The conference friendly with Nazeing Common II ended with a Reed victory but several hurdels had to be overcome. Firstly the matter of the weather which was forecast for less than cheery conditions. Also the lack of a full eleven upset the usual pre-match preperations of captain Peter Baker, who after ringin around eventualy went out to the suprisingly firm table for the toss, which he won.
Electing to bat seemed a good choice as openers Tom Greaves (53) and George Garrot (69) flew out of the blocks. Greaves with some hard hitting attacked the bowling talent and by the fall of the first wicket in the tenth over Reed were already on 68. Garrot now joined Marcus J.E. Baker (12) could not continue in the same fashion but never the less kept a good run rate going, roatating the strike and knotching up some nice boundaries. With the score on 102 from 18 Baker tried to smack a straight one and was sent back to the pavilion. But this only allowed Mitchell Cooper to come the crease, supporting Garrot to his half century he then took charge after Garrots dismisal. Garrot was bowled by Sean Tidey (5-0-29-1) on loan to Nazeing. Cooper (73*) batted beyond his years in a fine performance supported by Fergus Martin (21*). Reeds forty overs done, the posting of 259 for 3 seemed a tall order for the Nazeing side.
Jack Tidey (6-1-21-2) took the first wickets of the innings with two consecutive balls. Other opener Julien Fynn (7-1-23-1) took the third wicket with the Nazeing score on a shaky 23. But Waters (31) and J. Grewal (69*) showed impressive resistance adding 81 for the next wicket, within this period though the skies had become dark with thunder clouds and a heavey downpour took the players off the pitch. When they returned S.Tidey attacked and attacked hard, he scored 39 in 9 overs but was caught and bowled by Kallum Ward (6-0-40-1).
Reed won by 69 runs in a game which if you believed the weather forecast should never had started. Some fine batting performances showed the real ability of some of the young players of the club and some promise for the next season.
