WORCESTERSHIRE were ground into the Chelmsford dust as Essex's Tom Westley posted a majestic maiden first-class double-century in Specsavers County Championship Division Two.

The third-placed visitors had no answer to the 27-year-old as he drove their wilting attack both sides of the wicket, interlacing pulls and hooks to anything short while overhauling the 185 he scored against Glamorgan at Colchester four years ago.

Westley had two previous hundreds and seven fifties in the Championship this season but had never converted a good start into a really big score.

He did on the second day of the clash of the high-fliers as he feasted on mediocre bowling fare to score an unbeaten 238 out of 512-4.

The dominant Westley shared in stands of 153 in 43 overs for the second wicket with England captain Alastair Cook (66), 213 in 56 for the third with Ravi Bopara (99) and a rapid 144 in 26 for the fifth with Ryan ten Doeschate (77 not out).

Essex have been in control for all six sessions of the match after David Masters reduced Worcestershire’s batting to rubble on the first day with a seven-wicket haul in their 230 all out.

In so doing, they have taken giant strides towards claiming the one promotion place up to Division One and ending the County's chances.

Westley and Cook added 43 to their overnight 110-run partnership before the latter gave Worcestershire a rare moment of celebration.

He departed in Ed Barnard’s first over of the day when he edged to first slip where Ross Whiteley juggled before clutching the ball at the second attempt.

The left-hander had hit 12 fours in his 108-ball innings.

For a while in the morning, 20-year-old Barnard looked the most likely of the County bowlers to hamper Essex’s progress.

But Bopara hit him out of the attack with three fours in four balls and he became part of the general malaise that had engulfed the visitors.

Westley, who reached 1,000 Championship runs for the season on day one, started the second day where he left off when he straight-drove Joe Leach’s first ball for four and brought up the 150 partnership with a vicious pull through mid-wicket.

However, Westley’s otherwise belligerent innings did contain a chance, albeit a difficult one.

When he had reached 85, the lively Barnard had him chasing one outside off-stump and skipper Daryl Mitchell could only parry the ball above his head at second slip.

Westley went to lunch two short of his century, which he reached in the second over after the break when his 18th boundary fizzed through the covers off Jack Shantry.

Bopara has developed a habit of starting his innings in cautious mode and he scored just seven off his first 38 balls.

But when he finally clicked into gear by demolishing Barnard, Bopara underlined his attacking intent by lofting George Rhodes over the bowler’s head and on to the roof of a house in Hayes Close.

His fifty, reached with a square cut off debutant Miguel Cummins for his ninth four, came in 89 balls.

Westley’s 150 was reached off 251 balls when he drove his 25th four through the covers off Mitchell.

The new ball was treated with similar disdain when Cummins was dispatched to the long-leg boundary.

Having claimed one wicket in two sessions, two came along in six balls after tea.

Bopara could not believe his bad luck when he nicked Shantry to Whiteley at slip for 99 and lingered in the crease for several moments to absorb the disappointment.

It was arguably the one delivery that had misbehaved in his 172-ball innings.

While the third wicket exceeded 200, the fourth managed just one run as Dan Lawrence cut Leach to Brett D’Oliveira at backward point and 367-2 became 368-4.

Westley, though, just kept going and passed his previous best by pulling Leach through mid-wicket and reached his 200 off 319 balls with his 33rd four steered through the covers off Cummins.

Ten Doeschate ensured Essex would take maximum bonus points by whipping Shantry off his legs.

After the latest century stand was posted in 17 overs, the Essex captain scampered a single off Rhodes to reach a 52-ball fifty with six fours.