Reed III’s got off to an unconvincing start to the league season, losing to Pirton in a one-sided game. Due to last-minute drop-outs, Reed could only field 10 men. Reed won the toss and elected to bat, hoping to post a big total to offset the visitors, however this was not to be the case, the Reed batsmen scored fairly freely, taking advantage of the fast outfield, however wickets fell fairly frequently, Robert Willoughby (63) and Chris West (45) put on a good show, both hitting the ball cleanly and continually frustrating the Pirton bowlers, however Reed failed to build big partnerships, ending up all out for 166 in just 30.5 overs.
Pirton’s response had a shaky start with opener Laskowski falling to Neil Haslam’s (6-0-40-1) first ball. This was to be the only wicket Reed would take as Clarke (33*) supported the aggressive Howard (112*) who continually smashed boundaries. The torrent of runs could have been allayed but Reed did not take the chances when they came, failing to hold on to a number of catches. In the end Pirton took just 18.3 overs to reach the target. A clear win for Pirton with Reed picking up 5 points.
Report by Michael Robertson.
