Warwickshire beat Essex by eight wickets in two days

Warwickshire beat Essex by eight wickets inside two days in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship at Chelmsford.

The visitors took 19 points to Essex's three. The final scorecard read Essex 134 and 189, Warwickshire 191 and 138-2, according to BBC Sport.

Essex chose to bat first and were bowled out cheaply. Ethan Bamber did the damage with 6-26, his seam bowling cutting through the top order and tail. Warwickshire replied with 191, built around Sam Hain's unbeaten 88. Matt Critchley kept Essex in touch with 4-54.

That gave Warwickshire a 57-run lead on first innings. In a first-class match each side bats twice, so Essex needed a much better second effort to set a target.

They did not get it. Manav Suthar, the left-arm spinner, took 5-75 as Essex were dismissed for 189. Chris Woakes supported him with 3-33, using his experience with the new and old ball to keep the pressure on.

It left Warwickshire needing 133 to win. They knocked them off for the loss of two wickets. Zen Malik led the chase with 51, playing straight and putting away the loose balls.

Essex finished the match without their captain. Tom Westley damaged a finger in the field and was replaced by Luc Benkenstein.

What makes this stand out is the repeatability. Warwickshire had beaten Glamorgan inside two days the previous week, according to Edgbaston. Back-to-back short wins suggest an attack in form.

For fans, this means seam and spin working together. Bamber struck hard up front. Suthar then finished the job, moving to 26 wickets in five Championship matches this season. Hain and Malik supplied the calm with the bat when the pitch was doing plenty.