By Mike Beddow at Edgbaston
First day of four: Warwickshire (190 & 23-1) lead Essex (139) by 74 runs
TOO many wickets are falling here: 39 in three days last week, 21 in 95.5 overs yesterday. This sort of cricket does nothing for the reputation of a Test arena, even if indifferent batting and relentless swing and seam bowling are more to blame than the groundsman.
The pitch, the second to be re-used immediately after a one-day match, has the Edgbaston characteristic of uneven bounce. It will qualify for a mandatory report to Lord's but probably no more.
Neither side have batted with consistency this season. Consequently, there is less room for surprise that Warwickshire folded so quickly or that Essex encountered problems with Ed Giddins. His opening spell of three for 25 included a stunning reflex catch by substitute Chris Howell at short leg.
Warwickshire's bowling was the more meritorious because they were without Dougie Brown who broke a finger while batting. Graeme Welch, in particular, shouldered a heavier workload and spin entered the equation with three wickets for Ashley Giles.
These are not happy times for Warwickshire, not when Brian Lara is a ghost of the player who ruled the world in 1994. Nor when their second highest accumulator - Neil Smith with 532 championship runs continues to be isolated at No 9.
The little things tend to go wrong as well. It rained an hour before the start yesterday and, in the absence of ground staff on weather-watch, the covers had to be yanked into place by Essex volunteers.
Warwickshire's decision to bat quickly came under scrutiny. Three noughts - Lara among them to the first ball he received from Neil Williams - were on the scorecard within four overs and four wickets fell for 20.
Mark Ilott's generous bounty of three for four in 26 balls was due to swing when he trapped Michael Powell on the crease and natural away slant when Mark Wagh and Tony Frost played forward with little conviction.
Wagh came in for his first county match of the season because David Hemp and Trevor Penney were cast off to play in the second XI.
Essex's four seamers enjoyed a productive day, not only with help from the pitch but from Warwickshire's ability to seek out trouble. One half-century stand ended when Nick Knight hooked to long leg and another closed abruptly as Keith Piper and Welch drove Williams to mid-off. Smith was the exception with his unbeaten 43 off 48 balls.
Day 2: Giles and Smith hold Essex at bay
By Mike Beddow at Edgbaston
Second day of four: Essex (139 & 75-1) need 257 runs to beat Warwickshire (190 & 280)
HARRY BRIND, the ECB pitches consultant, visited Edgbaston to seek an explanation for the loss of 21 wickets on the first day. His report to Lord's is unlikely to mention Neil Smith and Ashley Giles but perhaps it should.
Nominally numbers nine and 10 on the scorecard, they succeeded where so many specialist batsmen had failed. Giles was a capable night-watchman with 63 and Smith rewarded the resolve of Dougie Brown, who battered with a broken finger, by hitting three sixes in a last-wicket stand of 43.
Essex were set to make 332 for only their second championship win of the summer and they will believe it is a realistic objective after Ian Flanagan's groundwork in an opening stand of 71 with Paul Prichard. Today they will be looking for a renewed push by Stuart Law before he has a shoulder operation next week.
If there was anything seriously wrong with the pitch - and Warwickshire may privately expect to be exonerated by Mr Brind - the shape of the match would not have altered so obviously.
The change became evident when Essex had to use Peter Such to quell a bombardment. The first hour produced 72 runs and only one departure when Nick Knight underedged an attempted cut. Mark Wagh then prodded Such to slip but this time there was to be no capitulation.
Giles went into the afternoon before Flanagan held a memorable catch at square leg and Brian Lara glimpsed some form with three fours in an over only to punch a drive straight to extra cover.
Lara's ill-concealed disappointment with himself was not an invitation for Essex to consider a quick kill. Tony Frost Keith Piper and Graeme Welch stubbornly accrued runs and then Smith blitzed 47 in 48 balls.
Day 3: Prichard reads Essex pulse
By Mike Beddow
ESSEX are in the 20th season of a cycle which has produced six County Championships and only two placings in the lower half of the table. But in Chelmsford and other outposts of a culture founded by Brian Taylor and carried on by Keith Fletcher in the 1970s, they are bracing themselves for a jolt.
Unless a winning formula is found soon, this could be their least successful championship summer since Trevor Bailey's Test career was in its infancy. They last held the wooden spoon in 1950.
No amount of one-day prizes -the NatWest Trophy last season or the Benson and Hedges Cup this month - can alter the fact that they are a declining force in the competition which counts for most.
No matter what they did against Warwickshire yesterday, they knew their position in this morning's table. Wins by Somerset and Northamptonshire guaranteed that Essex would be last. Yet the broader picture is as predicted by Paul Prichard, namely that the championship was to be a training ground for young batsmen; the one-day competitions would be for interim success.
One trophy is in the bank, another is a strong possibility in the AXA League, and if the membership is uneasy with an uncompetitive year in four-day cricket, the long-term plan is evolving.
Ian Flanagan, a well-organised left-hander, and Stephen Peters were members of the England side who won the World Youth Cup in South Africa this year. Peters scored a century in the final.
Their roles in this match, which was so advanced that Essex had more than two days to score 332, was essential in the build-up to a large fourth-innings total.
Flanagan, 18, reached 49 on Friday and moved to 61, the highest of his two championships fifties, before Brian Lara held a breathtaking slip catch to his left.
Nightwatchman Mark Ilott had previously edged behind to give Ed Giddins a 50th first-class wicket of the season, but Peters used up 27 overs for 26 until a quicker ball from Neil Smith flattened his leg stump.
Warwickshire, a bowler short because of Dougie Brown's broken finger, began to feel the strain during a stand of 80. This ended at 226 when Ashley Giles surprised Ronnie Irani (69) with bounce and turn and, without addition, Paul Grayson was lbw to Mark Wagh. Stuart Law also fell to Giddins as Essex reached tea at 249 for seven.