Reed Ist XI travelled to Codicote on Sunday June 20th to play a 40 overs a-side friendly match. Codicote won the toss and on a dry, straw coloured pitch, which looked flat and even, they put Reed into bat. Richard Barlow and Fergus Martin opened for Reed and punished some wayward bowling by the Codicote opening attack. Barlow was particularly strong on the pull shot, punishing a large number of short balls, whilst Martin drove and pulled judiciously. The pair added 94 before Barlow eschewed another pull at Lucy and was caught at mid-off for 37.
Barlow’s dismissal brought the Reed skipper Ed Blissett to the crease. Blissett never settled on a pitch that was misbehaving increasingly, with the occasional ball stopping and popping. Having added 25 with Martin, Blissett was caught at mid-on, when a ball from Lucy (senior) stopped on him, drawing a thick leading edge. Swain now entered the fray and soon built a good partnership with the compact Martin. They added over a 100 runs, with Swain taking full toll of some short bowling by the Codicote attack, whilst Martin stylishly moved to his century. Despite a late flurry of Reed wickets, with Martin falling for 121 and Swain for 44, Reed totalled an impressive 248 for 6 of their 40 overs.
Chris Peckett and Chris’ Martin opened the bowling for Reed after tea and both bowlers soon created chances which were spurned by the Reed fieldsmen. Peckett eventually dismissed Gillard, LBW for 12, which bought Lucy (senior) to the crease. A painful partnership then followed, for the neutral spectators and the Reed bowlers alike. Richards and Lucy (senior) were frequently beaten and bemused by the bowling of Martin, Peckett, Garrott, Pallett Barlow and Bowman, but although they offered an incredible 8 chances they survived. During this painful period of play, the Reed bowlers, in particular the incredibly unlucky Pallett, coped stoically with, as Shakespeare observed in Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, “…the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”.
Throughout the Lucy (senior) and Richards partnership the Reed Captain’s countenance noticeably darkened, and, when the 8th chance was spilled, his face took on a marked resemblance to Edvard Munch’s famous painting ‘The Scream’. Finally though the painful innings of Richards was over when he was caught at point by Bowman of Garrott. His long time partner Lucy followed soon after, bowled by Garrott for 50. Although Lucy (junior) struck some lusty blows in the final overs, Codicote were now too far behind the run rate to contemplate victory. Yet, bizarrely, of the last two balls of their innings they lost two wickets, attempting to hit the occasional bowling of Sean Tidey out of the ground. Codicote completed their innings on 208 for 5, giving Reed victory by 40 runs.
