Surrey 1 for 0 path Essex 314 (Westley 62, Critchley 60, Cook 51, Atkinson 6-68) by 313 runs

Surrey, whose motto could be "never knowingly under-resourced", had been in a position to pass over their main wicket-taker, Dan Worrall, and nonetheless produce the type of concerted bowling efficiency that ultimately discovered a manner by way of the cracks in Essex's batting. And regardless of the presence of Abbott and Roach, their most-impressive performer was Atkinson, the 25-year-old enjoying his first match of the season.

His finest figures in any format for Surrey included the prize wicket of Cook, that venerable warhorse of Ashes summers previous, in addition to each Essex tail-end miscreants to complete with positive figures of 6 for 68. There was additionally an essential contribution from the returning Will Jacks, whose flighted offbreak was answerable for ending Essex's fourth-wicket stand at 114, Critchley's outdoors edge snapped up one-handed by a flying Burns in one of many higher moments of Surrey fielding. Foakes, immaculate as ever, claimed 5 catches behind the stumps.

The morning started with Essex opting to bat, the house XI bolstered by returns for Lawrence and Sam Cook after harm. Surrey omitted Worrall as a part of the deliberate rotation of their seamers, whereas Jacks made his first look since struggling a hip harm whereas on England obligation that scuppered his probabilities of enjoying in a maiden IPL.

Essex's openers negotiated the early exchanges with out too many alarms, though Cook did get pleasure from an early let off - Jamie Smith failing to latch on to a sliced drive off Abbott that looped tantalisingly in the direction of backward level when he had made 13. Cook's entrance foot was quickly lunging ahead, Hungry Hippos-style, to clump the ball by way of cowl as he went previous 50 for the 193rd time on this, his twenty first season as a first-class cricketer. He was dropped once more shortly after, Ollie Pope solely in a position to get a hand on a diving likelihood at second slip.

Atkinson had been the bowler to finish a 62-run opening stand, discovering elevate and motion from again of a size with simply his second ball to have Nick Browne taken at third slip, and he produced a good higher one-two mixture to see off Cook. Having switched to around the wicket, Atkinson jagged one previous the skin edge, lacking the highest of off stump by a whisker, then introduced his subsequent ball again to graze the within edge - Foakes finishing the dismissal with an athletic leg-side take.

A 3rd wicket went down straight after lunch, Abbott curving one previous Lawrence's outdoors edge for an additional Foakes catch - though whether or not the ball got here off bat or thigh pad was much less clear. Essex's fourth-wicket pair then settled into a gradual rhythm because the pendulum swung again in the direction of the hosts. There was even the prospect for followers of the house aspect to benefit from the glovework of Foakes, an Essex boy who has gone on to larger issues with Surrey, who acrobatically held on to an in-dipping Roach yorker that beat Westley all finally ends up solely to overlook leg stump.

The grumbles started after Critchley and Westley departed in consecutive overs, and will have elevated a notch when Michael Pepper was caught behind trying to reverse-sweep Jack, having made 6 off six balls with one scoring shot. A collapse of 5 for 27 undid a few of the exhausting work however few groups will tangle with Surrey this season and emerge utterly unscathed.

Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick