Essex 244 for 9 (Cox 84, Elgar 80, Paterson 5-49) v Nottinghamshire

Opener Elgar, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, looked more than capable of filling the void left by Sir Alastair Cook, defying typical opening day conditions with a classy 80.

He shared a 112-run third-wicket partnership with the brilliant and talented former Kent batsman Cox, who went on to make 84. But Paterson, who returned from a winter at home only on Wednesday, sparked a Nottinghamshire comeback by taking 5 of 49. with its astute mid-tempo.

Paterson bowled Elgar with one of several outstanding deliveries as Essex, last season’s Division One runners-up, fell from 170 for 2 to 176 for 5, before closing on 244 for 9 in 77 overs, having lost time in a wet outfield at the exit and bad light in the afternoon.

Cox impressed his new employers with a mature performance but one that, apart from Elgar, lacked significant support.

Elgar announced himself with a first boundary ball, sending a Brett Hutton half-volley through cover. In testing conditions, the South African was 31 for 62 at lunch, having survived several difficult moments without giving any chance.

Feroze Kushi, without a Championship appearance since last June but preferring Nick Browne to open with Elgar, made a spirited 18 which included an audacious six off Nottinghamshire debutant Dillon Pennington, who then squared him and moved close to first slip .

Paterson, Nottinghamshire’s most consistent player with the ball, replaced Pennington at the pavilion end and soon tempted Tom Westley to nibble the outside of off stump, wicketkeeper Joe Clarke making a fine diving catch to his right.

Clarke has the gloves in this match because a Nottinghamshire batting line-up bolstered by the return of England’s Ben Duckett for his first Championship match in 11 months, and by the addition of Jack Haynes, another Worcestershire signing, could not accommodate the wicketkeeper usual. Tom Moores.

As Nottinghamshire sought a further breakthrough with the Kookaburra ball (in use during the first of four rounds of this year’s Championship), Elgar and Cox dominated much of the afternoon session; the former completed his half-century off 86 balls and Cox reached that mark from 10 balls down shortly after bowling Calvin Harrison over the straight boundary for the second six of the day.

Elgar played with such confidence, drawing on experience from his two previous county spells with Somerset and Surrey, that a debut century looked like it was in the cards. But the session ended with Paterson, having changed at the Radcliffe Road end, taking wickets in consecutive overs before tea.

Back for his fourth season at Trent Bridge after topping 50 wickets in each of the first three, Paterson produced the ball of the day to bowl his compatriot, angled in from around the wicket and straightening enough to get over the edge and cutting bail. .

Moments later, Paterson was celebrating again when another excellent delivery caught new batsman Matt Critchley in front, leaving Essex 174 for 4 at tea, which quickly became 176 for five on the resumption as Paterson continued his excellent spell by dismissing Paul Walter, meekly trapped behind. , to claim a third wicket in the space of 16 balls.

His fifth wicket in total soon followed, Adam Rossington bamboozled by another superb ball off the off-stump, giving the bowler figures of four for 24 in a second spell of eight overs, and a seventh five-wicket haul in Championship cricket. .

Cox’s hopes of debuting a hundred were also dashed as he edged Elgar with his eleventh four only to die on the next ball when Harrison flicked one past his defensive bat to bowl it. Meanwhile, all-rounder Lyndon James dismissed Simon Harmer and Shane Snater to give Nottinghamshire three bowling points, with Essex still searching for a first batting point.