Charlie Allison tons up again to steady Essex
Charlie Allison made it back-to-back centuries as he steered Essex into a commanding position on the first day of the Rothesay County Championship match against Hampshire at Chelmsford.Before his 140 against Surrey last month, Allison’s highest first-class score was 28. But the 20-year-old right-hander followed up his Oval heroics with 101 when the Championship resumed after its break for the Vitality Blast.He was the senior partner in a 107-run seventh-wicket stand with Simon Harmer, 16 years older, that carried Essex towards 292 for 8 at the close after they chose to bat. He also put on 66 for the fifth wicket with Matt Critchley, whose 71 came from 104 balls and included nine fours and a six.Kyle Abbott took his season’s tally to 35 wickets with three Essex scalps, but Hampshire let slip their morning advantage as a blustery, overcast day gave way to bright evening sunshine.Initially, it looked as if Essex’s travails of late – one win across both formats this summer – were being lain bare on a green wicket that gave encouragement to Hampshire’s seam attack. By midday Essex had lost three of their top four. Paul Walter mistimed a flick off his legs low to a diving square leg, Dean Elgar was beaten for pace by James Fuller and Jordan Cox ducked into a short ball from Eddie Jack and spliced the ball high to third slip.The premature departures did not preclude Essex handing county caps to the latter pair during the lunch interval. Former captain Graham Gooch handed one to Elgar while Cox received his from Jason Gallian, previously his cricket master at Felsted School, now chairman of the cricket committee.Back in the middle, Critchley was putting behind him his struggles with the bat in the Vitality Blast. He contributed 38 of the 53-run fourth-wicket stand with Tom Westley that included a six over long leg off Liam Dawson and a well-timed sweep for four, also off the England white-ball spinner.Westley was more circumspect, though the four fours in his 77-ball 28 were venomous in their execution and included one from his first ball through midwicket off Abbott and an imperious pull against Fuller. However, he departed lbw to one from Abbott that might otherwise have just clipped the top of the stumps.Under gathering grey clouds, Critchley reached his half-century from 84 balls amid a flurry of boundaries, the milestone four pulled through midwicket off Felix Organ. Another time he went in tiptoes to late-cut Jack to the third-man rope.Allison kept pace with Critchley and he launched Dawson effortlessly over extra cover for a six that brought up the fifty partnership in 13 overs. Later he hit another straight over the same bowler’s head. However, the stand was worth 66 when the wily Dawson had Critchley playing over a shorter-pitched delivery that looked as if it might have missed leg stump.Abbott had figures of 3 for 12 from 13 overs when he had Michael Pepper edging to the wicketkeeper. But that just brought together Allison and Harmer for a patient partnership that steadied Essex and ultimately gave them a measure of control.Harmer brought up the hundred partnership in 33 overs when he swatted Jack to the midwicket boundary. But with Allison on 99, he turned the ball to square leg, the pair hesitated and Harmer sacrificed his wicket as Jack’s throw went to the bowler’s end.Allison duly reached his century from 188 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, but one run later he dragged on to Organ and was bowled off the last ball of the day.