Reed III’s played host to Waltham X Rosedale for the match that marked the mid-point in the season. The visitors, on winning the toss, chose to bat, putting Reed into the field in the blistering heat. Woodcock and Graves (9-1-33-0) began the attack with opener Moore (7) failing first. No. 3 Budhrasa (20) came to the crease and attacked the bowling, O. Hughes (6-0-17-0) managed to contain the aggression, but it was Robertson (8-0-49-1) who finally got the next breakthrough. Adler (32) and Waller (51) behan to build a partnership, until retuning Woodcock outfoxed Waller, and shortly after, Adler. Confusion at the crease saw the dismissal of C. Winter (6). Once again a partnership began, as Sutherland and H. Winter became increasingly aggressive. The partnership was finally broken with a deft bit of bowling from Pallett (11-1-63-2) saw H. WInter’s (21) bails dislodged. Chntler (5) did not last long before becoming Pallett’s second victim. As the 53rd over was completed Sutherland (50*) and J. Winter (9*) remained undefeated, having given Waltham X a healthy total of 226.
The home side began the chase, however Willoughby (15) was stumped off the bowling of McCreevy (8-1-27-1). Reed then suffered a slight collapse with Kahambhat (0) and R. Hughes (0) falling in quick succession. Bowles came to the crease, and rallied the side, supporting opener Barlow. However Bowles (22) could not maintain the support, falling to H. Winter. Naeem (9) had a short flurry at the crease but became another victim of Budhrasa. Robertson (8) also followed suite, continuing the collapse. O. Hughes looked to salvage the situation, and support Barlow, but was stumped becoming Budhrasa’s (15-3-52-5) fifth victim. Still, the tail wagged, as Pallett looked to close on the total, however Barlow was dismissed by the youngster H. Winter for a superb 85. As the atmosphere intensified, Pallet (15) was bowled by H. Winter (9-1-53-3), however Graves came to the crease, and with the support of Woodcock (1*) crept closer to the opposition total. However it was not to be, and a top edge resulted in Graves (8) being caught off the bowling of J. Winter (7-0-33-1) leaving Reed all out Just 2 short of the opposition total. A good win for Waltham Cross and a thoroughly intense finish to a good game of cricket.
