Essex won the match at Chelmsford, where spinners took 24 of the 30 wickets to fall. Batting first, Essex made 506 against Northamptonshire, despite Monty Panesar taking a career best seven-wicket-haul in the innings, but conceded 181 runs in the process from 56.3 overs. The Northamptonshire reply was stifled by four wickets from James Middlebrook, as they lost their first six wickets for 141, but Ben Phillips and Damien Wright added 95 for the seventh wicket before Tony Palladino grabbed three wickets in four balls, and they finished on 247.