FIDEL Edwards was injured again as Hampshire conceded 243-2 on the first day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Essex at Chelmsford.

Alastair Cook (114*) and Tom Westley (111) both posted centuries and shared a second-wicket stand of 243 that is Essex’s highest for any wicket against Hampshire.

Nick Browne clipped the fifth ball of the day, off Edwards, straight to Mason Crane at square leg.

But veteran ex-West Indies fast bowler Edwards, who missed most of last season with a broken ankle and has just returned from a hamstring injury, was limited to ten overs by a shoulder problem.

Hampshire head coach Craig White said: “We’ll assess it in the morning, but it looks a bit sore and I think he’ll struggle to take a further part in the game.

“Every game it seems this year we’ve had a bowler go down. It’s not ideal, it’s just frustrating. Injuries happen I know but when it happens every game and you’re a bowler down you wonder if you’re doing something wrong.”

Of the game, White added: “It was a frustrating day. At the start we wouldn’t have thought they’d only be two wickets down at the end of play. I’m a little bit shocked really.

“It was great conditions to bowl in and early on we didn’t get enough balls consistently in the right areas.

“It doesn’t help when you go a bowler down, so we stuck at it really well.

“We’ve got to fight to stay in this game.”

Rain meant 17 overs were lost and the close came four balls early when Westley was bowled by Kyle Abbott.

Former England captain Cook went past 800 in all cricket this summer, 300 of them in the Championship.

This was also his fourth ton of the season and 19th for Essex.

Hampshire must be be sick of the sight of Westley. He had already taken 93 off their attack in the earlier white-ball game at the same ground.

Hampshire bowling: Edwards 10-1-35-1, Abbott 18.2-6-43-1, Berg 18-25-2, Ervine 9-1-30-0, Dawson 13-3-33-0, Crane 9-2-27-0, Vince 1-0-6-0