County Championship: Warwickshire all-rounder Will Rhodes in the wickets against Essex

Will Rhodes spent time on loan with Essex when they won the Division Two title in 2016

Warwickshire dented Essex's title hopes as Will Rhodes manufactured a batting collapse for the hosts at Chelmsford.

Rhodes bagged career-best figures of 5-17 as Essex squandered control from 157-2 to be bowled out for 245.

Alastair Cook (84) was the first of those wickets to fall, caught in the gully after he and Dan Lawrence (61) had put on 116 for the third wicket.

Rhodes completed his first five-wicket haul when Aaron Beard (29) was caught behind off the last ball of the day.

Essex started this round 15 points behind leaders Somerset and on a run of five wins in their past six matches - but, once again, they failed to post an imposing first-innings total.

They lost four wickets for 14 either side of tea when medium pacer Rhodes was first brought into the Bears' attack.

After picking up the wickets of Cook, Lawrence, Rishi Patel and Adam Wheater, he had the rather impressive figures of 6-4-6-4 and Essex had stuttered to 171-6.

Olly Stone (2-64) then picked up Ryan ten Doeschate and Peter Siddle to leave them 211-9, before Aaron Beard and Matt Quinn added 34 as the last pair in 12 overs.

But Beard fell five runs short of securing a second batting bonus point for Essex as Warwickshire's decision to bowl first paid dividends.

Essex assistant head coach Andre Nel:

"Hopefully we can do what we do well with the ball and get ourselves back in the game. Hopefully we'll come and fight back.

"The batsmen will be disappointed. Apart from Simon Harmer, who was lbw, the others were soft dismissals. We gave our wickets away quite softly.

"When Aaron Beard plays for the second team he sometimes opens the batting, so he is quite a useful batsman. Long may it continue.

"But his primary job is now to take wickets and get the ball in the right areas and back up Peter Siddle and Matthew Quinn."

Bears medium pacer Will Rhodes told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:

"I can't remember the last time I got five wickets in any form of cricket. With the injuries that have come about I've been given the opportunity to bowl more overs.

"They knew I wanted to bowl more. It was just having that opportunity to bowl more. When you've got the bowlers we've got you're not going to do much bowling.

"But it's nice to contribute. That's the main thing. I was just batting last year and, if you miss out you always feel like you want to contribute with the ball.

"It's quite weird coming back to somewhere you've played before and going into the home dressing room, it's really good coming back. I'm really good friends with some of the players."