Reed First XI further strengthened their bid for promotion to division 3 by destroying Boxmoor on Saturday. The convincing 93 run victory marked a sterling all round performance by Reed helping raise them to second, when they once languished at bottom. Winning the toss, Reed skipper, Simon Jackson elected to bat first on a wicket with notoriously erratic bounce. Despite early setbacks where Reed were 47/3, due to some testing bowling by C.Marshall, the decision proved to be well judged, as Baz Curtis, in an aggressive innings of 30 battled with G.Wornham to build a semi respectible total. However, it was Wornham who stole the show as he patiently grafted a match-winning 71*, finding runs in all areas. Reed suffered collossal middle order collapse, but R. Johnson (19), and P.Tidey (17*) in an innings of agricultural flamboyancy, dragged Reed to a competitive 204 for 9 declared off 48 overs, on a pitch which offered excellent support for bowlers.

Boxmoor’s slipped up early on, as Berks (4-65) darted the ball off the pitch in both directions to remove their opener and number 3 cheaply. There was excellent support in the field, most notably Johnson who pouched a crucial catch at mid-wicket, and Heslam’s lightning run-out. However, R.Marshall (24), beginning to find his feet with the bat ensured the score crept to 63-3, leaving Boxmoor in a great position to close in on victory. What followed was an event of almost sporting legend, as a run out, two wickets in consecutive balls by Tidey (3-21) and Berks striking again saw the home side’s backbone shatter as 5 wickets tumbled for 2 runs. Stranded on 65-8, Luck (26) and Estherhuizen struck some powerful blows to raise the the score to 111 before Berks struck again removing Luck, and an unnecessary run-out brought a premature close to the innings with over 20 overs to spare. Reed now remain unbeaten for 9 weeks (7 wins, 2 draws) and are due to face Old Camdenians on Saturday at home hungry for another victory, with their sights sharply set on League victory.