It was as if Reed CC had relaid part of the A10 on their village green this weekend, as they marched out on Saturday to bat on a hard baked batting paradise, resembling more of a German Autobahn than the damp squib from the previous week. Desperate to register their first win of the season, vice captain James Heslam elected to bat. Leading Reed in his first game of the year whilst Simon Jackson attended a wedding, he personally saw an end to his gloomy form as he struck a useful 25 to establish a platform for Reed, after opener Baz Curtis (8) fell early in his innings to a close catch by the wicket keeper.

The Leverstock Green openers toiled hard on a pitch offering little assistance, which was further frustrated by Chris Jackson’s imperious strokeplay that led him to a scintillating 110. Supported by Tom Fulk (88*), who in his own right batted with poise and concentration, the pair took the game away from Leverstock Green to register a resounding declared total of 254 for off 51 overs.

Reed were confident, with the bowling that they had, to defend their total on a flat wicket, and this viewpoint was upheld as Chris Jackson, bucking the trend on his recent catching form, surprisingly held on to a low catch at mid wicket from Peter Tidey’s bowling (10-3-39-1) to reduce the team to 9-1. But this allowed M Craft (49) and D Plamenac (30) to the wicket who forged a solid partnership that threatened to raise the run rate to a dangerous level for Reed. It took a penetrative and accurate spell from William Clarke (11-2-43-1)) to bowl Plamenac and allow Reed an inlet into the opposition’s core. In an effective bowling partnership, Clarke and Emms (9-2-27-2) stemmed the run haemorrhage applying run pressure to Leverstock Green. This forced some false strokes from the batsmen allowing Emms to remove the dangerous Craft and new player, Labaschana. Once the middle order was opened, this gave a chance to Chris Jackson (4-0-11-1) to steal a late wicket, and also Andy Young (14-3-52-1) to take his first League wicket for Reed in a pacey and fiery final spell up the hill. The visitors finally ended on 195-6 off their 49 overs.

Although both sides walked away with similar points: Reed CC with 16 and Leverstock Green with 14, it represented a gathering of momentum for the local club who have registered two consecutive winning draws over the past 2 full League games.

James Heslam: “This was a very important match, not just for me personally, League skippering on debut, but also for the Club, as we have been seeking to gain momentum for the beginning of summer. The rain has meant nobody has much cricket under their belts, so a good bat and bowl has given us great preparation for the forthcoming League games and the Regional Finals of the National Village Cup against Langleybury”