County Championship: Bamber's maiden ton helps Bears avoid follow-on at Essex

Ethan Bamber, nominally batting as nightwatchman, enjoyed the day of his life in recording his maiden first-class century to help Warwickshire narrowly avoid following on at Chelmsford.

Despite Matt Critchley, the main spin option in the absence of Simon Harmer, taking 5-156 from 37 overs, Ed Barnard made sure Warwickshire past the 453-run target to make Essex bat again with just number 11 batsman Oliver Hannon-Dalby for company.

In the team primarily as an opening bowler, the 26-year-old Bamber had never surpassed the 46 not out he compiled against Surrey two summers ago when with Middlesex. But he was unflustered and correct in defence and attack in remaining at the crease for nearly four hours for his crucial 107 that makes a draw on the fourth day inevitable.

Bamber was not overawed in a 64-run stand for the third wicket with Dan Mousley, who hit 75 from 88 balls, and 80 for the fifth-wicket with Beau Webster, whose contribution was 32.

Another player to relish the day was 20-year-old South Asian Cricket Academy graduate Vansh Jani, looking like an old hand and marking his county debut with 41 in a 86-run stand with Barnard, who was 90 not out when bad luck ended play at 6.54pm with Warwickshire 465-9.

On a day shorn of seven overs by morning rain, Essex toiled with the Kookaburra ball on a benign track just as Warwickshire had on the first two days in conceding 602-6 declared.

When play started 40 minutes late, Warwickshire added 29 runs in nine overs before the rain returned. Bamber, promoted up the order after Alex Davies's late dismissal the previous evening, claimed 22 of those runs, overshadowing Mousley, who had been scoring at a run-a-ball before stumps on day two.

When play resumed after the delay, Mousley increased his day's output from six runs to 14 in the first over from Porter with back-to-back straight drives for boundaries. As he rediscovered his earlier fluency and strike-rate, Mousley reverse-swept Critchley for another four.

However, the left-hander lasted just two balls after lunch before he slashed wildly at Snater and was caught at first slip by Paul Walter. Next delivery, Zen Malik prodded forward tentatively, the ball caught his outside edge and he departed to the same bowler-fielder combination.

Two fours in the next over from Snater, one streaky between the slips and gully, the other a firm cover-drive, took Bamber first to his top score and then to 50.

With confidence now flowing, Bamber pulled and swatted Noah Thain for boundaries before another pull off the same bowler brought up both Warwickshire's first batting point and the half-century partnership with Webster.

Webster was equally untroubled, going up on his toes to square-cut Snater for four and treating Cook's first delivery with the second new-ball with disdain as it raced to the extra-cover boundary. However, Cook took his revenge when digging in a short one which the Australian all-rounder followed and edged at shoulder height to second lip.

Bamber's first real mis-stroke, a wild lunge outside off-stump for his 18th and final boundary, took him to three figures. But with just seven more runs added, and having faced 207 balls, he got a leading edge and gave a return catch to Critchley.

Kai Smith thrashed his first two balls to the cover boundary, but he clipped his sixth to midwicket where Charlie Allison plucked the ball out of the air as it past him to give Snater a third wicket.

That looked like the moment for Essex to take control before Barnard and Jani collected some soft runs in their 20-over, eighth-wicket stand. The rookie all-rounder became Critchley's fourth wicket when he was lbw playing down the wrong line. Corey Rocchiccioli was number five when he patted back to the bowler before the late mini-drama as Barnard saw Warwickshire over the line.

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