It would be easy - and it is certainly tempting - to blame the clatter of wickets on the fact that Essex and Nottinghamshire have been playing nothing but Twenty20 cricket for the best part of a month but let us give credit where it is due.
The ball nibbled around and occasionally bounced on a pitch which persuaded James Foster to bat on winning the toss in his first championship match since taking over the Essex captaincy from Mark Pettini and the bowlers on both sides exploited the conditions well.
Chris Read, Foster’s old adversary for the England wicketkeeping position and now his rival captain, was the chief beneficiary, claiming six victims for the seventh time in his career as Essex were bowled out