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Essex claimed the last six Hampshire wickets for just 42 runs.
Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford (day one)
Hampshire 235: Lehmann 89, Brown 73; Mulder 3-46, Cook 3-56
Essex 51-2: Westley 24*
Essex (3 pts) trail Hampshire (0 pts) by 184 runs
Jake Lehmann and Ben Brown struck half-centuries for Hampshire, but a dramatic batting collapse handed Essex control on the opening day of their County Championship clash at Chelmsford.
Lehmann, who had just returned from a personal trip to Australia, notched his fifth consecutive Championship fifty, taking his summer tally to 425 runs from seven innings. He shared a vital 105-run fifth-wicket stand with captain Brown, the only substantial partnership of the innings, as bottom-placed Hampshire were bowled out for 235.
Lehmann compiled 89 from 164 deliveries, while Brown made 73 off 116 balls. Apart from 18-year-old Ben Mayes’ 20, no other batter reached double figures as Hampshire’s lineup found inventive ways to get out.
Sam Cook claimed three top-order wickets, finishing with 3-56, before Wiaan Mulder cleaned up the tail after tea. The final five wickets fell in just 37 balls.
In 22 evening overs, Essex reduced the deficit by 51 runs, losing Paul Walter (caught behind off Kyle Abbott) and Dean Elgar (short ball from James Fuller lobbed to a fielder).
Essex’s decision to bowl first on a green-tinged pitch paid dividends quickly. Cook struck twice in five balls during the sixth over: Toby Albert was trapped lbw and Tom Prest saw his off-stump knocked back. Nick Gubbins managed just eight from 28 before his forward lunge sent a Shane Snater delivery to gully.
Lehmann and Mayes steadied the ship with a 55-run stand for the fourth wicket until Mayes fell to the last ball before lunch, caught low at second slip to give Cook his third.
But the afternoon session belonged to Hampshire. Lehmann reached his half-century with an eighth boundary through mid-wicket and found an aggressive partner in Brown, who charged down the pitch to loft Simon Harmer for six over long leg. The pair exchanged boundaries and wrestled control from Essex.
Lehmann picked off the bowlers with ease, cutting Mulder for four and then sending the ball backward of square for another boundary without even bothering to run. However, just after Brown brought up the century partnership in 90 minutes, Jamie Porter found a way past Lehmann’s pads to knock off the bails. Lehmann hit 15 fours in his innings.
After tea, Liam Dawson was bowled by Mulder, and two balls later, Fuller’s loose drive straight back to the bowler added to Hampshire’s troubles.
The momentum swung back to Essex. Scott Currie lasted two balls before playing to the covers, hesitating fatally as Charlie Allison swooped and ran him out. Mulder then induced a leading edge from Brown to end his innings—which included nine fours and a six—and wrapped up the innings by trapping Codi Yusuf lbw.
