Reed 2’s went agonisingly close to snatching an unlikely draw against St Albans 3’s on Saturday, after a poor batting display had let them down.
St Albans won the toss and put Reed into bat at ‘The Green’. Ben Bowles and Simon Jackson opened the Reed innings, but the hosts were dealt an early blow when Ben Bowles edged behind in the 3rd Over for his first duck of the season. This brought Mark King to the middle, and along with Jackson he began to build the Reed total. King looked good as he dispatched 3 balls to the boundary, however he too fell after attempting a pull shot whilst on 13 leaving Reed 38-2 off of 8 Overs. Jackson was joined by Ian Fulk, but Fulk also went early when he was bowled by Smith for just 6 .Reed were in trouble on 55-3, despite Jackson looking good and remaining unbeaten. Matt Bowles was next to try and partner Jackson and he looked to be in good touch as he got to double figures before he succumbed to a good low catch at point for 11. Chris Shorrock (5) also came and went after a bizarre run out, leaving Reed staring down the barrel of a massively sub standard score, at 80-5.
Richard Robertson then came to the crease and provided Jackson with the partnership Reed had been looking for in order to build a defendable total. Robertson was punishing any balls of full length with punch drives, and Jackson was slowly but surely building his own total. The pair took Reed over the 100 mark, and continued to add to the score after the drinks break. Robertson was looking set for a big score when he was caught attempting to drive over the top for 22. Jim Allsopp (5) and Dale Shepherd (7) provided some attacking flare to the Reed innings to take the score to 137, however both could only manage brief cameos. Captain Jason Archer (6) also added some useful late runs to the Reed score, but it was the last wicket partnership of Jackson and Graham Wilson that took Reed into the batting points.
Jackson remained unbeaten throughout the innings, and reached a well made and gritty half century despite the failings of the other batsmen around him. Wilson (7) also supported him wilfully, grafting his way through 7 Overs to ensure Reed had a total to bowl at and giving St Alban as few Overs to bat in as possible. Jackson finished the Reed innings of 174 on a valuable 68 Not Out.
Refreshed after the Tea interval, Reed opening bowlers Graham Wilson and Richard Robertson began their assault on the St Albans top order. Wilson was rewarded with the wicket of Hughes for 10 with the score on just 16. A 67 run partnership between Malouf and Goodfellow then followed, which looked to have taken the game away from Reed. However, When Dale Shepherd bowled Goodfellow for 37 and then Jim Allsopp removed Thomas’ middle stump with a jaffer for 8, St Albans were looking less comfortable on 100-3. However, new batsman Fleming added an unusual 16, and Malouf remained resilient as the St Albans total began to rise towards the its target.
The re-introduction of Graham Wilson then provided a twist in the tail, as he first removed Fleming, and then Eames the very next ball leaving St Albans 132-5. When Wilson then had Malouf caught brilliantly by Jim Allsopp for a gritty and resilient 48, St Albans began to wobble. With only 20 runs needed and 8 Overs in which to get them, the odds still stacked heavily against Reed, however tight bowling from Wilson and captain Jason Archer made the chance of a drawn game possible. Archer then bowled St Albans skipper Walker for 5, meaning the visitors needed 7 runs with 3 wickets remaining, in 4 Overs.
A maiden in the penultimate Over from Archer ensured the game went right to the wire, with 2 runs needed for victory in Wilson’s Over. The St Albans batsmen looked understandably nervy, and a dot ball first up from Wilson did nothing to help this. However, the very next ball provided the visitors with the luck they needed, as Ellins (19 Not Out) got an inside edge past his stumps and through the field for the 2 runs required for victory.
Reed had lost by 3 wickets, however the did gain 13 points after achieving 6 batting points and 7 bowling points.
Reed Captain Jason Archer commented afterward: “I’m obviously disappointed that we couldn’t get a positive result, but I am delighted with our bowling and fielding performance. I cant ask for anymore from the lads in terms of effort. Its just a shame our batting, Simon Jackson aside, let us down. However, if we bowl and field like that every week, we’ll win more than we lose.”
