Reed lose by 35 runs Reed's league position slipped to joint second on Saturday with St. Albans IIs as they succumbed to a strong all round team performance by Letchworth IIs at Reed, and Redbourn built on their previous success. Electing to bowl first, Reed started poorly as G.Bishton (69) and R.Walsh (57) steered the visitors to a solid 105 for the first wicket. The wicket offered very little assistance to the fast bowlers, as only Peter Tidey (26-7-60-3) managed to make any inroads, along with spinner Chris Jackson (11-1-34-1) in his first league bowl of the season. In their 53 overs, Letchworth managed to rack up 191 for 6. Reed's response started positively as James Heslam (15) and Baz Curtis (14) managed to tame the bowling well until E.Morse (6-0-33-1) had Curtis caught at fine leg. Chris Jackson, in his best league knock of the season managed to hit a carefully grafted and patient 66 leading Reed well towards the required rate in conjunction with Tom Fulk (16). Once A.Jenkins (14-1-46-5) had Jackson stumped with his leg-spinners, the middle order yielded cheaply, and with added pressure on the tail to maintain a growing run rate, they too gave away their wickets needlessly. Reed eventually capitulated as the leg-spinner had Berks caught and bowled in the penultimate over of the day as they tried to bat out for the draw. Despite a second successive loss, on the back of a five game winning streak, Reed skipper, Simon Jackson, remained up-beat: "we have identified where we have gone wrong this past fortnight, and are working hard as a team to patch up the problem. All teams have tough periods, but we all see the recent losses [...]

Reed-veteran Peter Tidey snatched an overdue 40th birthday present on Saturday, as he recorded his season's best haul of 7-33 off 19 overs on Saturday. Reed dominated throughout over top-of-the-table Totteridge in Herts League Division 4, after arriving as clear underdogs. Showing their pedigree, Reed skittled the League leaders for a mere 74 runs. Taking advantage of a lively green wicket, Tidey's pin-point accuracy made it difficult to bat with any consistency, forcing the Totteridge batsmen into some rash strokes. Only Leaderman (25) offered any resistance, but he too fell to some intelligent and mature bowling, as Tidey plucked a stunning catch off his own bowling - clearly to the surprise of his team-mates too! The fielders supported these heroics well by holding all chances and ensuring runs were kept to a minimum. In reply, Reed suffered from early jitters, as Poland also extracted some steep bounce to help reduce the away side to 17-3, giving Totteridge the chance to sneak a victory. However, this plan was thwarted as Chris Jackson engineered an imposing 45, despite the lively bounce and movement, to shatter Totteridge's confidence. It was perhaps fitting that Geoffrey Wornham, who patiently supported Jackson's innings throughout, blasted a six to end the match allowing Reed to record their second successive League victory - a marked U-turn from their recent spate of poor form. In response to the thrashing, Reed CC Press Officer, William Clarke, commented: "This was a truly stunning performance by Reed, reflective of our form last season. If we can perform as we have done in the last 2-3 weeks, promotion could be within our sights."

Reed administered a crushing blow over unbeaten Herts league leaders, Hertford IIs, on Saturday, as they trounced them by 8 wickets, demoting them to third, and raising Reed to the helm. The one sided contest began positively for Hertford as they won the toss, and elected to bat on Reed's batting friendly wicket, but openers William Clarke (12-5-28-2) and Michael Berks (8-2-18-1) soon changed the game as they removed the top three cheaply. Reed talisman Peter Tidey (15-5-42-2), and Richard Jerome (14-6-28-3) sailed through the middle order, thanks to two sharp catches and a direct hit run-out opportunity by Clarke, exposing the Hertford tail. With the score on 139-9 after their 53 overs, the target was well within Reed's sight. However, Hertford's reply with the ball was typically tight, as left armed spinners J.James (14-4-41-1) and S.Hansill (12-4-28-0) managed to removed opener James Heslam LBW 14 leaving the hosts on 16-1. This brought Clarke (45), promoted from number 9 to 3 in the absence of regular Chris Jackson, to the crease. Combined with Tom Fulk (70*), they very patiently stabilised the innings, by seeing off the spinners and then forging a 112 run partnership marked by exquisite drives and pull strokes, to guide Reed to 128 before Clarke was unlucky to depart to a streaky edge. Reed skipper Simon Jackson said: "This match showed we have the class to play Division 2. We not only picked up 30 points against the League's only unbeaten side, but kept them to only 2. As a captain I couldn't have dreamt of anything better."

Reed's promotion push was maintained on a sweltering day at Hatfield, as they registered a resounding 9 wicket victory over struggling Hatfield in 35 degree heat. The win maintains their second place position, as both 3rd and 1st placed St Albans IIs and Hertford IIs managed to sneak victories in their games. Despite losing the toss and being forced to field, Reed made the most of any pitch movement with a dream start, as their openers William Clarke (11-2-36-3) and Richard Johnson (5-2-13-1) removed the opening pair between them. Clarke continued as he sharply sent the number three back to the pavilion leaving Hatfield reeling on 16 for 3. Despite some resistance from M.Golder (29), Reed veteran Peter Tidey (9.5-1-35-4) took two crucial mid-order wickets to maintain the momentum for the visitors. Bowling in conjunction with Richard Jerome (1-4-3-2), who bamboozled the Hatfield with his variations in flight and pace, the Reed men managed to finally dismiss the hosts for a paltry 89 in just 32.5 overs. With the prospect of defending such a small total, the Hatfield bowlers started positively by dismissing Tom Fulk (4) with the score on 12, but James Heslam's chanceless knock of 64*, his second half century in as many weeks, supported by Chris Jackson (19*), saw Reed overpower the opposition in only15.5 overs. Reed are due to host league leaders Hertford IIs next week in possibly the most important league match of the season, as they try to strengthen their promotional bid to Division 2, and create a gulf between them and 3rd place. Simon Jackson, Reed 1XI skipper and club captain, remained upbeat: "we have the players to win, and with our opening bowler Michael Berks back, we [...]