Braintree welcomed Felixstowe to Panfield Lane on a hot sunny day as they looked to bounce back from the previous week's loss to Abberton.
It wasn't the ideal start as skipper, Andrew Gowers, lost the toss and was asked to field but that was to be the brightest part of the day for the visitors as they were out played by their hosts.
Having made a positive stat, with James Heathcote looking to be positive from the off, second team debutant Rhys John blew away the top order to put Braintree in the driving seat. Firstly, Oscar Anderson played an ugly slog across the line and picked out Guy Walton at mid-wicket before the dangerous looking Heathcote cut to Major Singh at point for 17. Rhys combined with Walton again shortly after when Lindfield edged to first slip to leave Felixstowe 3-33 and in trouble. Jamie Burrows joined Sampson Ellis at the crease and looked to be positive while his partner dug in but he went for one shot many to give Josh Paget reward for an excellent spell. With the ball holding up in the wind Himesh Patel made good ground to take a fantastic catch almost directly behind the bowler. Major Singh entered to attach to replace John (3-26) and was soon amongst the wickets as Ellis lost his battle with patience and was bowled trying to hit out having faced 63 balls for his 17. Calley Foyster struggled initially to find rhythm but once she got in the grove she saw the back of Karl Wilks for 14 and Darshan Patel without scoring, both caught by Guy Walton who was having a day to remember in the field, had he not shelled one at slip he would have picked up 5 catches in the outfield. Sandwiched between Foyster's wickets Singh picked up Will Cresswell as he chipped to Paget at cover and Navod Kankanamge was brilliantly run out by Joe Osborne after a painstaking 4 from 41 balls. Whilst all the wickets were falling at one end Jonny Jacobs, having been called back after being given out LBW to a ball which he smashed into his pad, was compiling workmanlike half century and was 64* when the innings was brought to a close by Himesh Patel who had Grimson caught at backward point by Paget with just his second ball.
Chasing 154 on a flat Braintree track should have been a breeze and that's exactly how it turned out as The Dolphins reached their target with a massive 25 overs and 2 balls to spare. This was, in the main, thanks to the fact that Dave Hale was well and truly in the mood! He and Matt Kent got off to a good start, both hitting early boundaries before Kent (14) had to retire hurt after 6 overs with a bicep injury. By that time the score had already moved to 44 and when Andrew Gowers joined Hale at the crease the latter started to up the run rate dramatically. His 50 came up in the 9th over off of just 30 balls and just 27 balls later he had 'doubled up' to register his second ton of the season. A 57 ball hundred containing 16 fours and 3 sixes with a mix of power and finesse as he took apart the Felixstowe attack.
His innings came to an end at 104 when he looked to loft young left arm spinner Will Cresswell over the top but only found James Heathcote at long off. Andrew Gowers (20*) and Rory Ainsley (9*) kept the hammer down and got Braintree over the line for a comfortable win to consolidate their second place in the league.