Sam Cook took eight wickets in the game after being overlooked for England's Test squad Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford (day three)

Leicestershire 333 & 60: Cox 20; Snater 4-12, Cook 4-19

Essex 293: Mulder 79*, Allison 72; Holland 4-54 & 104-3: Critchley 40*

Essex (20 pts) beat Leicestershire (5 pts) by seven wickets

Shane Snater and Sam Cook shared eight wickets during a morning of utter mayhem at Chelmsford as Leicestershire were routed for 60 before Essex wrapped up a seven-wicket County Championship win.

The Essex seamers were almost unplayable on a pitch enlivened by overnight rain and still tinged green, as struggling Leicestershire were dismissed inside 28 overs. The heart of the innings was ripped out with three middle-order wickets going down in 15 balls, turning 25-2 into 29-5, and four more in a concentrated 24-ball blitz that prefaced the end.

Snater finished with 4-12 and Cook 4-19. All this came after Leicestershire claimed a 40-run first-innings lead by taking the last two Essex wickets in the first 16 minutes of day three, as Ian Holland finished with 4-54, leaving Wiaan Mulder on 79 not out.

However, in a remarkable turnaround, little more than two hours later Essex found themselves requiring just 101 runs to win and duly reached their target in 30 overs but not without alarms as they lost three quick wickets.

Leicestershire barely had time to celebrate their first-innings advantage before the carnage began. With the floodlights on, and the pitch with plenty of life in it, Rishi Patel played down the wrong line to Jamie Porter and existed lbw before Sol Budinger swung Cook to mid-off.

Next man in was Nick Kelly, the New Zealand left-hander confirmed as the injury substitute for Jake Weatherald, and he had still not got off the mark from 16 balls when he lost captain Holland, nibbling at one just outside off-stump to Cook.

Cook followed when he got a thick edge to an inswinger from Snater and Simon Harmer dived full-length to his left to claim the catch. A third wicket in double-quick time went down when Cook knocked back Jonny Tattersall's off-stump and at that stage had 3-6 from seven overs.

Stephen Eskinazi scratched around for 21 balls before he misjudged a delivery from Snater, who then accounted for Ben Green in his next over, also lbw. Porter had been comparatively quiet, but when Ben Mike tried to charge him, he ended up losing his leg stump and Ajaz Patel's stay lasted just three balls before he played around one from Snater.

Lunch was delayed long enough for Cook to come back and end Ben Cox's 41-ball solo rearguard action by removing him for 20.

The Essex chase began in bright sunshine and there appeared little to disconcert them in the first 10 overs, but that quickly changed. Josh Hull had Dean Elgar lbw with his third ball and Paul Walter's faltering season continued when he played tentatively forward to Green and was also lbw before Tom Westley hoisted Hull to mid-on.

Faint alarm bells were ringing at 27-3 before Matt Critchley and Charlie Allison put on a measured fourth-wicket stand of 77 to see them over the line.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.

Essex captain Tom Westley: "It's been a fairly bizarre day, hasn't it? We spoke before this two-game block, it was really important for us to get two wins and climb the table. And we've managed to do it. "We haven't always done it in the easiest way possible, but I think it is testament to the character of the players to turn a game around the way that we have after that abysmal first session of day one. It's incredible. "That was a very special bowling display, to bowl a team out for 60 and take 10 wickets in a session is an incredible effort. It looks like an easy win, but for a lot of the game we were behind the eight-ball. "We spoke as a bowling unit before the start of play how much experience we have in the team and how much better we are than we showed in the first innings. It's very, very rare you see that at Chelmsford with our attack."

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Tom Westley: 'A very special bowling display'

Leicestershire head coach Alfonso Thomas: "There has got to be a lot of stocktaking, people looking at themselves, not just the players but the coaches as well. "I have compared that first session today to the dark cloud that descended over Chelmsford at 11 o'clock. That kind of flicked the switch for everybody. It just shows what a quality outfit they are. "That period before lunch was as good a bowling display as I have seen in my time, playing and coaching in cricket. They just kept coming in waves. They were just so consistent with their lines and lengths. "Our players did feel there was a lot of movement and I'm guessing it was overhead conditions that played a part. But we'll dust ourselves up and keep doing the right thing."

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