Warwickshire 130 for 4 (Hain 37*) lead Leicestershire 125 (Bamber 4-42, Woakes 3-20) by five runs

If there was a sense the air has been squeezed out of the race for the title and relegation battle in Division One, a little more left after the opening day of the final round of the County Championship.

Leicestershire’s inability to procure any of five potential batting points meant that, at around 5:30pm, when Essex had their third Glamorgan wicket for a first bowling point, the gap between ninth and 10th had grown to an insurmountable 20-point lead.

The lead-in to this fixture had been overshadowed by the penalty handed down by the Cricket Discipline Panel (CDP) following an investigation by The Cricket Regulator. But the intervening defiance from Leicestershire, vocal and valiant, has stuttered.

Ian Holland’s decision to bat first upon winning the toss was no doubt motivated by bright blue skies above. On an Edgbaston pitch that has undergone a personality shift, and with Warwickshire winning more Championship matches this season (six) than in the previous two (four), they had no qualms playing to their strongest suit.

Stevie Eskinazi’s loose drive – caught at backward point – brought Woakes No. 651 before Oliver Hannon-Dalby broke Jonny Tattersall’s stubborn 32-ball resistance. Warwickshire skipper Ed Barnard then saw off Sol Budinger with the very next delivery – the start of the 19th over – caught exceptionally well by Rob Yates at second, who would have been partially sighted with Kai Smith standing up when the left-hander was squared up on off stump.

Budinger was daring to unleash in just his third appearance of the summer. A shot-maker at heart, he survived the early nip with an array of plays-and-misses but at least committed to each one. Three fours – a square drive off Bamber, through cover off Woakes, and thumped back past Hannon-Dalby – were hints that this pitch wasn’t all that precarious. Alas, his stay was capped at 27.

Only Cox followed his lead with a typically engaging 33. The keeper-batter is leaving Grace Road at the end of the season, and there are plenty keen on his signature – perhaps even here. A tidy sweep off left-arm spinner Manav Suthar got him moving, then came a trio of boundaries off Bamber, the first two through the off-side as the lead seamer veered a little too full. But a hard-handed defensive push off Woakes brought another catch for Yates – his 38th of the campaign – leaving Leicestershire on 99 for 8. Bamber and Barnard cleared the rest.

Though they only added 26 before Young was removed by Ben Green shortly after the tea break, their 11.1 overs did seem to settle matters. Vansh Jani stepped in to upset that calm, winding up his backswing and letting loose for 22, though snatched at a chance to hit Ajaz Patel down the ground for a third time and was caught by sub-fielder Ben Mike at mid on.

Hain, by then, was ticking over through to 37 not out, accompanied through to the close by the ever-reliable Barnard, the scoreboard ticked only after Josh Hull had missed a diving chance at fine leg to remove Barnard for a duck; a top edge off a swivel-pull to a bouncer from Tom Scriven. That six – the first of the match – got Barnard off the mark.

It was a tough day for Hull, wided twice for consecutive over-head-height bouncers in the final over, as Leicestershire tried but failed to break a stand that will resume tomorrow on 44.

After winning their last two matches in two days, a hat-trick is still on the cards for Warwickshire even with just a slim five-run going into Friday. They could seal the title with days to spare. For Leicestershire, the wait to learn their fate looks set to drag on after the summer is done.