Reed’s 1st XI continued to make staggering progress in their Division 2 as they routed Radlett IIs away. Now placed 6th, Reed remain in a challenging position.

Having lost the toss and being asked to bat, it seemed that Radlett had made the right choice, as the visitors were reduced to 28-2 thanks to some lively early bowling from S.Gray (6-0-31-2). Supported well at the other end by H.Paytner (20-6-61-4), Baz Curtis (15) and Chris Jackson (6) were removed in quick succession. Reed looked to be struggling on 95-5, but Richard Jerome (39) and Stuart Smith settled the ship well, as they helped, in conjunction with Will Clarke (14) and Chris Shorrock (20) to haul the total to a challenging 186 all out off 52 overs.

Reed’s reply began in blistering fashions. Will Clarke (8-4-8-2) and Michael Berks (11-3-27-4) put the Radlett batsmen under serious pressure with hostile and tight bowling. With runs restricted and Berks taking the wickets of 2, 3 and 4, Radlett were reduced to 7-4 and subsequently 16-5. The visitors were in a commanding position until D.Warren entered the fray. With a swashbuckling 51 in nearly as many balls, there was potential that Reed could slip up thanks to some cavalier drives and pulls, but the experienced Richard Jerome (5-2-10-1) managed to winkle out Warren. Despite some further boundaries in vain from Paytner (26), Radlett’s innings collapsed as Peter Tidey (10.4-2-47-2) snatched a couple late wickets.

Their effort ground to a halt on 98 all out off 34.4 overs giving Reed 30 well earned points and a healthy boost in the division.

Reed’s skipper, Simon Jackson, commented after the game: “I am delighted with the lads‚ performances today. They played with real spirit to gather together a challenging total on a difficult batting wicket, and the bowling effort was outstanding. After the top order was torn out early on, we would have been disappointed to have lost. A lot of work still needs to be done however, and we still need to gel our performances to coincide at the right moments.”