County Championship: Hampshire start run-chase after Liam Dawson's 7-68 against Essex

Liam Dawson has now taken five or more wickets in a first-class innings on five occasions

Simon Harmer tormented Hampshire with bat and ball as Essex racked up a big advantage in their County Championship fixture.

South African Harmer claimed 8-46 - the best figures by anyone so far in the 2022 Championship - to condemn Hampshire to a 75-run first-innings deficit.

He then totted up 61 to go with Adam Rossington's 60 to ease Essex away from 51-5 and to set Hampshire a target of 299, which they reduced to 264 by the close.

Across the three innings, all 14 wickets in the day fell to spin bowling - with Liam Dawson picking up his best Hampshire figures of 7-68 and Felix Organ 3-57 on a pitch full of turn.

• Relive the second day's play in the County Championship as it happened

Harmer, who began the day with 4-23, unsurprisingly began from the River End and bowled 15 balls before he added his 25th five-wicket haul for Essex - bowling a reverse sweeping Keith Barker around his legs.

Barker had struck two fours and a six off Harmer alone and Kyle Abbott would thrash three sixes in a 23-run over off Dan Lawrence as 95 runs were scored in 55 minutes, but Harmer was constantly taking wickets.

James Fuller screwed to cover, Ben Brown - following a punchy 38 - was caught behind and Abbott was caught at deep mid-wicket as Hampshire were bowled out for 163.

Harmer now has over 200 first-class wickets at Chelmsford since joining Essex in 2017.

Spin continued to be the way forward as Hampshire turned to Organ and Dawson in the fifth and sixth overs - and Organ did the initial damage as he had a driving Alastair Cook caught at first slip and Tom Westley brilliantly taken at short leg with his fifth and sixth deliveries.

Dawson had Lawrence lbw to a full ball on the stroke of lunch before Paul Walter and Michael Pepper came and went after the interval - the former leg before to Organ and the latter reversing Dawson to point.

Hampshire looked on a roll, but Nick Browne and Rossington's contrasting styles navigated the hosts back to a strong position.

Browne was resolute, while Rossington's assertiveness was best typified by dispatching his second delivery for six.

Both helped to soften the ball and make batting easier, as the bounce and turn started to be nullified, in a 54-run partnership - with Rossington contributing 42 of them.

Browne fell for a 98-ball 33 when he turned Dawson to leg slip, the lead on 180 before Harmer entered to show off his batting prowess.

Rossington stamped his authority, his 50 coming in 52 balls, although he fell for 60 when he chipped to mid-off, but Harmer added a further 34 with Shane Snater before the Dutch international gave Dawson his fifth wicket.

Harmer moved to his 82-ball half-century with a six into the Hayes Close gardens before he and Sam Cook fell to successive balls to give Dawson the second seven-wicket return of his career - and in doing so he became the first spin bowler not called Harmer to take a five-wicket haul at Chelmsford since Gareth Batty in 2014.

Hampshire had 13 overs to face before the close and Organ lifted Harmer out of the ground three times as they reached 35 without loss.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.