Reed surged to top of the table after their first two League games on Saturday as they chased down a strong total posted by newly promoted Cockfosters. Lucky to avoid the rain, which affected the majority of the county, Reed are now 22 points clear of 2nd place.
Despite a weakened team, with Andy Young making good progress with his knee following surgery, and Tom Fulk unavailable due to European commitments, Reed mustered a respectable performance to snatch a full 30 point.
Winning the toss, Reed elected to field on a very damp wicket that changed very little during the afternoon. However, despite an early breakthrough with the score on 3 by Graham Wilson (13-1-46-2), who managed to get good swing throughout, Cockfosters could have been struggling. But some solid and responsible batting from C Stead (46), S Penny (25) and M Fisher (66) recovered Cockfosters effort. The trio pushed the score along at a steady pace, until Chris Jackson (5-1-14-1) was introduced to the attack and bowled Stead, Graham Wilson bowled Penny with a classic outswinger and Peter Tidey’s (17-3-73-2) reintroduction down the hill also brought hope as he picked up two key wickets. However, B Wood (49) dug in to steady the Cockfosters boat. With Karl Ward (6-2-37-1) also picking up his first 1XI League wicket, Cockfosters declared after 50 overs with their total on 227 for 6.
Despite some steady rain as the teams convened for tea, Reed came out batting responsibly to chase the total down. Baz Curtis (57) scored his maiden league fifty of the season. His measured and responsible innings marked a fine beginning to his season. Together with James Heslam (93*), who again is experiencing a solid beginning to the season, they put on 97 for the first wicket. The Cockfosters bowling attack failed to capitalise on any of the chances they had, as Chris Jackson (12) then assisted Heslam to take the score to 158 when Jackson was bowled by Robinson (6-0-35-1). However, a quickfire 39* by Richard Johnson, on the back of his ton the previous week, helped push Reed over the line to win by 8 wickets and leave Cockfosters counting the cost of an early declaration and a slightly mis-measured bowling performance.
A telling statistic was Reed conceding 4 extras in 53 overs, with Cockfosters conceding 27.
James Heslam was delighted with Reed’s performance: “This was a sterling performance by the lads. It was difficult conditions in which to bowl, and despite Cockfosters batting well to post a decent total, I was heartened by another strong batting performance by us. It’s good to top the table so early in the season which traditionally has been a difficult period for Reed in the past”
