Reed travelled to Barnet to play Old Finchleians on a beautiful summers day. Old Finchleians won the toss and asked the visitors to bat. Reed got off to the worst possible start when in-form James Heslam was adjudged LBW first ball of the game. Things did not get much better for Reed when Fergus Martin was caught behind for a single. Chris Jackson and Tom Fulk had the task of rebuilding the innings and sensibly they took a very cautious approach early on, with the opening bowlers hitting a consistent line and length.
The pair gradually got to grips with the task in hand, playing some classical cover drives. The opening bowlers began to tire in the afternoon sunshine and were perhaps kept on for a few too many overs as Jackson and Fulk looked increasingly comfortable. The introduction of spin from both ends slowed the run rate notably. The 2 spinners complemented each other perfectly, with a wrist spinner bowling with good pace and a “googly” in his armoury, and an off spinner bowling very slowly and with lots of flight. The lack of pace on the ball and some good field placings made scoring runs difficult. Eventually with the score on 94, Fulk was caught behind for an excellent 47. This brought Phil Frenay to the crease who, trying to push the run rate along, miscued a drive to point and was caught for 1. Tom Greaves was next in, his first batting opportunity for the I’s this season.
The pair worked the spinners well, with Jackson continuing to caress some imperious drives through the covers and Greaves playing some delicate touch shots through the leg side. Greaves was eventually out in similar fashion to Frenay, being caught at point for 21. Richard Johnson was out LBW without troubling the scorers. With the score on 172 Jackson finally perished for a wonderful 91, having rescued his team from a perilous position. It was left to Simon Jackson (12*) and Lee Johnson (2*) to run hard and squeeze any remaining runs out of the last couple of overs. Reed finished on a respectable 181-7.
Reed had to strike quickly if they were going to defend their total and unfortunately for the visitors luck was not with them in the early overs. Lee Johnson (14-1-64-0) bowled well but had a number of chances dropped off him, and the fast bowling combined with the quick outfield meant that Old Finchleians got off to a good start. It took a stunning catch at slip from Tom Fulk off the bowling of Graeme Wilson (5-2-14-1) to break the opening partnership. Unfortunately for Reed they could not capitalise on this breakthrough as a match winning partnership developed for the 2nd wicket. Reed generally bowled well and consistently applied periods of pressure, however Old Finchleians just managed to keep the scoreboard ticking. Skipper Bernie Morss (17-2-56-3) brought himself into the fray and managed to successfully tie the opposition down he picked up 3 well deserved wickets and for a period of 10 overs it looked as though Old Finchleians had put themselves under too much pressure by batting so slowly.
However the batsmen kept their cool, and despite some tight bowling by Morss, R. Johnson (4-0-21-0), Martin (4-1-15-0), Greaves (0.5-0-6-1) and L. Johnson Old Finchleians managed to get home with 7 balls remaining and 5 wickets intact. Reed will be very disappointed with this loss, however no one can argue that the better team won on the day. The way Reed’s batsman managed to post a respectable total from such a difficult start and in the face of some quality bowling is a big positive, as is the way the bowlers kept Reed in the hunt of victory throughout the host’s innings. Reed host Welwyn Garden City II’s at the Green on Saturday.
