Sunday XI v. Little Hadham. (Friendly)
Reed gave a dominant performance against Little Hadham when they hosted them at Freman College. Having won the toss Marcus J.E. Baker elected to bat first and took on the responsibility of opening himself. However the impressive movement gained by Mullins left Reed in trouble with two cheap wickets.
Little Hadham had little time to enjoy their early successes as Paul Garrott and Rhodri Hughes took the fight back to the opposition. Combining good running and boundaries the pair made 95 together when Hughes fell leg before for 41. Ben Moody made a brief cameo before an unlucky dismissal. Garrott meanwhile went past fifty but then too was out soon after.
There then followed a partnership of sheer power and strength. Zac Conley and Phil Lil joined with the team score on 154 from 23 overs. In the 27th over, when Conley was caught, the score was 219. The 16 year olds 41 runs included 8 fours and a six. With the total more than defendable Lill, having also reached fifty batted in a more refrained manner, giving the strike to the younger incoming batsman. Ollie Mansfield, Matt Yates and Toby Emes, each benefited from time at the crease and made useful contributions. Matt Yates in fact made a personal best score of 28 not out as he took Reed to a final total of 280.
Neil Haslam bowled a good line and length and took the initial wicket (8-4-15-1) whilst Toby Emes (8-3-27-1) spun the ball well. They were replaced by Mansfield (6-0-21-1) and Yates (6-1-22-2). With the chance of Reed’s total being overtaken dwindling Baker gave everyone a turn with the ball and thanks to some fantastic catches, displaying Reed’s all-round prowess, the visitors were bowled out well short of their target. Wickets also went to Moody, Lill, Rhodri Hughes and Owen Hughes.
Report by M.J.E. Baker
