Braintree Cricket Club’s stand-in captain Barry Stephens admitted to being “gobsmacked” by the fateful decision that sparked a run-fest for his team and took them a step closer to their promotion dream.

With skipper Will Jackson unavailable, Stephens took the helm for their Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship division two game against Easton, but lost the toss at the start of the game.

However, rather than a long spell in the field, Braintree were inserted on an ideal batting day and Australian Lachlan Ford made the most of their good fortune as his score of 168 paved the way for a 183-run victory.

“I thought I’d misheard when their captain said they’d bowl,” said Stephens.

“He said they’d chased down big scores before, but I’m still gobsmacked that they bowled.

“It was a beautiful summer’s day with a good pitch and a road-quick outfield.

“Teams know that you can score quickly at Braintree and in my opinion, it was a no-brainer to have a bat.

“I just went back to the boys and said ‘make them pay for it’.

“It was a strange decision and I think they under-estimated what we could do.

“Watching Lachlan Ford bat the way that he did was incredible.

“It was a very special innings and to make 168 was amazing.”

Braintree are due to head to Exning today with Jackson set to return to the team.