Reed’s skipper Tom Greaves hammered the ball over the Pavilion boundary to win the Watson’s National Village Cup for Reed for the second time. It was a fitting way to end a match which Reed had dominated from the moment Greaves won the toss and put the opposition in under overcast conditions at Lord’s.
Opening bowlers Jack Tidey and Toby Fynn contained the Sessay openers to 34 from the first 10 overs and Fynn (6-2-17-1) made the first breakthrough having opposing captain Wilkie caught from a lofted drive by Stuart Smith.
Tidey, bowling through the pain of a damaged shoulder, conceded just 28 runs from his allotted 8 overs, but it was the change bowlers, Greaves and Karl Ward, who really put the shackles on. Greaves took the next three wickets to fall for a miserly 19 runs, including a spectacular diving, overhead catch by Smith, running backwards at mid-on, which nearly knocked him out and kept him off the field for a short time. Ward then chipped in with two wickets, the pick of which was a lightning quick stumping by Richard Wharton from a leg-side wide, leaving Sessay tottering at 81-6. It took a defiant knock of 46 by Chris Till to gain some degree of respectability to the score, although Mitchell Cooper fired out two more wickets – another spectacular stumping by Wharton included. Till drove the last ball of the innings fiercely towards the boundary to complete his fifty, but the safe hands of Ward thwarted him and gave Sean Tidey his wicket, leaving Sessay on 164-9 from their 40 overs. It was a fine bowling and fielding display, every catch pouched safely.
When they batted, Reed lost William Heslam and Rob Lankester cheaply, but Richard Wharton was already into his stride, seeing off the dangerous Stuart Peirse, and when he was joined by James Heslam the runs really started to flow. The pair put on a fine stand of 107 before Heslam was stumped for a masterful 54 and Wharton finished 86 not out before Greaves put the cherry on the cake with his big 6 as Reed totalled 170-3 with four overs to spare.
Richard Wharton was the obvious choice for Man of the Match as Reed once again beat a Yorkshire-based Club who were defending Champions. This time it was Sessay who had had a successful League season by winning promotion and in 2012 it had been Woodhouse Grange. This was another great day out for the Reed faithful at the Home of Cricket. Well done Tom and the Reed team!
Match report submitted by Reed’s Scorer at Lord’s, Peter Wholley.
