Braintree CC’s second xi got a crucial victory in their quest for promotion to division 5 with a thrilling victory by 14 runs against fellow promotion rivals Abberton.
Skipper Andrew Gowers won the toss and elected to bat first on what everyone expected to be a typical Braintree Road. However, that was not the case as big spin and uneven bounce tormented the dolphins throughout their innings. Dave Hale and Dan Garner opened the batting, but. Neither made it past 10, Garner departing first, after feathering one to the keeper before Hale chipped to mid-on. Number 3 Ian Johnston wasn’t going to soak up pressure though, carving 2 fours, before being castled to give Chapman his second wicket. This left The Dolphins in a perilous position at 30-3, and with Rory Ainsley stuck somewhere in a Suffolk Field, it was Andrew Sherry and Guy Walton’s job to rebuild. Both found singles early on before some loose bowling allowed Sherry to get into his stride, pushing the partnership past 50. However, soon after, Walton attempted the big shot and was caught off the bowling of the Aussie, Dave Schofield. Sherry fell immediately after, again off Schofield’s bowling, being trapped LBW by a ball that turned viciously and didn’t get above ankle height. 88-5 became 88-6 as Charlie Garner was worked over by young spinner White, with a stumping appeal turned down before he was bowled by a quicker one. It was now down to the skipper and Shubham Alhat to scrape some runs together, and with Alhat nudging the ball about and Gowers keeping it out, the runs started to add up, but when on 17 Alhat was caught at mid-off, just a bit too early on one he attempted to just push into the gap. Ainsley had finally arrived and was immediately into bat, lasting only 4 balls before chopping on, which didn’t improve his already bad mood, his frustration in general eventually landing him a DoD victory. Gowers didn’t last much longer as Schofield picked up his third with another one that turned big to dismantle the stumps. At 126-9 Braintree thought they were out of it, but a remarkable last wicket partnership of 61 between Shibu Varghese and Josh Paget got The Dolphins up to a competitive total of 187. Paget provided an able support role to Varghese, who struck the ball to all parts while managing the strike exceptionally to finish on 52 off 40 balls, his maiden 50 for Braintree in only his third game for the club. He was eventually bowled by Griffin, but a competitive total was now on the board on a sporting track.
The ever-reliable opening pair of Paget and Sherry was back together after injury, and a holiday, had kept Sherry away for a few weeks. However, a blistering start was made by Abberton, with Jackson and Trussler dealing mainly in boundaries, 50-0 had been reached in the 7th over before Paget had Jackson caught at slip on the second attempt by Sherry. New batsman Schofield only made 9 before he was trapped plumb in front by Sherry. Even though they had provided the breakthroughs, it was time for spin to be introduced, with Varghese and Hale coming on. Both started a bit wayward, with a quick 30 being added before a drag down from Hale was caught at square lag by his spin counterpart. Another 40 runs were added at a decent lick to leave the visitors well placed for victory at 137-3, and with the dolphins in desperate need of a wicket, the skipper turned to Dan Garner. With his first ball, he immediately found the edge of the extremely dangerous Griffin, who has averaged over 40 in division 2 this season, after making 43 off 25 which included 2 huge sixes into the car park. It was a good delivery from Garner, but also a fantastic catch diving forward at slip from Sherry. Another 2 wickets soon fell as Hale first dismissed Mann with a good delivery that beat him all ends up before Garner took a smart return catch to remove Lingard. This now left the game firmly in the balance at 142-6, but the momentum was with The Dolphins. Keeper Smith batted sensibly for 24, supported by Robertson, but just when hope was starting to fade for Braintree, a rejuvenated Varghese came back on for a second spell to beat the defences of Robertson, before repeating the dose in his next over to remove Smith. With 16 runs or 2 wickets needed, the game was still in the balance, but Garner soon picked up his third as Allflatt was bowled off his pad. One more wicket was now required for the dolphins and in the next over, Varghese provided it, as Chapman was caught at long on after a fantastic catch diving backwards from the skipper, avenging his comedy error from earlier, where he misjudged one and went crashing into the sightscreen. The wicket sparked absolute bedlam with all of his teammates rushing to congratulate him. What a game of cricket and what an important victory in the quest for promotion. However, with still only an 8-point gap between Braintree and Stowupland in 5th, the wins have to keep coming to ensure a top 4 finish is secured. Next week the long trip to Felixstowe awaits.