Liam Norwell’s fifer gave Warwickshire a stranglehold on Thursday as day one of Derbyshire’s LV= Insurance County Championship visit came to a close at Edgbaston.

Norwell took five wickets from his 18 overs at the cost of just 32 runs as Derbyshire struggled to a first-innings total of 189. An early collapse set the precedent for the visitors, who saw only two players surpass 16 runs.

Warwickshire won the toss and elected to bowl. The hosts stormed into what looked to be a very promising position as medium-pace bowler Norwell took two wickets in the second over, dismissing Billy Godleman (0) with a catch in the slips before sending Anuj Dal (0) back to the pavilion with his stumps a mess just three balls later.

Derbyshire picked up slightly soon after, with Luis Reece (63) picking up seven runs across the next six overs. South African Leus du Plooy (0) faced 22 balls before edging one from Oliver Hannon-Dalby onto his leg stump.

The visitors settled and moved onto a fourth-wicket partnership of 43 runs before lunch, racking up nine boundaries in the opening session. 37-year-old Wayne Madsen (15) was dismissed with only a few overs left before the break when he was spectacularly caught by Robert Yates in the slips off the first ball of Hannon-Dalby’s seventh over.

With opening batsman Reece continuing his innings well beyond lunch, Derbyshire ran up a respectable total. Matthew Critchley (64) joined the 30-year-old at the crease, and before long they had both reached their half-centuries. A fruitful, 93-run partnership blossomed with Hannon-Dalby and Norwell spearheading the attack from either end. It was Norwell who brought an end to the charge, finding the edge of Reece’s bat as the delivery carried through to Sam Hain in the slips.

Norwell’s splendid display showed no signs of slowing as he took his fourth wicket of the day less than four overs later. Norwell, who made his first-class debut against Derbyshire a decade prior, launched a vapid ball into the midriff of Harvey Hosein (2) and he could do very little but edge into the slips, where an awaiting Hain just about held on for his second catch of the afternoon.

Norwell rounded off his fifer with the wicket of Critchley. The visitors barely got another decent partnership off the ground, with just a smattering of runs sporadically spread across the remainder of the middle session. Fynn Hudson-Prentice (14) was caught at backwards point from the very first ball of Will Rhodes’ opening spell, leaving Derbyshire perched on 164-8 at tea.

The final session did little to raise the spirits of the Derbyshire dressing room. Having added just four to their total since the tea break, Michael Cohen (4) trudged away from the wicket after being caught by ex-England international Tim Bresnan. Bresnan, positioned at first slip, took the reactionary catch well as he tumbled to the ground.

Tailender Sam Conners was the final wicket to fall as Hain took his third catch of the day. Bowled by spinner Danny Briggs, Conners chipped the ball comfortably into Hain’s grasp, who had been battered and bruised at short leg hitherto.

Warwickshire saw out the day with the bat, and within the first over were trapped by ferocious bowling from Conners. Opening batsman Rhodes was given out by way of LBW after just two balls, and they failed to chalk up a single run within the first over.

The partnership of Dom Sibley and Rob Yates put on 13 runs before the close of play.

Day two begins at 11am tomorrow, April 9.