Not a lot can be said about this win away to Hemel Hempstead V. Having won the toss Reed Skipper Maseeh Naeem put the home side in. Hemel, who are propping up division 11, were blown away by the opening pair of Karl Ward and Rupert Martin. The two bowlers made good use of the prevailing conditions and had the hosts on 22 for nine, with Martin taking 4 – 14 in 9 overs and Man of the Match, Ward, finishing on 5 – 15 off of his nine over spell.
The heavens then opened up and it seemed that the home side would be saved from a crushing defeat by the rain but after an hour’s delay the game resumed. The last pair of bats decided to make a fight of it and managed to put on 29 more runs before Jason Archer (6.1-0-9-1) finally ended their resistance. The home side 51 all out. The bowlers were well supported by the fielders, with 7 catches taken, Ben Bowles taking 3 of them.
With the likelihood of more rain, Naeem wanted to reach the target of 52 as quickly as possible. Ian Fulk (22 n.o) and Roddi Liebenberg were the opening Reed batsman. The Hemel bowlers had no counter to Liebenberg as he bludgeoned the bowl to the boundary for a swift 22 before being bowled with one that stayed low. Fulk was joined in the middle by Richard Johnson (5 n.o) and the pair saw Reed home in 5.5 overs, and a 9 wicket win. The win and 30 points saw Reed leapfrog Frogmore and go into second place. With four games left the Thirds are in with a good chance of promotion.
