Fresh from Saracens Herts League Division 4 victory and promotion, Reed picked up where they left off by crushing Chipperfield in the first round of their National Village Cup campaign on Sunday.

Despite losing the toss, Reed restricted the opposition to 155 in their 40 overs after Chipperfield’s flamboyant opening which rewarded them with 36 runs for no loss in only 7 overs. It took Reed veteran, Peter Tidey (2-30), using his vast experience, to bowl dangerman Khan (27). Clarke (2-41) quickly followed his lead, dislodging the other opener Carson with a sharp caught and bowled. This however allowed McNicol to the crease as he confidently dominated the faster bowling with a powerful 40, until Berks (2-40) removed him and his partner in quick succession.

This break, combined with the intelligent spin bowling of C. Jackson (1-23) and tight fielding in the covers, increased pressure on Chipperfield to maintain a healthy scoring rate. There were some notable catches, particularly by skipper S. Jackson and G.Wornham which helped maintain pressure.

Their middle order struggled to break the succession of maidens, and once they fell to some misjudged strokes, the lower order were forced to take some riskier shots, from which both R.Robertson (2-9) and Clarke benefited.

Chipperfield’s responded with some very tight and intelligent seam bowling, reducing Reed to 5-1 in 5 overs, and 34-1 in 15 overs. Yet, once Wale (1-47) and Mir (0-17) were replaced, J.Heslam (26) and C.Jackson (21) cut loosed and imposed their authority with some blistering cut strokes. Yet Carson and McNicol created problems again by ending their innings, tipping the run-chase into the balance, particularly as Wornham (46) struggled early on to dominate the bowling.

Yet, in partnership with Curtis (26), he managed to master the swing and movement by accelerating Reed’s run requirement beyond the minimum, striking several boundaries and a magnificent six which carefully pinpointed a nearby car.

Chipperfield also struggled to hold their catches representing a generally lacklustre fielding performance. Together with some masterful shots and solid support by Curtis, Reed took the game beyond the hosts with 8 balls to spare, proving their dominance over a side a league division higher. Reed now face their second round clash on 11th May with Hare Street & Hormead in their bid for national glory at Lords.