County Championship: Notts collapse on opening day against Essex
Last updated on .From the section Counties
| Specsavers County Championship Division One, Cloudfm County Ground (day one) |
| Nottinghamshire 187: Clarke 48, Slater 45; Porter 4-75 |
| Essex 68-0: Browne 34*, Cook 29* |
| Essex (3 pts) trail Nottinghamshire (0 pts) by 119 runs |
| Match scorecard |
Pace bowler Jamie Porter claimed 4-75 as Essex dominated the opening day's play in their Championship game against Nottinghamshire at Chelmsford.
The visitors were bowled out for just 187 after choosing to bat first.
Ben Slater (45) and Joe Clarke (48) put on 80, the only sizeable stand of the innings, but both fell to Porter as Notts slumped from 118-2 to 139-6.
Essex had to face 21 overs before the close and Nick Browne (34) and Alastair Cook (29) saw them safely to 68-0.
Notts soon lost Ben Duckett at the start of play, but the decision to bat was briefly made to look like a good one when Chris Nash hit four boundaries in the same Porter over - two meaty pulls either side of a cover drive, followed by a superb stroke back past the stumps.
Nash, though, was caught at square leg off Sam Cook for 26 and although Slater and Clarke played watchfully either side of lunch, neither managed to reach a half-century.
Slater edged to the keeper and Clarke was bowled through the gate and wickets fell regularly thereafter, the last three for the addition of only four runs.
Notts tried five bowlers, including England's Stuart Broad, as they sought an early breakthrough in Essex's reply, but Browne and former England captain Cook proved there were no demons in the pitch by surviving without too many alarms.