Reed ll continued their fine late season form with a 6th victory from the last 7 matches of the season to grab 4th place in the Saracens Hertfordshire League Division 7 and secure promotion for the second successive season.

Reed won 10 of their 16 matches played in the season, drawing 3 and losing only 3. Their points total of 381 represented a fine achievement.

Promotion was secured as a result of Saturdays crushing 6 wicket victory over Dunstable lll. Reed lost the toss and the home team chose to bat and at 50 – 0 wkt after 20 overs the home side looked well set to give Reed a meaningful match. However, when Reed’s Jason Archer was introduced into the attack the complexion of the whole match changed. 50 – 0 became 55 – 2 and then two tremendous catches by Ian Fulk and Richard Robertson saw the heart ripped out of the Dunstable batting line up and Archer had 4 wickets in next to no time.

After a brief respite Dunstable hit the skids as the ongoing Reed pressure told. 93 for 4 became 115 All Out as Archer romped to a career best return of 16 Overs 7 for 30. Reed youngster Karl Ward chipped in with 2 late wickets to complete the rout.

Reeds reply got off to a fine start with Ian Fulk 35 and Peter Baker 31 adding 51 for the first wicket. After the loss of Shorrock for only 3 Reed coasted to victory through Richard Johnson 13, skipper John Heslam 13 not out and the winning runs struck over long on by stalwart all rounder Richard Robertson.

Reed won by 6 wickets with overs to spare and the heavy defeat meant Dunstable plunged to relegation to division 8.

The post promotion revelry was soured after the weekend with the news that Dunstable had put in a formal complaint alleging that in playing Richard Johnson Reed had fielded an ineligible player for the match.

Skipper John Heslam commented “There is no substance to the allegation which I am confident will be thrown out by the League. Richard has played up and down between our 1st and 2nd Xl teams this season, depending on form and availability. He met the criteria to play for our 2nd Xl in relation to this match. The Dunstable claim is pathetic sour grapes and a desperate attempt to avoid relegation on a technicality. Our players enjoyed a beer after the match with their players and their skipper and no discussion took place at all about this matter. It’s a sad state of affairs.”

 “Reed Cricket Club are proud of the large number of our players who are very long standing club members and our teams also include a huge number of “home grown” junior players who have matured and progressed into adult cricket. It is gratifying that so many youngsters progress with us and choose to stay with our club. Our 1st Xl are one of the few sides in Herts Division 2 who more than hold their own and do not engage the services of an overseas professional.”