On a warm but cloudy evening in front of a good crowd on the excellent Broxboune main square, Reed put Broxbourne in to bat but then proceeded to bowl without the required control and discipline. Roberts 17 and Rider 13 got Broxbourne off to good start and together with generous extras laid the foundation for a solid Broxbourne total. Ollie Benham 4 overs 1 – 16 bowled well but contributions of 22 by Harmer and a solid performance from Perry saw the home side well placed at 88 for 3 after 14 overs. With a key Reed bowler having to leave the field with sickness before beginning his spell, wicket keeper and skipper Sean Tidey had to take off the pads to perform with the ball and bowled a fine 4 over closing spell of 4 overs 2 for 8. Perry 24 not out batted well for Broxbourne but Reed won the battle of the last 5 overs conceding only a further 21 runs to leave a total of 110 to chase for victory.
Reeds start got off to a slow start. Strange bowled 3 overs for only 5 runs taking the wicket of the under the weather Deville, whilst at the other end Somiah dismissed Benham for 0 in his first over and after 5 overs Reed were struggling at 14-2. Tidey 7 and Diack 0 came and went and with Reed 41 for 4 after 9 overs the match seemed firmly in Broxbourne’s control. However William Heslam remained steadfast and continued to play with a calm authority, and a fine array of shots all around the wicket. Joined by Lewis Fitzgerald with the score at 40 the pair faced the task of scoring 66 to win off the last 10 overs. Heslam started to cut loose but eventually had to retire in the 15th over with a personal 52* and the Reed total at 83 for 4. However, Scott Caine then joined Fitzgerald and in a hard hitting cameo innings of 19* swung the match Reeds way. Fitzgerald ended with an admirable and controlled 20* as Caine struck the winning boundary off the first ball of the 19th over.
A well contested match played in a good spirit that could have gone either way, with Reed’s in depth batting strength again having to rescue their fragile bowling.
