Essex pile up 508-8 against champions Surrey
Tom Westley reached his century with a 22nd four
- Published
Vitality County Championship Division One, Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford (day three)
Essex 508-8 dec: Elgar 182, Westley 135, Critchley 112; Patel 3-41
Surrey 30-1: Burns 16; Harmer 1-10
Surrey (1 pt) trail Essex (5 pts) by 478 runs
Essex batters Dean Elgar, Tom Westley and Matt Critchley filled their boots with a century apiece as county champions Surrey suffered a post-title hangover at Chelmsford.
Former South Africa captain Elgar led the way by posting 182, the highest of his four centuries for Essex this season.
Elgar and Westley put on a record 253 in 59 overs to eclipse the 95-year-old best of 206 for the second wicket against Surrey.
Elgar then piled further agony on by adding 168 for the third wicket with Critchley, who played freely for his 112 before Essex declared on 508-8.
Earlier, Westley had been in such explosive form that 106 of his 135 runs came in boundaries.
Essex require 17 points from the game to finish ahead of Somerset in third place on games won.
They have already pocketed the maximum five for batting and now need to bowl Surrey out twice on the final day of the season.
Surrey finished the penultimate day on 30 for the loss of captain Rory Burns, caught at point off Simon Harmer.
Under sunny skies, the third morning was only nine balls old when Elgar tweaked his left calf and required four minutes worth of treatment before hobbling on.
Westley was on the front foot to race to his century, with Elgar carefully working his way to three figures.
Westley picked out Tom Lawes on the long-leg boundary to give Yousef Majid a maiden first-class wicket. The 21-year-old spinner did not celebrate the milestone, however, echoing the subdued mood within the fielding ranks.
Critchley feasted on the below-par Surrey attack before Elgar reached 150 from 234 balls. He took Essex to 400, but fell when chipping Ryan Patel to short extra cover to spark a middle-order collapse.
Patel claimed three wickets in seven balls – he finished with 3-41 from 12 overs – when Luc Benkenstein (4) was beaten by a slower ball and Paul Walter (2) scooped to mid on as Essex slipped from 425-2 to 433-5.
Majid claimed his second wicket on debut when he trapped Adam Rossington in front for 19, but not before Essex had claimed all five batting points.
Critchley became the third centurion of the day when he pulled Ollie Sykes to square leg, but was the first of two late wickets for James Taylor.
Shane Snater was then bowled for five to bring the declaration, with Essex making a breakthrough as Burns fell to Harmer for 16.
Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.
