Essex 162 (Simmons 3-12, Yates 3-27) and 331 for 6 (Cox 112, Critchley 99*) beat Warwickshire 397 (Barnard 165, Burgess 108, Snater 3-58) and 94 (Critchley 4-24, Harmer 3-28) by four wickets

Essex's third win of the season kept them close on the heels of Surrey at the top of the Vitality County Championship. Warwickshire were left to rue what might have been.

The match had swung every which way during the first three days with both sides in the ascendancy at various times. Warwickshire had recovered from 104 for 6 to gain a first-innings lead of 235, but declined to enforce the follow-on. When they were dismissed for 94 second time around, that decision came under the microscope. It left Essex needing 330 to win in more than five sessions.

Critchley reached his third half-century of the season with a smart drive that eluded a diving extra cover and raced away for his sixth boundary. Cox also kept the scoreboard ticking along in the pre-new-ball overs and pulled Rob Yates for four.

Essex scored 21 from the six overs before the new-ball was taken, still requiring 85 runs to win. Critchley was not fazed and smote a full-toss straight back past Michael Rae for another boundary, and then hooked the same bowler to take the partnership to 150 from 50 overs.

Suddenly Rae was digging the ball in short and Michael Pepper was ducking under a couple of deliveries. Pepper then decided to advance down the wicket, stepped towards leg, was out-thought by the bowler and ended up playing on.

Simon Harmer brought up the 300 by hooking the New Zealander for four, and Critchley top-edged Rae for six over fine leg and then drive through the covers for four to take Essex within a dozen of the target.