WARWICKSHIRE beat Essex by six wickets at Chelmsford to confirm their promotion in the County Championship whilst leaving the vanquished hosts facing up to another season of life in the Second Division in 2009.

Ian Salisbury was the man who inflicted the damage for the Midland county in a post- lunch spell that brought the leg-spinner 6 wickets in 70 deliveries at a cost of 27 runs to rip the heart out of the Essex innings.

That left Warwickshire 144 runs to win from a minimum of 45 overs as their opponents were dismissed for 316 and they completed their task with 6 wickets and 41 balls to spare to spare as Darren Maddy contributed 63 out of 144-4 as the visitors regained their upper flight status at the first attempt.

Chris Wright took a couple of wickets, having Navdeep Poonia trapped lbw for 11 and Jim Troughton caught by James Foster for 14 and when James Middlebrook chipped in with the wicket of Jonathan Trott who was trapped in front of his stumps for 7, the Midland county were 61-3.

Had not Maddy been dropped twice, there may have been a glimpse of hope for Essex to retain their own championship promotion hopes. He had only scored 10 when he was spilled by Tony Palladino at deep fine leg off the bowling of Wright and then, when on 15, he offered a return catch to Middlebrook that went unclaimed. .

Maddy had taken his side to within 12 runs of victory when he became Middlebrook’s second leg before scalp but first innings double centurion Tony Frost, partnered by Tim Ambrose, comfortably concluded events.

Essex had resumed on 125-1 overnight and by the first interval, they had added another 138 runs for the loss of both overnight batsmen. Ravi Bopara completed his fourth championship century of the season reaching 133 from 158 balls with 18 boundaries before he became the first victim for the leggie who won 15 England Test caps between 1992 and 2001. Now 38 years old, the wily veteran had Bopara caught behind the wicket with a ball that turned and in his next over, he had John Maunders caught at backward square leg just after the opener had recorded his maiden century for the county.

Maunders, who is set to be offered a contract for next season, had faced 156 balls that embraced 16 boundaries and his 241-runs partnership with Bopara was the county’s highest of the season for any wicket.

With the scoreboard showing 263-3 at lunch and a lead of 90 runs, the talk amongst the crowd concerned the timing of a declaration that would set up an attempt to force the win to keep their promotion hopes alive but those calculations proved totally unnecessary after Salisbury’s incisiveness.

The home side added anther 20 runs in four overs but they then lost control with a shambolic capitulation against Salisbury starting with the wicket of James Foster (15) who played from the crease to give an easy return catch. Four wickets then fell within the next three overs with Ryan ten Doeschate (7) the first of those to fall when caught off the edge of the bat attempting to cut the former Surrey spinner whilst the pace of Boyd Rankin pinned Jaik Mickleburgh for a single on the back foot.

Two wickets fell in Salisbury’s next over and both run outs. Mark Pettini went for 32 after a mix-up with James Middlebrook who was also involved when Chris Wright was tranded attempting to get off the mark.

Salisbury completed the demise taking a comfortable return catch to dismiss David Masters for 2 before last man Tony Palladino was caught at first slip for 1 leaving Middlebrook 7 not out and the bowler with figures of 6-100 from 29.4 overs .

It had been a remarkable post-lunch session but one that decided the Championship status for both clubs in 2009.