The mercury, much like the hopes of the visiting batsmen, soared relentlessly on Saturday as the Braintree 2’s packed their passports and an industrial-sized tub of factor 50 for what felt like an epic cross-country trek to the sun-baked pastures of Yoxford. For those of us who embarked on the pilgrimage, a journey of over an hour and a half through verdant, sun-dappled lanes, the reward was a spectacle as sizzling as the weather itself, despite the lack of tea and
showers
Winning the toss Gowers immediately chose to bat, reuniting Hale and Johnston at the opening of the innings. Hale saw the first over well, playing proper cricket and starting the scoring with a textbook cover drive for 4 whilst Johnston, fueled by over a decade of putting in the miles heading this far, decided to welcome a young Yoxford bowler to the crease with a baptism of fire. While the teenager steamed in with youthful enthusiasm, Johnston simply hit his first ball back past him with no need to move in the heat. Showing his usual lack of respect Johnston continued in this approach, scoring 12 in boundaries off the first over he faced without having to move. It was a clear statement of intent, a subtle message that "we travelled an hour and a half in this inferno, and we're here to play!" However, it was a fleeting moment of glory for Johnston, before, after warming the opposition captain's hands in one over, he hit a gentle catch later in the over.
Fullgrabe joined Hale at the crease, having last season taken the Yoxford attack to pieces but unfortunately he soon lost Hale. After he had dispatched a beautiful 6 into a local farmers field, he was bowled by the child Johnston had knocked around, dragging a wide half volley back onto his stumps looking for a third boundary. Fullgrabe shortly followed as he was bowled after an ugly hoick across the line.
Captain Gowers and Meshy Patel came together with Braintree wobbling at 32-3 and started playing proper attritional cricket, taking advantage of the heat to wear down the opposition. All was looking safe, until Patel was adjudged LBW bang in front, his suggestion that he’d got a minuscule edge on it ignored by Johnston, his white stick and support dog at the umpire's end.
Gowers continued, joined by VC Joe Osborne. In conditions more like India than England, he went full Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid as he played the role the team didn’t know they wanted, but did know they needed, allowing Osborne to find his form. Gowers eventually fell for a 52 ball 15, bringing Dan Garner to the crease at 92-5.
The pair of Osborne and Garner, defying both the Yoxford attack and the relentless heat, stitched together an absolutely monumental 130-run partnership. In conditions that made running a single feel like a marathon, their partnership was a truly remarkable display of grit, determination, and perhaps a shared delusion brought on by the heat. They communicated in short, sharp gasps, conserving every last ounce of energy, turning singles into twos and finding the boundaries that seemed to shimmer into existence. This was more than just a partnership; it was a defiant stand against the elements, a testament to the fact that even when the world feels like it's melting, a good batting buddy can make all the difference.
Osborne eventually fell for a stunning 80 off merely 67 balls, leaving Garner to feel lonely without him, and promptly follow him for a 75 ball 83. Quite wonderful batting from the both of them.
With (as the opposition captain repeated throughout the match) a Division 1 opener coming in at number 9, and birthday boy Major Singh crashing a 6 straight down the ground it looked set for a grandstand finish, but Singh was caught going for a big hit, and little legs Eveling couldn’t make his ground to be run out, on a ground where Braintree batsmen of the past have previously assumed incorrectly that you can ‘take one for the arm’.
Braintree finished on a total of 243 with 4 balls of their innings - a good score in sweltering heat.

Tea, as often is the case for away matches, was not provided, with people nervously hoping their salads/rice/pasta had made it safely from Essex and hadn’t been intercepted by any overly zealous customs officers on the border, before Braintree set about attacking under slightly cloudier skies.
Wickets fell at regular intervals, with the spin of Eveling from one end, and the Rotherham express at the other making the batsmen play at every ball, Paget removing the opener with one of the most beautiful balls - a proper batsman, playing a proper defensive shot to a ball that was simply too good for him.
Eveling struggled to make a breakthrough but kept things tight, and, after capturing another wicket plumb LBW Paget was rested to give spin from both ends. Eventually, after a promising partnership, it was that man Garner who captured the crucial wicket of Yoxford skipper David Driver, forcing him to play on with the game in the balance.
This opened the door to Braintree, and the spinners ran through it in a hurry, with Eveling coming back to bully the lower order with his mystery spin, bowling 4 of the last 5 batsmen.
Whilst Tom Driver was at the crease Yoxford were always in with a chance, but captain Gowers moving Hale from slip to square leg paid dividends immediately, as the next ball from Adcock was played straight to him - to the confusion of the batter who suggested that Hale hadn’t been there before and he somehow had missed the over 6 foot man move from one position to another.
Looking to capture the maximum points Braintree were on it until the end, one stop with his foot from Johnston preventing any runs, and resulting in the batter being bowled next ball, and the last 3 wickets falling, for no runs, with 5 balls to spare.
Overall, a tough and extremely long journey for the Braintree team, but a Win in any event, at a ground where they have been hard to come by in the past, keeping them in the race for promotion this year