JAMES Foster led an Essex recovery in their LV= County Championship Division Two match with Northamptonshire at Chelmsford.

The home side were eventually dismissed for 360 before their opponents ended the second day on 143 for three to leave the match evenly poised.

Essex skipper Foster improved the home side's fortunes with an innings of 98 whilst Mark Pettini and Aron Nijjar also contributed half-centuries after the hosts had been reduced to 119 for six earlier in the game.

Foster and Pettini combined to post 146 for the seventh wicket to ease their side out of troubled waters.

Both played with assurance on a wicket that had lost the moisture of the first day as they negated the threat of the visitors' attack with a series of well-timed strokes and judicious shot selection.

Pettini, playing only his second Championship match in a year, was the first to reach his half-century, having faced 117 balls to reach the milestone with the seventh boundary of his innings.

Foster's half-century spanned 89 balls of which he steered a maximum past the ropes and the pair seemed set to bat throughout the morning session only for Pettini to fall to the final ball before the interval.

Having scored 68, he was undone by a back of a length delivery from Rory Kleinveldt that swung and caught the edge of the bat to give wicketkeeper David Murphy a straight-forward catch.

Nijjar, the emerging 20-year-old all-rounder, then joined his skipper with the total on 265 for seven, to add 74 runs in 21 overs.

Spinner Rob Keogh ended the stand with the first delivery of a new spell when Foster, seeking the two runs he needed to reach his first century of the season, picked out long-on to leave the home side 339 for eight but Nijjar was not to be denied a maiden first-class half-century.

That arrived from 79 balls with seven fours before he fell to paceman Ollie Stone for 53 who had earlier twice beaten the batsman outside off stump before getting his reward. Stone found a delivery that flew off the edge and into the gloves of Murphy.

The keeper pouched his fourth catch of the innings when Azahrullah wrapped up the innings to dismiss Jamie Porter for 10. The bowler ended with excellent figures of four for 74 from 30.1 overs with his chief support coming from Kleinveldt with three for 88.

Essex had the encouragement of an early wicket when Murphy, having scored half of the 16 runs on the board, fended at a ball from Porter and was caught by Dan Lawrence at short leg with the fielder completing the catch at the second attempt.

Fellow opener Ben Duckett slashed at a delivery of width from Ravi Bopara and was caught by wicket-keeper Foster for 32 and then with the total on 115, Alex Wakely (43) drove Nijjar to mid-on.

Keogh (37 not out) and Richard Levi (13no) settled in and took their side through to the close without any further concerns.