HAVING seen his team continue their stranglehold over local rivals Braintree, Witham Cricket Club skipper Jake Wakelin is looking for their players to push up the Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship division one standings.

The up and down season that Witham have had so far has seen them struggle to match the dominance they have seen in the top flight in the last two years, but Wakelin is hoping their seven-wicket win at Braintree can revive their campaign.

And the captain is hoping that they will press on when they head to Haverhill on Saturday for a game that he feels could be even bigger to them than the derby clash last weekend.

“In sport, winning’s a habit and losing’s a habit,” said Wakelin.

“Once you can get on a winning roll the vibe around the whole team is there and everything becomes easier.

“Everyone’s jobs become easier.

“No-one likes losing and winning needs to become a habit, so hopefully we can continue.

“I know the league table doesn’t lie but we feel we’re in a bit of a false position and I still believe we’re better than where we are in the league.

“To win the local derby quite convincingly was good and we definitely now need to look for more consistency than we’ve had.

“We seem to have won big games, like the local derby and against Wivenhoe, and we need to take that attitude into every game.

“Every game has to be a cup final now.

“Hopefully three or four wins will get us up the table and our season has to start from here really.

“This week (at Haverhill) is a massive game for us - I know the local derby was big and it got talked up with the rivalry between Witham and Braintree, but this week is even bigger now really.

“We have to take a winning mentality into it.”

Witham’s win at Braintree - their fourth against their local rivals in the last two seasons - was set up by a strong display in the field as, despite having lost the toss and been asked to bowl first, they skittled their hosts out for just 117.

Leading the way was Shaun Bragg, who captured his first five-wicket haul for the club, while wicket-keeper James Suett took five catches behind the stumps.

That performance eased the way for the batsmen to take over and, with Michael Godwin top scoring with an unbeaten 41, they got past their target with just three wickets down.

Wakelin added: “It was a good win because, as I said in the paper last week, it was a big game - not just for Braintree but for ourselves as well.

“I saw it as a must-win game for both teams.

“Braintree now have an uphill task ahead to stay in the division and had the result gone the other way then it would have been us with an uphill struggle.

“So it was good to win and now we’ve won, it’s a big game for us this week.

“We are playing Haverhill and if we can win against them and then against Halstead the week after, putting a few results together will really lift us up the table.

“It was a massive win for us at Braintree.

“The bowlers did well on what was a bit of a sticky wicket at first.

“Shaun Bragg took his first five-for for the club, wicket-keeper Jim Suett took five catches and I was able to clean up three at the end so it was a great all-round bowling performance.

“We then got off to a good start and that’s what you need when chasing a score like 117.

“Michael Godwin was 41 not out and he’s such a good player for us.

“He batted cleverly and allowed players like me to hit out with a few boundaries.”