It was a historic day for Braintree CC and 2nd XI skipper Andrew Sherry as he achieved something quite remarkable, the first 10 wicket haul in the club’s 144-year history. It is a day that will live long in the memory of everyone that was there to witness this phenomenal feat, which led the Dolphins to their third win on the trot as they defeated league leaders Colchester Cavaliers.
Braintree won the toss and elected to bowl first on a firm but green looking wicket and the skipper picked up his first wickets in a remarkable 3rd over that saw 3 Cavaliers batsmen come and go. The first to go was Umer Farooq who played all around and in swinging delivery and the very next ball, he had Vijish Kumar plumb lbw after a misjudged leave that nipped back and struck the pads in front of all three. There was to be no hat-trick but did manage a third in the over as Rasheed also had his timber disturbed in a way that would be familiar throughout the afternoon. The home side were now in trouble at 6-3 and the situation worsened for them as opener Cooper was a little unfortunate to be bowled, with the ball trickling off bat, onto pad, and onto the stumps. After a small flurry of boundaries from Khan and Munir, Sherry grabbed his fifth as khan fended off a full toss to Charlie Garner, who took a neat catch at backward square leg. That was Sherry’s five-for, and a but he was not done there as he castled Munir soon after. No matter what the scoreboard read, the Cavaliers took the approach their name would suggest and were not prepared to dig in. The score was now 48-6 and it didn’t take long for the next wicket to fill as Rao edged a full delivery into the awaiting hands of Nick Lockhart at first slip to give Sherry his seventh, could it happen? Could Sherry achieve what nobody else in Braintree colours had over the course of 144 years? Chaos then ensued as Badar Munir unleashed an assault on the Dolphins bowlers, striking fours and sixes all around the park, but he was especially strong off his pads, flicking multiple sixes over deep mid-wicket. After a partnership of nearly 40, the eighth wicket fell after a very good catch from Joe Osborne at mid-wicket, covering a lot of ground to make the ball before pouching it inches from the turf. Eight became nine in the same over as Riaz was given lbw as a full toss hit him on the knee roll and, although there was more than a small element of bat involved, with the skipper now one wicket away from achieving the unbelievable, no one was complaining. Munir frustrated the bowlers even more as he continued to time the ball magnificently, reaching his 50 at a staggering strike rate. It seemed like the last wicket would never fall as Josh Paget had him dropped at deep mid-wicket. However, it was a blessing in disguise as it allowed Sherry to claim his 10th with just 3 balls remaining in his spell. Munir, once again, looked to go big this time rather than screaming out of the middle towards the fence he popped it up in the air towards Fullgrabe mid-on. For a moment time seemed to stand still as he back pedalled but he held on to a simple chance and Sherry had his piece of History. It is an incredible, record-breaking achievement that will never be forgotten and will be etched into the DNA of Braintree Cricket club forevermore.
The target was 143, and it was not a formality that Braintree would chase it down, as the opening partnership of Jamie Foyster and Dave Hale were tested early by some accurate bowling. The first wicket fell, as Dave Hale was bowled by a beauty of a yorker, after making six. Matt Kent and Foyster then put on a solid partnership of 76, both patiently accumulating runs with ones and twos, as well as the odd boundary. After a very composed 32, which included some well-timed boundaries, Kent was bowled to leave the score at 88-2. Foyster continued to grind out his innings, reaching a patient 50. Along with Lockhart, he guided Braintree to within 20 of victory, before Lockhart, after making an important 16, holed out to mid-on. Braintree then made it harder than it needed to be as Foyster, Sherry and Himesh Patel, gave away their wickets trying to finish the game quickly. That left Osborne and Garner to finish off, the latter hitting the winning runs with 2 through the covers. Osborne finished on 4* and Garner just the 2. In the end it was a great win for Braintree but that was the less significant part of the day as it will be remembered for one man. Take a bow Andrew Sherry.