1st XI REPORT 2016
The 1st XI had a mixed 2016 season, starting well, only losing once in the first 5 games to eventual league champions Letchworth. However, this run of good form wasn’t to last as inconsistency with the bat and some weak availability meant we were far from our best at various points in the season. New signing, Minor-County opening bowler Ed Wharton, proved his worth throughout the season consistently picking up wickets ably supported by Toby Fynn, Mitchell Cooper, Sean Tidey and myself. The main men with the bat this year were William Heslam, Richard Wharton, James Heslam and Chris Jackson who all scored important match winning runs throughout the season, particularly Will and Rich. Youngster Rob Lankester also impressed in his first season in the first team, proving the colts system at the club is really working well and producing quality players. Without setting the world on fire this year we have comfortably maintained our position in the Herts. Championship Division, which is pleasing as the standard seems to be improving year on year.
Good news has come from the Doctors in the last couple of weeks, meaning that Jack Tidey will be fit to start the 2017 season to open the bowling with Ed, and I feel they will strike off a very dangerous partnership next season, backed up by all the guys that have done well this year. With hard work in the nets over the winter and a strong pre-season there is no reason why we shouldn’t be pushing for a Top 2 spot next year and go for promotion to the Premier League. We are always on the lookout for players that could strengthen the team, but right now I feel we have enough talent in our squad to achieve our goals.
Overall, I feel in my first season of captaincy the team have played some very good cricket but need to improve the consistency. It has been a pleasure to captain a great bunch of guys and look forward to getting back on the pitch next season and trying to build on the good performances we have put in so far.
Tom Greaves, Captain, RCC First XI
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2nd XI REPORT 2016
The second eleven endured a season of mixed fortunes and missed opportunities in 2016 in their new lofty position of Division 4B. With many of the team who have contributed so well over the last few years still available, hopes were high going into the season but with availability, injuries, bad form and bad luck the dream of a fourth promotion was just one step too far.
Stand out performers this year were the always consistent Richard Johnson contributing 502 runs at and average of 32. The classy opening bat was a joy to watch throughout the season. With many an opposition fielder seen clapping a trademark Johnson cover drive. Richard was ably supported by both Richard Barlow who scored 315 at an average of 32. He was sorely missed after injury and his wedding curtailed his season at the end of July. Phil Frenay the always inspirational vice-captain once again reminded opposition teams of his reputation as the best batsman in the league with several impressive knocks including the chanceless 112 against Hertford. Unfortunately Phil’s availability this year has not been what it had been previously, and as a team we missed his runs and ‘humour’ in the changing room. Marcus Baker, Matt Sampson, Ed Garrott, Jack Caine, Matt Bowles just to mention a few all showed why they should all be playing at Division 4 standard or higher. Matt Sampson in particular showing at times why he is key to not just the second team but the club in general going forward, whether this is with the bat, ball or in the field.
Tim Tidey epitomised everything that the twos have tried to build upon in the last few years, Tim amongst many others has been a pleasure to captain for the last four years. This also applies to many others but I would like to make special mention of Marcus Baker who also has contributed massively to the team ethos in the past four seasons.
In the bowling department Karl Ward and Peter Tidey were once the again our frontline
bowlers who had many an opening bat in trouble. Their end of season figures are not a true reflection of how well they bowled, and with a bit more luck would have been at the top of the league figures as they have been for the last three years. Jack Caine and George Garrott showed the future is bright at Reed with several match changing spells, both players also happened to be the best fielders along with Karl Ward, regularly taking catches that would only be a distant memory for many in the team. It is only a matter of time before Jack Caine joins his age group team-mate Rob Lankester playing regularly in the ones.
In whole a very enjoyable season with some outstanding performances and despite the lack of silverware hopefully a season that gives a great launch pad for success next year.
Paul Watts umpired throughout the season and was once again the most unbiased, friendly and accommodating umpire in the league. The team as a whole is truly grateful for all of his help for the last four
years. All players hope he will continue his role as umpire and thank him for his commitment to the team.
Due to commitments away from cricket next year the 2016 season was my last as second eleven skipper. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone throughout the club not just the players but in particular Richard Robertson amongst many others for all of their hard work, making playing and skippering at Reed such an enjoyable last three years. Thank you.
Marcus Martin, Captain, RCC Second XI
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3rd XI REPORT 2016
Reed 3’s experienced a rocky season in 2016, with fluctuating availability seriously hampering the side. The season started against Pirton where a 10 man Reed lost by 9 wickets in a one sided match. The second game of the season saw great excitement as the 3’s, aided by a solid 71 from Rob Willoughby and 84 from George Garrott, chased down Northwood Town II’s total of 274 another exciting game followed away against Hertford IV’s where Reed were just 5 runs away from the home side’s total of 223. An understrength side suffered a heavy defeat to Luton Town and Indians IV’s, however a reprieve came the following week when the bowling of Ian Roberts and Julien Fynn devastated Harpenden IV’s. Reed suffered another heavy defeat to St Albans III’s, but once again bounced back thrashing Langleybury III’s, with Ian Roberts bowling 15 overs for 38, taking 8 wickets to win the game. The Thirds then suffered a slump in form, losing heavily to Berkhamsted II’s, narrowly missing out against Old Elizabethans II’s, then losing to Pirton and Northwood Town. More excitement came in the home game against Hertford as Reed came very close to beating the visitors, scoring 282 chasing Hertford’s 293. Josh Conley and Mike Robertson putting on a record breaking 9th wicket stand of 104. Reed suffered further defeats to Luton Town, Harpenden, St. Albans, Langleybury and Berkhamsted. The final game of the season saw another loss, away to Old Elizabethans, marking the final nail in the coffin for Reed III’s, finishing bottom of the league.
Reed Cricket Club survives due to the tireless efforts of a number of volunteers. I would like to thank the Richard Robertson, Clive Collins and Peter Wholley for their continued work on the ground, producing the best wicket in the division. I would also like to thank Chloe Harrison for the wonderful teas she made throughout the season. There are numerous more individuals who have ensured the continual running of the club; I would like to thank all those that dedicate their time to Reed Cricket Club, players and non-players alike.
Mike Robertson, Captain, RCC Third XI
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4th XI REPORT 2016
After winning the league the previous year, this was the fourth elevens first season in Regional Division B East as we finished a credible 4th. Winning 6 and drawing 4 out of a possible 16 fixtures and amassing 2472 runs in the season. Over 32 players were used and the combination of some golden oldies and some promising youngsters created a positive atmosphere and team spirit within the squad.
The 4s won 3 of their first 4 games and in those first few games. Despite struggles in June and July where the 4s only managed to win 1 out of a possible 7 games, the team dug deep and often fought hard for valuable draws, picking up bonus points where possible. Although often ‘boring’ as one opposition side described – ultimately we didn’t enable sides around us to pick up 30 points and leapfrog us in this off-patch . The turning point in our season game against eventual champions Baldock, on the 16th July where Martin Johnson scored 117* his first century for the club at the Freman Oval and led us home.
Little did we know that this was to be the start of something special from Martin, in his next two fixtures he scored 101* and the second ever highest 4th XI score of 131* against Old Owens and Letchworth respectively. Has anybody else ever scored 3 not out centuries on the trot for the club? I doubt that. It’s therefore somewhat unsurprising that Martin lead the batting exploits averaging 63 and scoring 503 runs. However he was also supported by his fellow-opener Paul Garrott, with his contrasting patient style, Paul scored 515 runs at an average of 52 including a high score of 89 away at Preston. Also throughout the year there were contributions from Bill Mansfield who scored 306 runs at an average of 26 and Lloyd Bowman who averaged 20. Other highlights with the bat included U15 Tom Nussey scoring his first half-century with a match winning 52* at Old Owens. Benji Mansfield also became a regular member of the 4th team, and chipped in with several key knocks, although arguably his most impressive contributions came from his energy in the field as he was superb in the field and saved countless runs throughout the season.
With the ball, Steve Hughes took the most wickets (19) and sealed his place in next year’s league handbook. If the 4s were to have a ‘most improved player’ it would be Steve as his persistence and enthusiasm throughout the season has often been second to none on the field. One of the moments of the season has to be Steve getting his revenge on a certain player from Letchworth (the individual scored over 300 runs against us alone in 2016) by clean bowling him down at St Margaretsbury. Steve’s best figures were (4-33) against Baldock. Martin Johnson was also as reliable with the ball as he was the bat, he was often used at the end of an innings to tie down the tail with his sharp line and length proving very economical and he also picked up 18 wickets in the process. Neil Haslam was also ever-reliable and picked up 9 wickets. Skipper Lloyd Bowman and Vice-skipper Bill Mansfield shared the wicket-keeping throughout the season taking 19 catches between them.
Perhaps again most positively for the 4s this season was the impact the younger players in the squad had upon the season. Many of them were getting their first taste of ‘Open Age Adult Cricket’ and these enthusiastic, often patient performances and exhibited great potential for the future both with bat and ball. The surprise package in the bowling department came from U14 Jonathan Adam, who claimed 9 wickets and often made the break-through. Without a doubt, Jono’s game changing spell away at Old Owens when he claimed 3 wickets in his first over (4-25) was one of the moments of the season. The potential bowling prowess from the colts was further backed up in their debut ‘open-age’ season by Jake Gifford, Jack Wilkerson, Sam Karr, Kieran McKinna and Cormac Hosie who all made an impact with game-changing spells at some point in the season. Toby Emes and Matt Yates further developed and established themselves in open-age cricket, with the latter solidifying his place as the 4s opening bowler as well as developing further as a batsman.
As ever, a huge thanks goes to Richard Robertson, for his hard work on the Freman College pitch this season. Thanks to Jerry Yates who became the 4th XI’s ‘unofficial scorer’ most weeks. Thanks to Bill Mansfield and Paul Garrott who led the side in my absence. Also a huge thanks to everyone who made Teas at some point in the season – they were great!
Lloyd Bowman, Captain, RCC Fourth XI
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Sunday XI REPORT 2016
Having somehow completed another season it’s once again time to look back at some of the highlights of the year which has seen many of players make great strides in their own game. In total we played 14 matches winning 9. But the cherry on top was the fantastic victory we had in the re-vamped Keatley Cup. Four teams of six entered and the Reed side instead of, as usual, being made of first eleven players, was on the whole a representation of the Sunday Eleven. Tom Walsingham, Sean Tidey, Rob Lankester, Joe Graves, Rhodri Hughes and Marcus J.E. Baker came away with the silverware for the club.
Jack Childs had a superb season, including coming out on top of wicket takers. He took 13 wickets beating Walsingham’s 12, Baker’s 11, and 10 each from Lankester, Josh Conley and Sam Rice all of whom have displayed great skill. The real improvement for Jack Childs was however, in his batting. Having been given the chance to open he never looked back with a total of 124 runs. Rhodri Hughes had another good year. Having analysed his abilities, he made the transition from the top of the order into the number 5/6 position. Here his quick running and un-orthodox technique can be a burden for any opposition attack. He scored 189 runs at an average of 31 with two half centuries.
Joe Graves has perhaps shown the greatest improvement between seasons with the bat of any player at the club. Throughout the season his batting showed greater maturity of temperament and greater skill in execution. He was rewarded against Little Hadham by doubling his maiden fifty into a superb century.
Tom Walsingham, Paul Garrott, Peter Baker and John Kershaw each made over a hundred runs whilst looking in good form whilst Mike Robertson blasted a century in close to no time in the final match of the season. Mike Catt and Cormac Hosie both made their debut on Sundays this year both showing a lot of promise. Catt scored his maiden adult fifty, whilst Hosie impressed with his legbreaks.
M.J.E. Baker averaged 66 with bat scoring 398 runs, including a century and three of four fifties in consecutive innings. But without any doubt the real star for the side with the bat this year was Rob Lankester who made an incredible 499 runs at an even more incredible average of 124. He made two fifties and three hundreds and on his captaincy debut showed the same calm temperament with the bat as with his decision-making.
Rosemary Collins has once again had a fantastic season for the side and has shown top form throughout. However in one of the very weeks she was unable to be with us Sam and Chloe both stepped in with no warning to provide first class teas. Thanks to all. Peter Wholley and Richard Robertson also once again deserve all our thanks for all their superb work.
I have been so impressed with the improvements made by the players this year that next season can’t come quick enough.
Marcus J.E. Baker, Captain, RCC Sunday XI
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COLTS
Reed Cricket Club Under 11 and Under 12 Report
With such a small group of players we have more or less run the U11’s and U12’s groups combined. Only 2 players in the U12 group were actually U12’s so the majority of players had to play up from the U11’s to make up the U12’s team. This gave a lot of the younger players their first experience of ‘out cricket’.
In the U12’s group a new member, Jack Beber, was a very useful addition to the team both batting, with 109 runs (average 16) and bowling, with 8 wickets (average 20).
Sam Osborne scored 168 runs (average 28), Ross Gardner 116 (average 16) and Charlie Walters 88 (average 10). On the bowling side Sam Osborne took 15 wickets and Adam Gardner 13 wickets (average 11).
Of the 10 league matches played in the Herts. League, two were won and eight lost, but if we had been able to field 11 players in all the matches we would have easily been capable of finishing mid-table even with a team made up predominantly with younger players.
The U11’s played in the Cambridgeshire ‘pairs cricket’ league, which gave plenty of opportunity for our less experienced players to both bat and bowl alongside our more experienced players. Of the 6 matches that were played, four were won and two lost.
With the bat Sam Osborne scored the most runs for the season with 66, followed by Ross Gardner with 60 and Charlie Walters with 36. On the bowling side Ross Gardner took 8 wickets followed by Matthew Liebenberg with 7 and Adam Gardner with 5.
The U11’s also competed in the Herts. Summer League narrowly losing all three matches. Our inability to field full sides costing us dearly as all three were winnable.
Four players from this group; Sam Osborne, Charlie Walters, Ross Gardner and Adam Gardner have all played for Hertfordshire North Area Squads this season and all have been pre-selected for 2017.
In summary we have some very good players in the group but we need more, particularly 11/12 year olds to boost the U13 team for 2017.
Neil Gardner & Ian Osborne, Squad Managers, RCC Under 11 & Under 12 Colts
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Reed Cricket Club Under 15 Report
At the start of the season it looked as though there would not be enough for a team. Luckily 3 new members, Sam Karr, Jake Gifford & Jack Wilkerson joined from a local club that were unable to field an U15 team and returning Kieran McKinna boosted the numbers.
The U15s were able to fulfil all fixtures and frequently, enthusiastically supported by three U12’s, Jack Beber & Dennis Stuart and one U11, Ross Gardner.
Notable batting performances during the season were from Benji Mansfield, (ave. 24.8) & Tom Nussey, (48.0) including retirements on 50.
Notable bowling performances were by Jack Wilkerson, (ave. 10.6), Richard Stuart, (10.6), Jake Gifford (18.6) and Jack Beber (9.3).
Special thanks to Bill Mansfield who agreed to manage the team on the day and umpired every game.
Thanks also to Richard Robertson who always provided a well-prepared ground & wicket frequently commented on by the opposition.
At the end of the season the U15’s came joint top with Hardwick, having won 2, lost 1, abandoned 2.
Cilla Robertson, Squad Manager, RCC Under 15 Colts
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