Weather woe at Chelmsford

Jack Brooks: Ravi Bopara was amongst his four victims late on day two

Chelmsford: saw no play on three of the four days of the Division Two fixture

Essex and Northamptonshire were once again frustrated by the weather as day four of their clash at Chelmsford was washed out without a ball being bowled.

The Division Two clash was called off not long after the scheduled start on Sunday, meanining the match ended after only 27 overs of actual play.

The hosts had been reduced to 54-6 during that short period of action, Jack Brooks taking 4-22 from nine overs to put his county firmly on top.

However, bad weather wiped out the entire weekend, meaning Northamptonshire take home five points compared to Essex's three.

"It is frustrating after a positive start in our opening two games as we obviously wanted to play Northants over four days but you can't beat the weather in cricket and that has definitely been the case recently," Essex head coach Paul Grayson told the county's website.

"We've just got to keep our fingers crossed that the weather is better next week in Cardiff where we face Glamorgan."

Day Three

Rain prevented any play on day three of Essex's match against Northamptonshire at Chelmsford.

The opening day of the contest was also a washout and just 27 overs were possible on day two, during which Essex were reduced to 54-6, including four wickets for Northants seamer Jack Brooks.

Incessant rain on day three falling on a sodden ground left umpires Nigel Cowley and Steve Gale with the straightforward decision to call off play for the day.

Entry for the final day will be free, although the advance weather forecast is not promising.

Day Two

Essex may now be regretting the fact rain didn't wipe out a second successive day of their clash with Northamptonshire after slumping to 54-6.

Paceman Jack Brooks decimated the home side's top order at Chelmsford, taking 4-22 once play was finally able to get underway in the evening session.

After Chaminda Vaas dismissed Alviro Petersen, Brooks bowled Billy Godleman for nine before trapping Tom Westley lbw before the new batsman had troubled the scorers.

Ravi Bopara was fortunate when he edged his first ball but saw it drop just short of Alex Wakely at third slip, though he mustered just six before offering no stroke to the England Lions paceman, resulting in him being bowled.

Brooks' four wickets arrived in the space of just 18 deliveries and left Essex with half their side back in the pavilion and only 25 on the scoreboard.

It got even worse when David Willey breached the defences of Greg Smith for five. However, Mark Pettini and James Foster managed to stand firm through to the close, the former on 16 not out the only batsman to reach double figures.

Day One

Rain wiped out the entire first day of the LV= County Championship match between Essex and Northamptonshire at Chelmsford.

Heavy rain in the early hours of the morning and a series of prolonged showers throughout the day left umpires Nigel Cowley and Steve Gale with little option but to formally call off proceedings.

The groundstaff had battled hard to overcome the odds but were finally forced to give up hope at 3.15pm when the officials said there was no chance of play.

There had already been bad news for the hosts earlier in the day, with Australian seamer Peter Siddle confirming he will not be available for the Friends Life t20 competition this year due to injury.

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