Chris Rushworth in the wickets yet again for Warwickshire
Chris Rushworth continued his stunning start to his Warwickshire career with another four wickets as Essex’s batting imploded on a rain-affected opening day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.
Former Durham seamer Rushworth went into this game, his fifth for Warwickshire, with 22 wickets at 15.27 apiece and enhanced those figures further with 4-28 as Essex folded to 126 all out.
Rushworth delivered a triple-wicket maiden in the last over before tea to reduce Essex from a relatively healthy 76-2 to 76-5. Olly Hannon-Dalby followed up in the final session with 4-21.
The Bears then encountered turbulence of their own as they reached 17-2 at the close on a day when the action did not start until 3pm due to rain.
Hannon-Dalby was delighted with his side’s efforts, saying: “They are a good side, so to bowl them out for 126 is something we can be really pleased with.
“It was Rushy who cracked it open on his own there with three wickets in an over just before tea. He did similar down at Hampshire last week and he has got those sorts of spells in him. He’s a brilliant bowler and has been the best bowler in county cricket for a number of years now and he is really showing us how good he is since he joined us at Warwickshire.”
The first signings of the open market stage in The Hundred women’s competition have been confirmed with Erin Burns, Abtaha Maqsood and Sterre Kalis heading back to Edgbaston.
Burns, a World Cup winner with Australia, returns to Phoenix having played in the first year of the competition, while 23-year-old Maqsood will play her third consecutive season in Birmingham. They’re joined by Chloe Brewer.
