Momentum is vital at this stage of the season and Reed IIIs travelled to Henlow to face Letchworth Saturday with plenty and an abundance of confidence. After winning the toss skipper Naeem backed both his bowlers and batsmen by asking the hosts to bat on a sweltering day on what appeared to be a good looking wicket and an obviously fast outfield. Taking the new ball opening pair of Karl Ward and Rupert Martin bowled with determination and no little skill, Martin picking up 3 of the top 4 again with his inswingers. Although runs did come freely for remaining opener Young. The introduction of Archer who has found a yard of pace in recent weeks slowed down the run rate, as he kept the batsmen on a very tight leash.
Bowling was hard work but with Fynn now introduced to the hunt batting was seemingly harder and Reed continued to peg back some good Letchworth batting. Only some inexplicably dropped catches by Matt Bowles in slips and midwicket dampened the spirits although youngster Cemal fielded superbly and compensated by saving several possible boundaries. Wickets fell to Archer batsmen 5 and 6 both cleaned bowled as Archer extracted movement from the air and the pitch.Letchworth were feeling the pressure of Reed’s vice like grip and Heath and More both succumbed to run outs, in an attempt to push the score along. Eventually Young removed some of the shackles ruining the returning Martin’s figures with some lusty blows and riding his luck against Archer, but Letchworth’s 167-7 was never going to be enough, Young finished on 119 not out with only one other batsman finishing with a double figure score.
Solid opener Ben Bowles opened the attack with his more flamboyant brother Matt and soon hit his straps punishing the short and wide delivery. Ian Fulk joined Matt at the crease and soon showed why he is a first team hopeful, playing delightful on and off drives. Suddenly Bowles who had obviously been feeling the heat during the earlier part of the game, came to life and after some luck with mistimed pulls started to mount a challenge to the bowling. All parts of the boundaries were peppered as Bowles played text book cricket punishing anything short or wide and defending resolutely.
Fulk continued in a similar vein and as the runs for the winning target and Bowles century appeared on a collision course he batted unselfishly to allow his partner the opportunity to record three figures for the first time. A sticky spell ensued for Bowles in the nervous nineties and he struggled against the tight bowling of Little. Tentatively Bowles prodded around waiting for the chance of a loose delivery but it was not forthcoming so a series of singles brought up the milestone. Century achieved Fulk now stepped on the gas and within two balls the game was over, another Reed victory by 9 wickets was in the bag.
Under normal circumstances Bowles 103no would win man of the match but skipper Naeem recognised the hard work of his bowlers on the batsman’s paradise and awarded the honour to his pack of hungry pace men. Naeem was cock-a-hoop after the game “We are playing as a unit, morale is high and everyone is contributing with either bat, ball or in the field if we can continue this form promotion looks a distinct possibility.” The Reed III bandwagon rolls back home on Saturday with Sawbridgeworth the visitors.
