Due to some very poor availability Reed’s Third Eleven travelled down to top of the table Berkhamsted with only 8 players. For Reed it was a dead rubber but the hosts still needed points to ensure finishing champions. So upon winning the toss Berkhamsted’s captain decided to bat first.
With so much space to score runs it was no surprise that the home side raced to 306-4 before declaring after 35 overs. This was despite the very hard work of Reed bowlers George Garrott, Ian Roberts (3) and Reece Fitzgerald (1).
For Reed things went from bad to worse as the top 3 batsmen were lost with only 3 on the total. Ray Kingshott and Peter Baker batted well together and added 53 for the fourth wicket before Baker played on for 26. An aggressive knock from George Garrott followed but he was lost after being run out for 15.
Reed were in dire straits at 97 for 6 but a sublime seventh (and in this case, final) wicket stand of 101 displayed the true abilities of Reeds third XI. Kingshott and Roberts played magnificently together and proved stubborn in the face of Berkhamsted’s, until then, impressive attack. Roberts then suffered a top edged blow to the face which cut his top lip. However, he refused to leave the field which was fortunate for Kingshott who at the time was on 98. Three figures for the veteran soon followed before being caught two balls later. Reed had given it a fair try and certainly did well to finish on 208 all out.
It was a disappointing end for the 3’s who for most of the season had looked real competitors for promotion. But a poor final part of the season should not distract from the superb performances that have been seen throughout the season.
