Reed Thirds had a disappointing trip to Hatfield Hyde with a five-wicket defeat. Having won the toss Reed batted first and made gradual progress with Peter Baker looking to be positive. After Baker’s loss for 29 he was followed by Bill Mansfield (24). But the mainstay was Paul Garrott whose season-long good form saw him make his third half century of the year. Jack Childs also found some welcome batting form as Reed closed in on 200. However, after the loss of both Garrott (67) and Childs (30) Reed’s incoming batsmen struggled to get Hatfield Hyde’s bowlers away who throughout had bowled well, supported by good ground fielding.
Contributions from M.J.E. Baker (11), Rhodri Hughes (12) and Maseeh Naeem (14 not out) got Reed their full batting points but it was a below par final score of 206 for 6.
Reed got right into the hosts in the second innings with three quick wickets falling to Matt Yates (2 for 49) and Josh Conley (1 for 42). However after that, Reed failed to capitalise. Good Batting from Bajaj (51) and Jayasekera (81) took the game away from Reed. Wickets to Steve Hughes (1 for 39) and M.J.E. Baker (1 for 46) later in the piece at least gave Reed some extra bonus points but none the less it was disappointment as the Hyde reached their target with only 5 wickets lost.
Report submitted by MJEB.
