Napier Stars In Stalemate
Napier - snatched extra point.
Graham Napier snatched an extra point for Essex in a rain-ruined draw with Warwickshire in the LV County Championship at Edgbaston today.
The hard-hitting all-rounder smashed 76 from 62 balls - his first Championship half-century in 13 months - as Essex reached 216 and then gave the home side an early scare before they cleared a deficit of 62 by making 68 for two.
The stalemate in Birmingham was good news for promotion favourites Worcestershire, now 10 points ahead of Warwickshire and 23 clear of Northamptonshire.
The top three have played 12 matches and Essex have a game in hand as they trail the Division Two leaders by 40 points.
There was never much hope of a result with the first innings a long way from being completed when Essex began the final day on 38 for two.
Warwickshire's seamers quickly caused problems. Chris Woakes (three for 28) again bowled with impeccable control in a spell of two for 21 from nine overs and Boyd Rankin, though erratic in line and length, finished with four for 80 on his debut for the county.
James Middlebrook was first out, edging Rankin to second slip, and Woakes took the two most important wickets in successive overs.
James Foster gave Darren Maddy his second slip catch of the morning and Grant Flower's leading edge resulted in a comfortable chance taken by the bowler in his follow through.
Ryan ten Doeschate (30) got Essex moving again in a stand of 54 with Napier but he found first slip in a brief appearance by Jimmy Anyon and Chris Wright was also held in the slips when pushing forward to Ian Salisbury on the stroke of lunch.
The slide continued when Rankin and Anyon removed David Masters and Danish Kaneria, leaving Essex 13 short of a batting point having lost their ninth wicket.
With Mark Pettini not expected to make an appearance following a visit to an eye specialist, the players were about to turn back to the pavilion when the Essex captain made a last-minute decision to bat.
Napier had already made a move with two sixes off Salisbury and he followed up with two more boundary clearances off the seamers. An entertaining innings had also included 10 fours by the time he skied a simple return chance to Rankin.
All 10 Essex wickets went to catches and the pattern continued as Warwickshire lost their openers for 11. Flower moved to his right at second slip to hold Navdeep Poonia's edge off Masters and Ian Westwood was tied up when he chopped a short ball from Napier to Middlebrook at backward point.
Maddy (30 not out) and Jonathan Trott (21 not out) avoided any further setbacks until the teams shook hands on a draw.