Reed First XI, once found languishing at bottom of Herts League Divisions 4, have stormed to 11th place, after recording their third successive victory on Saturday away at Clarendon. Losing the toss, and put in to bat, Curtis and Heslam gave Reed a solid start recording scores of 34 and 53 respectively.

When they both fell to Clarendon’s opening bowler, Chris Jackson (38) and Geoffrey Wornham (40) adopted their roles patiently building a solid total. However, a flurry of wickets saw Clarendon regain control, and perhaps able to restrict Reed to under 200. However, some sharp running between the wickets and big hitting particularly by Stuart Smith (19*), ensured Reed could declare for 208, bagging an extra 3 overs to dismiss the opposition.

Some tight opening bowling by Clarke saw him make an early breakthrought for Reed, but it was Berks who stole the show this week, as he, supported by Tidey and Johnson, dug deeply into the middle order with probing accuracy weakening Clarendon’s chances of a 30 pointer. Only were the balances tipped towards the home side when Wise smashed an imposing and almost unstoppable .., but an inspired bowling change saw Berks remove the dangerman, putting Reed back into the driving seat. From this point, Berks and Tidey tore through the batting line-up, as clarendon stumbled to 155 all out, with only 3 balls to survive to snatch a draw. The extra overs gained by declaration clearly paid dividends. Berks ended with figures of 5-48, and Tidey with 3-37.

The victory represented further evidence of Reed’s late bid for League promotion, as they prepare for their clash with North Mymms II this coming Saturday.