Jamie Porter spared the embarrassment of some of Essex’s more senior batsmen with a maiden first-class half-century to prevent Leicestershire establishing a big lead in the Rothesay County Championship match at Chelmsford.

The 32-year-old seamer, whose batting CV is littered with noughts and noughts not out, batted with a hitherto unsuspected assurance on extended nightwatchman duty for just shy of three hours. He made 52 invaluable runs as Essex floundered on a green wicket that offered assistance to anyone prepared to put in the effort.

Porter, who shared an 81-run last-wicket stand with Simon Harmer last week against Hampshire, put on 96 in 25 overs for the fifth wicket with Charlie Allison after Essex capsized to 39 for 4 in reply to Leicestershire’s first-innings 333. Allison chipped in with 72 from 103 balls before Wiaan Mulder‘s unbeaten 70 under the floodlights, but too many Essex players were out to poor shots. Ben Mike was their chief tormentor with 3 for 74.

Essex had reduced Leicestershire’s lead to 52 on 281 for 8, with Mulder and Harmer’s ninth-wicket partnership worth 74, when bad light just after five o’clock rendered it unsafe for the new-ball to be taken.

The big surprise of the day was that Essex’s first wicket of the morning was not that of their second nightwatchman but the experienced opener Dean Elgar, caught at mid-off driving loosely at Ben Green. Nor was it the second. Three overs later, in an inexplicable rush of blood unsuited to the situation, Paul Walter slashed wildly to first slip off Ian Holland.

Porter had come in the previous evening in an effort to protect the front-line batsmen after original nightwatchman Sam Cook had lasted just three balls. The Leicestershire bowlers tried to intimidate Porter with some short-pitched deliveries but to no avail, despite Josh Hull leaving him on his backside in avoiding one of them.

From 25 for 3, Tom Westley dug in for more than half-an-hour, facing 30 balls for two runs, before he was strangled down legside by Mike.

Porter was less inhibited and hit Green for a gloriously elegant off-drive past the bowler for one boundary and followed it with another carved over backward point’s head. He passed his previous highest score of 34 – recorded as a young whippersnapper against Glamorgan in Cardiff 11 summers ago – when he drove Hull crisply through the covers for his fifth boundary.

At the other end, Allison was quietly going about his business, accumulating runs in a steady, untroubled rhythm. He reached his fifty from 76 balls by thrashing Green through the covers for a sixth four. And it was not long before Porter was raising his bat on an unprecedented milestone after turning Mike into the covers from the 108th ball he faced.

It was only when Mike finally bowled one at the stumps that Porter’s defences were breached after 117 balls and he walked off, head held high, to a standing ovation.

Mike struck again in his next over, taking a return catch at midriff-height to remove Matt Critchley. Allison saw off Mike with three successive boundaries to three different parts of the ground. Unfortunately for him it brought back Hull, who found the outside of Allison’s bat with his third delivery.

Michael Pepper helped Mulder take Essex through the follow-on barrier before he got into a tangle against Ajaz Patel and was judged lbw.

Mulder, accelerated through the gears, pulling Mike for his fifth four to reach fifty and take Essex to a batting point that had looked beyond them at 143 for 6.