County Championship: Essex wrap up innings win over Lancashire

Jamie Porter and Shane Snater blasted through a brittle Lancashire batting line-up to give Essex victory by an innings and 124 runs inside three days of the County Championship Division One match.

The Essex pace bowlers exploited a pitch playing low by taking three wickets apiece as Lancashire capitulated in just 41 overs for the second time.

Porter set the ball rolling with the first of nine wickets to fall in the session – finishing with 3-24 – before Snater took his match figures to 7-59 with 3-17 in the second innings.

Essex’s second win of the season, worth 22 points, took them further clear at the top of the table with only three games played.

Lancashire had started day three on 10-1, requiring another 221 runs to make the hosts bat again. However, they lost five wickets in the first hour and did not recover, with the game wrapped up in extra time before the scheduled lunch interval.

Essex were forced to field Ronnie McKenna as substitute behind the stumps of a finger injury to Michael Pepper and the 19-year-old was celebrating a first significant contribution when nightwatchman Will Williams edged Porter into his gloves.

It precipitated a catastrophic collapse with four wickets falling in 16 balls. Josh Bohannon lasted 25 balls before he walked across a delivery from Sam Cook and was lbw, Luke Wells was bowled for 21 and in the same Snater over George Balderson played down the wrong line, before Tom Bruce had his off stump sent cartwheeling by Porter.

Matty Hurst and George Bell put on 30 before the wicketkeeper scooped Snater into square leg’s hands, then Simon Harmer had Tom Bailey caught and bowled, before Jack Blatherwick gave the off-spinner more catching practice.

Bell appeared to be heading for a third half-century in four innings at Chelmsford until he nicked Cook to Dean Elgar to wrap up the match.