NICK Browne rediscovered the form that brought him five centuries last season as he anchored Essex's 284 for three on the opening day against Derbyshire at Chelmsford.

Browne's unbeaten 154 was not only his highest first-class score but it also more than doubled the 150 runs he had managed from seven previous innings this term.

The opener equalled his previous best of 151 not out at Leicester last year with a straight drive off Shiv Thakor after more than six hours at the crease and finished the day with 23 fours from 302 balls.

His sterling effort put the Specsavers County Championship Division Two leaders in a strong position to dictate the course of this match.

The left-hander was particularly strong off his legs and produced some textbook straight drives, but he did allow himself one extravagant shot, pulling Thakor through midwicket.

Browne gave one chance during his knock when Chesney Hughes got a hand to an edge at slip, but could not stop the ball speeding to the rope.

The 25-year-old punched Madsen through the covers to reach his century, and put on 111 in 41 overs with Ravi Bopara for the third wicket.

Bopara departed one short of a second half-century of the season when he was lbw to Thakor.

Derbyshire took up the option of an uncontested toss and elected to bowl. It seemed a puzzling decision at the time, and by stumps it looked even more debatable.

Essex started serenely with Browne and Jaik Mickleburgh putting on 61 runs in 19 overs before Tony Palladino took the first of two wickets in three balls.

Mickleburgh was given a life on four when Matt Critchley spilled a decent chance at point, and he had added another 20 runs before being trapped lbw.

He was followed by the in-form Tom Westley, who had scored 432 runs in his previous six Championship innings this year but lasted three balls, without scoring, before he was pinned in his crease.

Browne greeted spinner Critchley's arrival in the attack by rocking on to his back foot to punch another boundary through the off-side.

Bopara also punished the 19-year-old leg-spinner by thumping a wayward full toss for four.

If Essex had been reliant on boundaries in the first two sessions, Dan Lawrence had Browne scampering singles, twos and threes as Derbyshire visibly wilted in the field.

Hughes missed his second chance of the day when he was slow to react to Lawrence's steepling miscue that landed two feet beyond him at midwicket.

By the end the miss had cost Derbyshire 30 runs as Lawrence moved on to 51 as the fourth-wicket pair added an unbroken 103.