Braintree CC’s sunday development side put in an extremely sprinted performance but came out on the losing side in a 13 run defeat to Chelmsford.

Skipper Geoff Eveling lost the toss which meant Braintree were fielding first. Lee Fullgrabe and Theo Sherry kept it tight early on, restricting the home side to under 3 an over before Thomas Mellon got the breakthrough, bowling Pandey for 8. Hossain and Tickoo took the score to 105 before Charlie Garner had Tickoo caught and bowled, a simple return catch. Wickets fell at regular intervals as Mellon picked up two more wickets, first having Hutchinson well caught by Garner at mid on, before Sreedharan offered a simple chance to Fullgrabe at mid wicket. The returning Callum Lazarus then snuck through the defences of Hossain, a big wicket as he looked set for a century after reaching 81. The visitors still had hopes of a score in excess of 200 before a remarkable hat trick from young bowler Theo Sherry halted all momentum. He bowled Camp through the gate, then disturbed the timber of Campion, who attempted a wild heave first ball, before capping it off as Siriwardena snicked behind to keeper Ganguly. It was a memorable moment which sparked absolute jubilation for the entire team. Fullgrabe and Sherry each picked up a wicket to finish the innings of on 174 with 4 balls remaining of the allotted 40 overs.

It was a gettable target and opening pair of Charlie Garner and Adam Westall bided their time early on, ticking the runs along at about 3 an over. Garner faced the majority of the balls, defending solidly and exploiting gaps on the leg side when the opportunity came. Westall played a good supporting role and the pair reached drinks unscathed with the score at 60-0. Garner soon reached his first senior 50 after striking two consecutive fours, one with his trademark clip of the pads, before a thick bottom edge through square leg took him to 52, hopefully the first of many for the budding all rounder. He soon fell, bowled attempting a big shot into the leg side. A solid foundation had been laid, but the dolphins needed to get a move on and a desire for quick singles led to two run outs, Westall and Eveling both back in the shed. At the other end, Joe Osborne struck 3 fours early in his innings to get the scoreboard moving and he continued to tick the score along as wickets fell around him. Thomas Oddy didn’t last long as he was bowled but Arindam Ganguly stuck around to give Braintree hope, striking a couple of boundaries before departing with 35 runs required. Hugo Adams added a quick 7 before we was bowled with the score on 150. 25 runs were now needed from 8 balls, and the big hitting Lee Fullgrabe was Braintree’s last hope of an unlikely victory. He didn’t connect with his first two balls, which left the impressive Osborne on strike in the last over, with 25 needed. Osborne hit a single to leave Fullgrabe on strike, but it was not to be as he hit five consecutive twos, the pair physically exhausted by the end of the over. It may have been a defeat on the day, but it was a great opportunity to develop the next generation, and there were great performances across the board, especially considering it was the first game back for some players after their GCSE’s. The side will hopefully continue their development with more games before the end of the season