Thanks to Stuart Law and James Foster Essex ended an abbreviated first day of their CricInfo Championship clash against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens in much better sorts than they had started it.

Glamorgan's seam battery had reduced Essex to 55-4 inside 22 overs despite Ronnie Irani winning the toss but by the close with 20.1 overs lost to bad light the bottom-placed side in Division One had recovered to 242-7.

Law and Foster set about the repairs putting on 119 in 36 overs before the Queenslander perished to a slower ball from Darren Thomas nine short of what would have been his fifth first-class century of the season.

Although Foster lost Law and subsequently Graham Napier, the Essex wicketkeeper carried on his rearguard action despite being dropped on 18, as Essex reached 212-6 at tea. But he perished six overs after the interval to leave Essex 224-7.

Steve Watkin did the early damage on a pitch that looked a little damp before the start.

Watkin struck with the third ball of the match finding the inside edge of Darren Robinson's bat, which had helped the Essex opener to centuries in both innings against Leicestershire.

From 0-1 Essex soon found themselves 16-2 10 overs later as Watkin struck again to have Stephen Peters caught behind.

Andrew Davies earned Glamorgan an early bowling point when his fourth ball bowled Paul Grayson and a poor morning for the bottom-placed side was completed when Darren Thomas got a ball to rise off a length which Ronnie Irani gloved to third slip.

© CricInfo