County Championship: Rob Keogh's superb century frustrates Essex at Wantage Road

Rob Keogh passed 6,000 runs in first-class cricket in his innings against Essex

Rob Keogh gave Northamptonshire supporters a rare moment to celebrate with a stunning 154 off just 145 balls against Essex at Wantage Road.

With the county already relegated, the 31-year-old put on a show with boundaries all around the ground as Northamptonshire claimed their first batting bonus point at home this summer, closing day one of this County Championship match on 279-6.

Keogh batted with a sense of freedom, taking the positive, attacking route, but timing the ball to perfection and not offering any chances.

Strong on the drive and cut and punching firmly off the backfoot, when Essex resorted to bowling short, he dismissively hooked and pulled the ball away to the ropes, hitting 23 fours and four sixes.

He reached milestones along the way, passing 6,000 career first-class runs and becoming Northamptonshire's highest run-scorer in the Championship this season. The innings neatly bookends his season following 116 in April's opener against Kent.

Keogh came to the wicket after Jamie Porter had struck twice, finding plenty of movement outside off-stump and immediately took the positive route against the Essex seamer, sharing a stand of 107 with Saif Zaib (28) in exactly 25 overs.

Earlier Essex won the toss and decided to field and Sam Cook and Porter took a wicket apiece to reduce Northamptonshire to 23-2.

Azad moved onto 32, picking up five streaky boundaries behind square on both sides of the wicket, before eventually middling one through backward point. However, Simon Harmer's second delivery earned the breakthrough, an arm ball which trapped Azad lbw.

Karun Nair, fresh from scoring 150 last week, played two handsome shots - including a well timed on-drive off Porter - but departed for 21 to an inside edge onto his stumps against the same bowler, leaving the hosts 95-4.

Keogh then took command against Porter, driving through midwicket and extra cover, pulling over midwicket and guiding him off the back foot to bring up Northamptonshire's 100 in the 27th over.

After reaching his half-century off 62 balls before tea, Keogh continued to score freely after the interval, garnering 14 off one over from Harmer.

He moved towards three figures by pulling Porter for six and four and then swung Matt Critchley through mid-on to bring up his 16th first-class century off 105 balls.

Consecutive boundaries followed off Umesh Yadav, including a push down the ground for four, before he pulled the Indian paceman behind square for six and smashed him back over his head for four.

Zaib largely played the supporting role to Keogh but deployed the sweep shot against the spinners to good effect before he was caught behind off Critchley. It was the 12th time in 19 innings this season that he has been dismissed between 25 and 49.

In his next over Critchley trapped Lewis McManus lbw to leave Northamptonshire 214-6 but Justin Broad joined Keogh and kept him company in an unbroken stand of 65 off 76 balls - scoring just 17 as the latter went on the rampage at the other end.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.