A battling century from Paul Walter helped Essex rebuild their second innings and wrestle back control on Day Two of the Rothesay County Championship fixture against Worcestershire at Chelmsford.
Walter struck a composed 104 from 154 balls to lift his side from a vulnerable 128-5 to a far stronger 233-6 at stumps, a lead of 210. His innings, laced with 13 boundaries and built over four hours of application and clean striking, steadied an Essex side that looked momentarily under pressure after Worcestershire closed the first innings gap to just 23 runs earlier in the day.
Walter found a valuable partner in teenager Noah Thain, whose career-best 49 not out ensured Essex finished the day with the upper hand heading into the third morning.
Worcestershire resumed on 98-4, and the morning began brightly with Adam Hose and captain Brett D’Oliveira extending their fifth-wicket stand to 102. The pair mirrored each other with identical scores of 48 from 78 balls, continuing the positive rhythm they had shown late on Day One.
Their efforts were the foundation of Worcestershire’s first-innings total of 202, a significant recovery from 22-4, but both fell in quick succession to Essex’s Sri Lankan pace debutant Kasun Rajitha. He finished with 4-52, extracting movement and bounce to trouble the middle and lower order.
There was a moment of controversy when Hose edged behind to first slip, where Walter claimed a low catch. Hose stood his ground and umpires conferred before giving him out, though replays later suggested the evidence was inconclusive. D’Oliveira then followed in Rajitha’s next over, trapped lbw on the crease, and replays again proved inconclusive as to whether the Pears skipper was hit outside the line of off stump.
Matthew Waite offered late resistance with a brisk 28, but the innings fizzled out as Essex chipped away. Brookes was caught at slip off Thain, and Tom Taylor’s dismissal – caught at midwicket – handed Rajitha his fourth. Ben Allison became the final wicket to fall, caught behind, giving Thain a second scalp.
Despite trailing by 23, Essex quickly erased the deficit in just six overs. Walter and Charlie Allison put on 53 for the first wicket before Matthew Waite struck, removing Allison with a catch behind. Waite was soon in the wickets again, trapping Tom Westley lbw for 3 as Worcestershire built pressure.
Walter, though, remained unshaken. He dominated off the back foot, timing the ball sweetly square of the wicket and even dispatching a short ball from Jacob Duffy with a forceful hook that thumped into the boundary boards. A quickfire 48-run stand with Jordan Cox added urgency, until Cox miscued a lofted drive off Duffy and was caught at mid-on.
As wickets continued to fall, Critchley skying one to midwicket off Brookes and the injured Michael Pepper bowled by a surging Waite, Essex appeared in danger again at 128-5. But Walter, composed and patient, regrouped and found a steady partner in Thain.
The pair added 83 together, blunting the Worcestershire attack in the afternoon session. Walter brought up his third career first-class hundred with a confident pull for four off Brookes, raising his arms in a quiet celebration. His 13th boundary took him to three figures in 149 deliveries, another reminder of his reliability in the top order.
Eventually, his vigil ended when Taylor nipped one back through the gate to bowl him for 104, a well-earned breakthrough for Worcestershire, but not before the damage had been done.
Thain remained unbeaten on 49, looking mature beyond his years, and will return on Day Three with Essex in a commanding position and an opportunity to build a lead that could set up a challenging fourth-innings chase.
