Reed side, weakened by injuries played host to third placed Hemel Hempstead on a warm but breezy day at the Green. Stand-in skipper Lee Johnson won the toss and didn’t hesitate to elect to bat, on a wicket that looked dry and hard. Mckecknie and Greaves opened up for Reed, to the unusual combination of Hemel’s attack of seam and spin. Both batsman started relatively slowly to some tight bowling, but soon played themselves in to provide Reed a very good starting block to build on. Mckecknie (40) was first to depart, caught and bowled having put on 121 for the opening wicket.
Chris Jackson joined Greaves to the crease, and between them they continued to move the ball nicely around the park. Looking to dominate the bowling of Canham, Greaves was out 10 runs short of his century, stumped for an excellent 90. With the score at 142-2, Hemel thought they were back in the game, however a quickfire 36 from Karl Ward continued Reed’s momentum before he was caught out in the deep looking to go big.
It was then down to Jackson and Roddi Liebenberg, making his first team debut, to continue the home side’s domination. Liebenberg (22) was unfortunate to be out on the last ball of the innings with Reed posting 250 on the board for the loss of 4 wickets. Jackson finished unbeaten on 53 not out.
In reply, Reed got off to the best possible start, with Johnson bowling Hemel’s skipper with the score on just 5. Jack Tidey, taking the new ball was unlucky in his opening spell, having beating the bat on a number of occasions. However, Jack was eventually rewarded when Berry nicked one to his brother Sean behind the stumps. At 35-2, Reed felt they were in strong position to dominate further, however Morgan and Akhtar had different ideas and looked to punish anything full.
The introduction of Tom Greaves (3-39) to the attack however saw the end of Akhtar, clean bowling the batsman for a useful 37. In tandem, Greaves and Chris Peckett regained some control and with Peckett in particular causing trouble to the Hemel batsman. The turning point to the game was the wicket of Morgan; a sharp stumping off the bowling of Peckett by Sean Tidey for 52. Peckett, who had worked tirelessly hard, bowling a tight line and length, then continued to pick up regular wickets in a fine spell of bowling. It was only just that Peckett picked up the final Hemel wicket, to finish with figures of 5-36, and Reed winning by 104 runs.
A good day’s cricket for Reed. All batsman batted sensibly within the constraints of the game situation, and together they built and timed an imposing score for Hemel to chase. With some key players missing, it’s credit to those who stepped in, and credit to the bowlers who worked hard in difficult conditions to take 10 wickets in just 34 overs.
Hemel Hempstead
