Reed Under 13s entertained undefeated Broxbourne 1s on an overcast evening.

With Broxbourne cruising at the top of the table, and Reed on a winning streak, this was looking to be an entertaining fixture. A battle between the free-flowing batting of Broxbourne, against the unpredictable bowling of Reed. Whichever way this went, Reed needed a healthy haul of points to keep in the race for 3rd place.

With Broxbourne winning the toss and electing to bat, Reed’s start couldn’t have been better. The first choice opening bowling pairing of Daniel Vincent and Callum Ricketts stepping up to face Broxbourne batsmen who have scored freely all season.

Daniel opened strongly, with just 2 runs off the first over, before Callum strolled in and bowled an over of a lifetime…
Dot
Dot
WICKET (ct Eddie Cook)
WICKET (ct Aaron Nash)
WICKET (ct Eddie Cook)
Single

Broxbourne were reeling and Reed were on a high.

Callum took the dangerous wicket of Dylan Stark in his second over – yet another close-quarters catch from Eddie Cook. Broxbourne were on 12 for 4 off 4 overs.

Daniel finished his spell on a respectable 3-0-0-16, and Callum on the ludicrous 2-1-4-1, reserving an over for the death.

The sheer depth of Broxbourne’s batting line up quickly came to the fore, and the next three bowlers faced swift retribution… Lily Hall (1-0-0-8), Gethin Hill (3-0-0-27), Eddie Cook (3-0-0-24).
Broxbourne were flying…. finishing the 13th over on 94 for 4.

Tom Green entered the maelstrom and steadied the ship a little… but by this point, Broxbourne weren’t taking any prisoners and the boundaries just kept coming. Tom eventually made a breakthrough in his third over, ending on 3-0-1-17, but by then the damage had been done.

Broxbourne finished their innings on 160 for 5. Which was a shame after the excellent opening spell from Callum, who finished on 3-1-4-10.

In order for Reed to chase down the mammoth target, their top order batsmen would have to all perform in the same match, and the accurate Broxbourne bowling was never going to allow it.
Losing opener Callum and #3 Eddie cheaply – Reed were on 7 for 2 in the 3rd over – It was left to Lewis Abdul-Karim and Charlie Hawker to soak up the overs, which they did admirably. The run rate had, understandably, slowed but occasionally the ball slipped through the tight quarters fielding to the boundary. When Lewis fell in the 9th over for 7, Daniel Vincent went to the middle and batted in the only way he knew how – aggressively.

Daniel batted for a total of 15 minutes, smashing a six over cow corner on his 16th ball to retire on 32 in the 13th over…. Reed were on 78 and concentrating on accumulating the losing bonus points.

Tom Green replaced Daniel, scoring a steady 7 runs. Charlie Hawker was eventually dismissed for 6.

Reed finished on 94 for 6. With 14 bonus points in the bag, 3rd place in the Division will be decided on Friday with Bishop’s Stortford’s visit.

Match report submitted by Lee Vincent.