Braintree Cricket Club know just how important today’s game against Copford could be to their Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship division two title and promotion dreams this year.

Lachlan Ford’s second consecutive century helped power second-placed Braintree to an 11-run win at Exning last weekend and set up an intriguing showdown against leaders Copford at Panfield Lane on today.

A win would draw the current front-runners back towards Braintree, while a loss would see Copford pull almost 40 points clear and allow third-placed Easton to come back into the promotion race, so skipper Will Jackson knows defeat can’t be an option for his team.

He said: “It is a huge game, purely because we can’t allow Copford to get nearly 40 points ahead.

“That’s two wins to make up on them in the remaining seven games and we also have Easton pressing behind us.

“So it will be nice to bring Copford back and we’ll then know that it’s more in our own hands.

“We just have to play the way that we have been.

“We are strong at our own ground and we know we should have beaten them at their place.

“It should be a strong team that we have out and they’ll be more nervous as they’re the ones out ahead with something to lose and we’re the ones chasing.”