Greenwood Park

A reasonable start was made by the hosts before Reed lost their first wicket with the score on 21. Marcus J.E. Baker made the early runs for his side. Riding his luck he nonetheless racked up the boundaries in a hard hitting knock of 38. With the score on 62 for 3 a partnership was needed to build on this start and fortunately one was provided by Ben Bowles and Michael Robertson.

The pair took complete control of the opposition bowling. In only 15 overs they put on 123 runs when Bowles, who had been playing the anchor role for much of the Reed innings, was bowled for a well crafted 43. Robertson meanwhile continued to hit the ball cleanly, he had only needed 33 balls to reach his half century and was rapidly closing in on three figures in a hail of fours and sixes. However, he put one down the throat of deep mid-wicket for a superb 93 (13×4, 5×6). Maseeh Naeem then came to the crease with his sides total on 198 from 33 overs.

He briefly partnered Scott Caine, who made a valiant 6 and continued to bat with an injured shoulder, before making a stand of 58 with Ian Roberts. Wanting to finish with a good total, Naeem went about what he does best and dealt in boundaries on his way to 52 not out. Ian Roberts had made 21 and Reece Fitzgerald an impressive 12 after him. Reed declared in the 50th over with the score on 291 for 8.

In the second innings, Reed really had to earn their wickets. Lewis Fitzgerald (7-1-30-0) and Jack Caine (7-1-39-1) started well before being replaced by Reece Fitzgerald and Ian Roberts. Taking pace out of the equation seemed to do the trick for the hosts as the runs started to dry up for Greenwood Park.

Roberts in particular looked in his usual threatening form as he got plenty of movement as he picked up two scalps, both bowled. R. Fitzgerald also bowled well and claimed a wicket thanks to a catch from his brother at mid-on. With the score on 161 with twenty overs remaining victory certainly looked unlikely for the visitors but Arora (61) and Petchley (37) never gave up the challenge. They had added 72 together and remained a thorn in the foot for the hosts who desperately wanted the win. Michael Robertson (5-3-11-1) replaced Roberts and saw his first ball fly over the rope, but he had the last laugh when he bowled Petchley. This opened the floodgates and Maseeh Naeem, replacing Fitzgerald, took two including Arora. Reed achieved victory by a margin of 88 runs.