Rain was the only winner in the 1st XI game against Luton Town and Indians. Thursday’s deluge, which seeped under the covers, had made the pitch treacherous, despite the best efforts of the groundsman and when Tom Greaves lost the toss, Reed knew they were in for a torrid couple of hours. After 35 overs with 60 on the board for the loss of 3 wickets their worst fears were confirmed. To make matters worse, William Heslam 30, the only batsman who had made a significant score, became the first of four needless run outs.
After lunch, however, the wicket had dried out and the demons were gone. As a result, Richard Wharton and especially Sean Tidey turned the tide, the latter hitting the leg spinner for 3 consecutive sixes in his 21 ball 31. With the hosts running out of overs, Wharton carried on the charge finishing on 58 not out, despite the niggardly spin of Mohammed Irshan (20-6-41-3). Those other 3 run outs, however, limited Reed to 169 with one ball of their 60 overs remaining.
Luton prospered on the, by now, benign pitch and had raced to 90-3, but the weather had one more trick up its sleeve as rain caused a 40 minute delay, which left them 17 overs in the last hour to win the game. Ed Wharton (13-4-38-3) and Tom Greaves (15-6-39-3) cashed-in as Reed held their catches and Luton lost four quick wickets. The tail resisted stoutly though and on 127-7 they had the consolation of securing a winning draw thanks to their superior run rate.
Report submitted by Peter Wholley.
