Bears are all out for just 78 in last Edgbaston outing

Put in on a bowler-friendly track, the home side was skittled in 27.4 overs by Shane Snater (five for 13), Jamie Porter (three for 15) and Sam Cook (two for 31).

Sustained resistance came only from Will Rhodes (29) on his last home appearance before joining Durham.

Essex then dipped to 50 for five but recovered to close the opening day on 189 for nine thanks to astute contributions from Michael Pepper (37), Snater (33 not out) Matt Critchley (32) and Simon Harmer (31).

Ed Barnard took three for 36 and Craig Miles three for 53 but a lead of 111 already looks decisive.

Essex have laid the platform for a second successive emphatic win while Warwickshire’s supporters digest one last moderate instalment of a deeply uninspiring home championship campaign.

Warwickshire all-rounder Ed Barnard said: “The pitch has definitely done a bit more than we expected but fair play to Essex, they came out and bowled brilliantly. They have got a really good attack and they just put it in the right areas and put us in a lot of trouble.

“But we came out fighting when they batted and got some wickets and hopefully we can clean it up quickly tomorrow and then bat big. In the last couple of hours it felt like the pace had gone out of the pitch a bit and it definitely didn’t do so much. Hopefully we can bat past them and try to set up a game.”