEX, their championship hopes deflated by Monday`s defeat by Yorkshire, toiled at the crease but perked up as Warwickshire lapsed to 14 for three in 10 overs on a wicket which made batting a fraught business. Nick Knight`s flush of form ended with him straying in front, Andy Moles got an edge pushing forward, and the nightwatchman Ashley Giles was pinned by a big inswinger as Mark Illot and Neil Williams exploited the conditions. Essex must soon have questioned their decision to bat on a green-tinged surface of variable bounce and in an atmosphere offering lavish movement. There was still, though, a suspicion of under-achievement about Warwickshire`s bowling and especially so in the case of Tim Munton, usually reliable in such a sappy environment. At 87 for five and with Gladstone Small demanding rapt concentration in two spells yielding four for 35, a more meagre Essex total seemed likely. Paul Grayson was scuttled by one which hardly bounced before Small, limited by knee problems to only six championship appearances this season, produced two beauties to dislodge Graham Gooch. The first nipped back to prompt unsuccessful appeals for lbw, the next moved away late to induce a jab to third slip. Essex were in greater disorder when Paul Prichard received one which popped up off a length and Nasser Hussain`s 36-over vigil finished with an impatient top-edged cut. Bolder methods worked for Ronnie Irani, who moved towards fifty off 54 balls with a six over long-on off Munton before he skied to deep mid-off, leaving Ilott to supervise tail-end resistance. Essex have released bowlers Nick Derbyshire and Duncan Ayres. Contracts have been offered to two young players, Danny Wilson and Elliott Wilson, who are not related. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph =========================================>Day 2 Gooch survives to fight on By Neil Hallam at Edgbaston Second day of four: Essex (238 & 113-1) lead Warwicks (253) by 98 runs SHEER LUCK is not to be discounted as a potentially decisive factor in the most keenly contested championship for years and Essex`s hopes received a beneficial tweak as Graham Gooch was dropped twice while laying the foundations for a victory chase against Warwickshire. A big score from Gooch, still one of the game`s most reliable major-innings players, is crucial to Essex`s chances of setting a demanding target, and with an unbeaten 58 so far he is set fair to make Warwickshire rue their lapses. First, on 22, he was spilled at third slip by Dominic Ostler when Gladstone Small moved one away and next, on 38, he mistimed a lofted stroke against Neil Smith and saw a comfortable chance put down at deep mid-on by Tim Munton. It was a careless end to what had been an impressive revival by Warwickshire, deep in the mire at 14 for three when they resumed and deeper still when Neil Williams`s first ball of the day bounced more than expected to dislodge Ostler. With the pitch`s green tinge fading and the atmosphere less humid than on the first day there was less in conditions to encourage seam, but the bounce was still uneven. It required an innings of sustained discipline and selectivity from Wasim Khan to right the ship and pilot Warwickshire to a first- innings lead of 15 runs. Khan, re-emerging as a batsman of promise after a chastening first half of the season, displayed an assurance nobody else has approached in this contest in making 126 in over five hours. Less than a month ago he had well under 200 championship runs to his credit, but a century against Durham and a half-century against Worcestershire renewed his confidence and after surviving a chance the previous evening he did not offer another before reaching his century off 225 balls. Trevor Penney was the only other top-six batsmen to reach double-figures before he jabbed to second slip. Khan, though, shared stands of 60 with Dougie Brown and 55 with Keith Piper to add to the frustrations for an Essex side who, having claimed only one bonus point with the bat, could afford nothing less than all four with the ball. Khan hit Peter Such over long-on for six before he was last out, edging a low catch to the wicketkeeper. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph =========================================>Day 3 Gooch makes Warwicks pay By Neil Hallam at Edgbaston Third day of four: Warwicks (253 & 65-3) need 371 to beat Essex (238 & 450-6 dec) THE 127th hundred of Graham Gooch`s career took him past W G Grace to ninth place in cricket`s all-time list of century- makers, sternly rebuking Warwickshire for dropping him three times and setting a victory target of 436 which vanished into the distance as they promptly lost three wickets in six balls. Previous championship games against these opponents had yielded fewer than 600 of Gooch`s 44,000 first-class runs and only one century in 20 innings but the currency of his 147 off 234 balls was enhanced as Warwickshire slumped to 65 for three in the 17 overs which followed Essex`s declaration at 450 for six. With fine weather forecast, Essex have every reason to be confident of repairing the damage done to their title challenge by defeat against Yorkshire this week though Gooch and Paul Prichard, who added a composed 108, showed Warwickshire what might be done by batsmen combining concentration with selectivity. An easing pitch offered a modicum of slow turn but there was little else to explain a Warwickshire collapse in which Andy Moles prodded to short-leg, Wasim Khan wandered in line against Neil Williams and Nick Knight perished strokeless to Peter Such`s second ball. No such alarms could have been predicted while Gooch, missed twice in seven overs in reaching 58 the previous day, was making serene progress against an attack showing increasing signs of weary resignation. There was a false stroke on 76 when he edged between the slips and a second-wicket stand worth 89 ended when Nasser Hussain fell sweeping but Gooch had 13 fours and two sixes in completing his seventh century of the summer and was on 118 before he offered another chance. This one, fierce and chin height to slip, sent Dominic Ostler off with a bruised hand but luck at last went with Warwickshire when Prichard straight-drove Dougie Brown and the bowler`s attempt to stop the shot instead deflected it into the stumps to run out Gooch and end a stand worth 111. Prichard hit a six and 11 fours before he was stumped, making room on the walk and inducing a stumble in which Robert Rollins sliced behind square and Mark Ilott chipped to cover as three wickets went down in four overs. Ronnie Irani adjusted the arithmetic to Essex`s liking with a forceful, unbeaten 82, but this was Gooch`s day. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com) Essex on high road to Lord`s By Neil Hallam at Edgbaston Essex (238 & 450-6 dec) bt Warwicks (253 & 265) ESSEX make their way to Lord`s for today`s NatWest Trophy final with no need for hurry, with hopes of honours this season flourishing on two fronts and with confidence high after their 170-run victory over Warwickshire with almost two sessions to spare. Warwickshire`s remote chance of making 436 for victory had been extinguished the previous day, with three wickets tumbling in six balls, and defeat was completed less than nine overs into the afternoon when, after rattling up 200 runs in 2.5 hours, they subsided for 265. Monday`s defeat by Yorkshire meant that Essex could afford nothing less than victory to keep their championship claims realistically intact and the prospect of any other outcome soon vanished when seamer Neil Williams, who ended with four for 57, denied Trevor Penney the middle-order support he needed to prolong the resistance. Penney prevented summary capitulation with a determined 70 but Williams, who had begun Warwickshire`s problems with two lbw successes the previous evening, had another when Dominic Ostler perished attempting to work the ball off his legs. Dougie Brown fell forcing off the back foot, Keith Piper was bowled behind his legs attempting to sweep and the bonus of avoiding the M1`s Friday teatime jam beckoned for Essex when Ashley Cowan found some extra bounce to punish Penney`s startled jab. Penney had a six and seven fours to reward over two hours of defiance and all that was left was a display of brave hitting from Neil Smith and Ashley Giles in a stand of 62 in nine overs either side of lunch. With only slow turn available, Peter Such paid a high premium of 114 runs for his four wickets but more good news awaited Essex with the announcement that the back problem which kept Paul Prichard off the field would not prevent him leading them at Lord`s.