In a match versus Shenley Village delayed and reduced to 36 overs per side as overnight rain had seeped through the covers, Reed eschewed their usual belligerent approach to concentrate on rotating the strike. The measure of their success can be gauged by the fact only 6 boundaries were struck, yet they totalled 125 in 34 overs. Just 5 batsmen reached double figures with James Heslam (29) top scoring. As in the reverse fixture, Kris Nissen proved a handful finishing with 2-18 in his 7 over burst and Marwan Mohammed (4-27) took out the lower order.
Facing a strong batting line up, Reed started with a flourish, Zac Mcguigan bowling Northants’ Charles Thurston for a third ball duck. However it was Jack Tidey who caught the eye with an explosive spell of 8-2-11-3, clean bowling two of his victims. At the other end, Tom Greaves was at his parsimonious best, with his 7 overs going at exactly one per over as well as a wicket. The spin of Sean Tidey (1-20) and Marcus Martin (2-24) also frustraated the Shenley batsmen, who had stuttered to 62-8 from 28 overs. Indeed Martin snared both the dangerous Nissen and finally the lynch pin of the innings, Mohammed (42), through some outstanding catches by Ed Wharton and Matt Sampson. The latter also claimed a run out and when Jack Caine gained a wicket, Shenley were all out for 98. They had managed a mere 3 boundaries in their entire innings.
It was a sparkling display of bowling and ground fielding, which means Reed have leap-frogged over their opponents to second place in the league with just 3 games of the season left.
Match Report submitted by Peter Wholley.
