A mild and cloudy September Saturday set the scene for Braintree Second XI's penultimate league fixture of 2025, knowing 28 points in two games would take the question of promotion out of the hands of results elsewhere. Due to the wet start to September both teams were greeted with a luscious green outfield, one large boundary, one short and one slightly soft pitch. A toss to win and bowl first, exactly what 8 men Yoxford decided to do.
The Braintree openers, Dave Hale and Dan Garner, went to work quickly getting to grips the ball not coming onto the bat in the usual batter friendly way we come to expect from Braintree. The pair nurdled good balls into the plentiful gaps left by the depleted Yoxford side, and pounced on the bad balls, sending them hurtling towards both the short and very long boundary alike.
It wasn't long until Dan Garner made his 50 and Dave Hale was keeping pace, until one last big shot to the smaller boundary found Gary Borrett, a member of the supporting cavalry that arrived later to top up the Yoxford numbers to full strength. His catch was taken close to the rope and he celebrated arms aloft just to confuse everyone into thinking it was a six. It wasn't. Hale marched back to the pavilion after setting a commanding start to proceedings seeing off the opening partnership of the Driver Brothers.
Matt Childs came to the crease and continued in similar vein, scoring quickly and making sure that balls that deserved to be punished were sent hurtling to the boundary. However, the partnership didn't last too long as a change in bowling brought a change in fortunes, Dan Garner edging the ball behind, quickly taken by James Thurston, the Yoxford 'keeper. A second for young Ben Aust.
Guy Walton entered the fray batting at 4, who too seemed to get the memo of scoring quickly, rotating the strike and finding the boundary adding a 90 partnership after Childs hit his half century but departed after finding a fielder off the bowling of the returning William Driver.
It was at this point the pitch became slightly harder and the ball was coming onto the bat. Pair this with the news that East Bergholt and IPSCOL had cancelled their game, 18 points was all that was needed for a Braintree 2nd XI back to back promotion. The new target for this game.
After the departing Childs, Andrew Sherry graced us with his usual fast scoring and somewhat hockey like shots that have served him well, scoring at a rate which was somehow quicker than everyone before him.
Unfortunately Walton fell before hitting his half century that his knock was so deserving of, allowing Will Sherry to come in and play a useful cameo role in supporting his father's assault on the traveling side's bowlers. Their running between the wickets in most part was full of great decisions and good communication, including Will Sherry asking Andrew Sherry if he could, in fact, make the second run. It was this running that became Will's downfall as he didn't back up enough from the non-strikers end, leaving himself a few yards short of a quick single. The finger of the square leg umpire couldn't go up quick enough, his brother raising his index to the sky in rapid response to the Yoxford appeals, some would say run out by his dad.
Into the latter overs of the Braintree innings, keeping the scoreboard ticking and piling on the pressure was still the aim with plenty of wickets in the shed. Geoff Eveling ensured to keep this up, running smartly between the wickets, firstly with Andrew Sherry, until he succumbed to the same fate as Childs, Bowled W Driver, Caught T Driver. Then, secondly, with Jeremy Hollingsworth.

Braintree set 330 to win.

The opening bowling partnership of Josh Paget and Theo Sherry was reunited for the first time in many months and the Yoxford openers had to start quickly to get on top of a large run rate. Which is exactly what they did, taking advantage of the hard new ball, some wayward bowling by Paget and Sherry in their opening overs.
However, Paget made the breakthrough, bowling Brammer who played down the leg side line as the ball swung and took the top of off.
Sherry joined in shortly after dismissing the dangerous David Driver before he could really get going. His ball doing just enough to deceive the batsmen and too, take his off stump. The perfect carbon copy of what was to come to Ben Aust only a few overs later. Sherry comes into bowl. Off stump is disrupted. Aust ousted.
Paget continued keeping things tight from his end and got the reward in the shape of a yorker bowling Max Denny who hadn't troubled the scorers much. Bringing both Driver brothers to the crease who had already done some damage to the Braintree batting lineup, could they continue?
They could, for a short time, until Andrew Sherry, hot off of his dominating spell at Felixstowe managed to get Tom Driver to edge one to Jeremy Hollingsworth inviting gloves, a cut shot that wasn't there to play, punished by an excellent catch behind.
The wickets kept tumbling as Paget then managed to tempt Will driver into slashing at a ball that had just enough width to invite him into targeting the short boundary. He instead targeted Dave Hale's hands at second slip with a large edge.
With Paget bowled out and Andrew Sherry taking his second and final wicket by bowling Seb Mears, Geoff Eveling came into the attack. Bowling his usual lines that are challenging to score from, he asked questions of the Yoxford attack, but the answer was an edge from Edward Borrett to Andrew Sherry at first slip.
Injured for much of the season, Andrew Gowers chose this moment that he was fit enough to bowl for the first time, nearly all season. It turned out to, somehow, be the right decision as he managed to get James Thurston cutting one towards Eveling at backwards point, an easy chance, gratefully received.
With victory in sight Will Sherry was brought into the attack, and found his rhythm in his second over and beyond, denied his debut Second XI (and match winning) wicket when Hale dropped a catch in close.
With Yoxford looking to chase down a batting point, the stalwart efforts of Spencer and Gary Borrett came to an end when Andrew Gowers disrupted the furniture, bowling Spencer.

Braintree win by 231 runs. Braintree are promoted to Division 5.