by MARTIN SMITH

SIMON Harmer blasted a massive hole in Warwickshire's batting at Chelmsford to take the first 14-wicket haul of his career and move Essex clear at the top of the Specsavers County Championship with their fourth win of the season.

Harmer took eight second-innings wickets for 36 runs - career-best figures for an innings - to finish with figures of 14 for 128.

He took seven wickets on an overcast fourth day as Warwickshire collapsed alarmingly as they chased 258 to make Essex bat again.

The bottom club fell 164 runs short and suffered their four innings defeat of the season.

The South African spinner was almost unplayable on a worn pitch that was also used for Essex’s Royal London Cup semi-final defeat by Nottinghamshire on Friday night.

With five fielders surrounding each Warwickshire lamb to the slaughter, there were enough appeals to have ended the game long before the close quarter of an hour after a late lunch at 2.17pm.

Neil Wagner, playing his last game for the county before he steps aside to accommodate Mohammad Amir as overseas player, claimed the first wicket of the day before Harmer took centre stage.

The New Zealander Test seamer removed Ian Bell in the eighth over of the morning to reduce Warwickshire to 47 for three.

Bell had edged one just short of Alastair Cook at first slip before he got a thinner touch to give the diving James Foster the catch.

Before he left the field at lunch, with Warwickshire 90 for eight, Wagner received a signed magnum of champagne to acknowledge his sterling efforts in helping Essex make a sensational start to their first season in Division One.

Harmer bowled 39 overs, almost unchanged, the day before and entered the fray on day four after Bell’s departure.

With his sixth ball he had Andrew Umeed moving back indecisively and falling lbw.

Two Harmer balls later, Sam Hain’s attempt to check the sweep he planned resulted in him popping up a catch to Ryan ten Doeschate at short leg.

Harmer was as parsimonious as ever, though, when he gave one a bit of width and Rikki Clarke drove crisply through the covers for four.

With Tim Ambrose, Clarke put a brake on the Essex charge for 16 overs before another clatter of wickets.

Clarke went controversially to a ball that pitched well outside off-stump and didn’t look as if it would disturb the stumps as it turned to rap him on his pad.

Clarke looked aghast at the decision and Ambrose threw his bat to the ground in frustration.

Next ball, Keith Barker tried to paddle the delivery away, got a top edge and was caught behind by Foster.

Jeetan Patel, who hit a run-a-ball 71 the previous evening, took successive boundaries off Harmer before he became the latest lbw victim on his back foot to another that spun in.

Boyd Rankin was Harmer’s 13th scalp of the match when he completely misjudged a slow full-toss and was an embarrassed lbw.

Sunny Singh did not last long, stretching forward and edging to Cook at slip to complete a dream match for Harmer.