County Championship: Essex bowl out Yorkshire for 134 before rain

Shane Snater removed Will Fraine without scoring

Sam Cook reached 200 first-class career wickets in record-breaking fashion as Essex bowled Yorkshire out for 134 during a bowler-friendly opening day of their County Championship match at Headingley.

In returning an excellent 3-31 from 15 overs, the 25-year-old England Lions seamer became the first English bowler in more than half a century to bring up 200 wickets at an average under 20.

Cook, whose 201 wickets have come at 19.56 apiece, achieved a feat last secured by Derbyshire's Alan Ward in 1971 and took advantage of helpful conditions to vindicate captain Tom Westley's decision to bowl first at the start of the two counties' 12th match of 14 in Division One.

He was ably backed up by fellow seamer Shane Snater's 3-39, while Jamie Porter and Ben Allison claimed two wickets apiece as the hosts were bowled out just before tea, including George Hill's top score of 36.

There was no play possible beyond tea, taken at 15:00 BST, due to rain, with Essex's innings not starting. A total of 43 overs were cut from the day's allotted 96.

Play was preceded by a minute's silence in memory of Queen Elizabeth II and the national anthem, while both teams wore black armbands.

While Essex are bidding to end the season with a top-three finish in Division One - they started this round 30 points behind Lancashire with a game in hand - Yorkshire are still not clear of relegation danger. They are 25 points ahead of second-bottom Warwickshire.

Cook has been in outstanding recent form. He has taken 23 wickets in his last six appearances both in the Championship and for the Trent Rockets in the Hundred, including a match-winning 10-for against Kent last week.

He made the initial breakthrough by getting Fin Bean caught behind for a duck one-handed by wicketkeeper Adam Rossington, who also had an impressive day. It was the first of four catches for the ex-Northamptonshire man.

That left Yorkshire, batting under floodlights all day, at 4-1 in the fourth over before Tom Kohler-Cadmore edged to third slip for his milestone wicket and Hill feathered behind.

When the latter fell for an innings top-score of 36 in the afternoon's second over, Yorkshire were 64-5 in the 30th.

After an early Porter strike, getting the other opener Adam Lyth caught behind, Snater matched Cook's contribution as Essex pressed ahead.

Snater's first wicket was Will Fraine bowled for a duck shortly before lunch.

Afterwards, he had Matthew Revis caught behind off the inside edge and also bowled Jonny Tattersall for a hard-working 32 as Yorkshire fell to 100-7 in the 41st over.

Allison then added his two wickets, including bowling Ben Coad with a vicious bouncer which he could only fend onto his stumps, before Porter wrapped up the innings by trapping Jack Shutt lbw in the 53rd over.

New Yorkshire loan signing Ben Mike, the all-rounder who has joined early from Leicestershire ahead of a three-year contract starting this winter, has not been selected and must wait at least a week for his debut.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.