By Martin Smith

DAY ONE
AN UNBROKEN double-century seventh-wicket stand between Ed Barnard and Michael Burgess rescued Warwickshire from the depths of despair and lifted them into a commanding position at Chelmsford.

The pair came together with the score on 104-6 soon after lunch and by the close, 56 overs later, they had established a Warwickshire record for the seventh wicket against Essex of 204 and counting that had stood for 92 years.
During an innings in which he initially had to knuckle down before breaking loose, Barnard took his tally in his last four Vitality County Champ...