Essex Crush Nottinghamshire

Essex claimed a dominant innings win over Nottinghamshire in the County Championship Division One match at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford, as Simon Harmer took his second four-wicket haul of the game, leading his side to victory before lunch on the final day.

Harmer, the South African off-spinner, finished with figures of 4-93, as Nottinghamshire's batting crumbled once again, resulting in a comprehensive defeat by an innings and 83 runs. 

Starting the day at 180-2 and still needing 184 runs to avoid a follow-on, Nottinghamshire’s hopes quickly vanished. They collapsed in just 38 overs during an extended morning session, adding only 101 runs as they lost their remaining eight wickets. Their first innings total of 93 had already put them far behind Essex’s 457.

Alongside Harmer, Sam Cook and Paul Walter both played key roles, picking up two wickets each to hand Nottinghamshire their fourth loss of the season. 

Essex, seeking their first victory in five matches, made quick progress in the morning. Cook dismissed both overnight batsmen, Haseeb Hameed and Joe Clarke, within the first 20 minutes of play, breaking their 136-run third-wicket partnership. Hameed, who had reached 105 from 166 balls, was trapped lbw, while Clarke edged a delivery outside off stump, caught by Harmer at slip.

Jack Haynes and Kyle Verreynne managed to hold off Essex for a while, scoring at a slow pace, but Walter soon struck twice in quick succession. Haynes, after a patient 48-ball innings of eight, was caught off a leading edge by the bowler himself, and Lyndon James followed after a brilliant diving catch by Shane Snater at cover.

The new ball immediately made an impact as Liam Patterson-White slashed a delivery from Jamie Porter straight to wicketkeeper Michael Pepper. Harmer then returned to the attack, and within four balls, removed Rob Lord, who offered a simple catch to the short leg, and bowled Luke Fletcher for a duck shortly after.

With one wicket remaining, Essex took the extra half-hour to push for victory. Despite Verreynne's resilient unbeaten 38, 16-year-old Farhan Ahmed was caught behind off Snater's second ball of the seventh extra over, sealing the win.

Essex walked away with 23 points, while Nottinghamshire managed just 2, leaving them in a precarious position in the standings.