Braintree's 2nd team started their Division 5 campaign with an away trip to Abberton to face familiar opposition having played them in a pre-season friendly the previous week. With back to back promotions behind them they go into the new season with plenty of optimism but also knowing the standard is rising and they will need to be at their best to compete for a 3rd consecutive status jump.
Skipper Andrew Gowers won the toss for The Dolphins and chose to bat on what looked a flat track, knowing that Braintree's premier side had posted over 300 on it 7 days earlier but, despite the top 5 all getting starts, the visitors somewhat stuttered to 185 all out.
Dave Hale and Nick Lockhart made a watchful start as Chris Petite (3-18) proved particularly difficult to get away and it was he that made the breakthrough as he induced an inside edge from Hale which 'keeper Ollie Schofield took comfortably to dismiss the opener for 14.
27-1 became 38-2 when Lockhart was bowled by Ross Soteriou for 24 as he tried to push the run rate forward which brought Himesh Patel and Geoff Eveling together and a promising partnership of 68 as Braintree started to get into their groove. Patel, having scored 50 on in this fixture last year, struck 5 boundaries and 2 maximums as he latched onto anything loose while Eveling was happy to give up the strike and let him go about his work. However, having scored 43 he got into a tangle following a nicely flighted delivery from Michael Griffin and found himself trapped in front. There then followed an extroadinarily frantic innings from Louis Cant who showed a mixture of elegance, power and kamikaze running (which saw the end of Eveling for 20) before being caught off of his glove for 18 from 19 balls.
Andrew Sherry then came and did what Andrew Sherry does as he pepper the legside boundary to give Braintree that accelerate again but just as he was getting into his stride he found the fielder on the legside boundary for 33 (28) to give Harry White his second victim. Wickets started to tumble as Braintree looked to get to 200 as Gowers (5) chose to take on Joe Schofield only to run out by a direct hit from the boundary edge and both Jerry Hollingsworth debutant Riley Payne had thier timbers disturbed by the returning Pettit for 1.
This left Braintree 169-9 with 5 overs still to spare when Lucas Hale joined Jay Singh Shera in the middle and the pair remained calm as they moved the score onto 185 before Hale chipped David Schofield to mid-off for 7 in the final over.
Braintree felt they had a defendable score but they needed early wickets to put the opposition under pressure and it was veteran Andrew Sherry that delivered. Firstly he induced David Schofield to chip a simple catch to Himesh Patel in the covers for 9 before he squeezed one through gate of Joe Schofield (8) to leave Abberton on 40-2. That became 40-3 the very next ball as Michael Griffin flirted loosely outside his off stump and edging to the safe hands of Dave Hale at second slip. A partnership of 45 between Matt Sullivan and Phil Lingard steady the home sides jitters before Louis Cant to 2 wickets in 4 balls to bring Braintree right back in it. Dave Hale was in the action in the field again, this time taking a well judge catch on the move at long-off to dismiss Lingard for 21 and then Soteriou was well caught at cover-point by Gowers although at no point did the ball touch his hands as it ricocheted between chest and arms before settling between his knees! At 85 for 5 Braintree were now well in the contest but Matt Sullivan was clearly going to be the vital wicket. Chris Pettit joined him and topped off his fine game as he scored 26 in a 67 run partnership that moved the game into the home sides favour before Eveling bowled him for 26. Sullivan was still going and he got his team to within 3 runs of victory before Hale senior had him well caught by Patel on the boundary for 98 but by then the game was as done. Braintree will rue missed opportunities, particularly the one offered by Sullivan whilst on 25, but go into next weeks home game with confidence they can compete at this level