Essex struggle at hands of Mason

Worcestershire will look to build a lead on day two against Essex after the home side were skittled out for only 220 at Chelmsford.

Worcestershire will look to build a lead on day two against Essex after the home side were skittled out for only 220 at Chelmsford.

The Essex captain Ronnie Irani smashed 85 before being caught and bowled by Gareth Batty but none of his team-mates managed a half-century as the Worcestershire bowler took 3 for 26, while Matt Mason proved dangerous with 4 for 48.

The visitors squeezed in six overs before the close, on 17 without loss.

Durham must start well in the morning to avoid the follow-on as they finished the day 65 for 3 in reply to Yorkshire's 254.

Richard Dawson (86) was the only Yorkshire batsman to reach 50, with the opener Matthew Wood out for a duck, caught by Michael Lewis off Liam Plunkett.

But Tim Bresnan helped to make amends with the ball as he dismissed Mike Hussey (26) and Jonathan Lewis (23), who was caught lbw to finish the day with figures of 2 for 15.

In the Totesport League, Surrey enjoyed a five-wicket victory over Scotland in Edinburgh. The Englishmen required only 38.3 overs to achieve the target set by their hosts' 252 for 7 and despite Mark Ramprakash being dismissed for a duck, had little difficulty.

Derbyshire faced an uphill struggle after tea when Warwickshire finished their innings on 260 for 8 after the full allocation of overs. Nick Knight hit 60 and left-hander Jim Troughton struck 73.

Yorkshire's Richard Dawson fell one short of his career-best 87 as he rescued his team in the County Championship Second Division's top-of-the-table battle at Chester-le-Street. Yorkshire totalled 254 while Durham closed on 65 for 3.

Andrew Flintoff showed he will be ready to face Bangladesh in next week's first Test. He bowled three maidens and conceded just six runs, getting plenty of life out of the pitch as Somerset reached 79 for 2 after losing the toss. Mike Burns was unbeaten on 45.