Heartbreak at Hertford

After the heroics of last week's victory over Radlett, a 42 run defeat to Hertford proved to be rather an anti-climax. However Reed Firsts started brightly with early wickets for Matt Giblin and Ed Wharton, the latter a magnificent catch by Sunil Patil form a steepler which swerved viciously over his head. Alex Jones (51) and Richard Leather (32) then dug in and it was not until the introduction of canny spinner, Kapil Dave, that the partnership was broken. Dave finished with 3-32 from his ten overs. At 136 for 6 Reed scented a swift end to the innings, but Max Lawrance (40) and Alan Coulson (31) built a stubborn stand of 56, which proved to be match winning. Toby Fynn and Matt Giblin (3-32) then wrapped up the innings for 203, a competitive total on a slow pitch. Reed started in all too familiar fashion, languishing at 88 for 6 after half the allotted overs, only Tom Greaves (37) putting up sustained resistance. However, a fighting partnership of 52 between Jack Caine (35) and Sean Tidey (30) threatened to take the game away from Hertford. Caine played a nicely controlled innings and it was good to see Tidey back to his swashbuckling best. When he was eventually caught on the boundary attempting another maximum, the innings rather subsided for 161 to young spinner, Jonny Underdown, who took 5 for 30. Welwyn await Reed in their final fixture next week. Can they pull off another Radlett to end the season in style? Match Report submitted by Peter Wholley.

By |2021-08-29T11:42:06+01:00August 29th, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Heartbreak at Hertford

Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation

Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation at the Old Bull Inn, Royston Saturday 2nd October 2021 at 1830hrs Contact Sam Greaves our Social Secretary to book your tickets on 07950 644861 or at [email protected]

By |2021-10-04T12:57:10+01:00August 26th, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Season Review, Annual Award Dinner, Awards, News, Social|Tags: , |Comments Off on Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation

End of Season Fancy Dress Party

Fancy Dress Theme - Heroes and Villains Saturday 4th September 2021 - after the matches have ended. How did we get on this season? Win? Lose? Are you a Hero or a Villain? Let's celebrate either way!

By |2021-09-05T09:09:32+01:00August 26th, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Season Review, News, Social|Tags: , , |Comments Off on End of Season Fancy Dress Party

Reed stun leaders Radlett

Reed Firsts caused an amazing upset by beating league leaders and favourites for the title, Radlett, by 14 runs in a match reduced to 32 overs a side owing to a prolonged weather break. The foundation for the victory was laid in the first short period of 16 overs. Rob Lankester and William Heslam (16) dashed to an opening partnership of 50 in just 7 overs scoring all their runs in boundaries. Tom Greaves (14) then supported Lankester as they took the total to 87 before the rain set in. On the resumption, Lankester fell for another scintillating half-century as the Radlett spinners, Toor (5-11) and Patel (3-27) wrested back control, although Stuart Smith (16) managed to marshall the tail through to the final over to accumulate 158 runs. In reply Radlett set off in pursuit of a revised Duckworth Lewis Stern total of 179 with their own impressive century stand between Crawford (47) and Chatfield (54). However Reed's quartet of bowlers: Ed Wharton, Matt Giblin, Toby Fynn and Greaves kept the scoring rate down until Fynn (2-37) broke the partnership with a spectacular running catch by Lankester on the long leg boundary. This was the spark that ignited Reed's fire as Kapil Dave and the returning Wharton began to mop up the rest of their opponent's line up. With the help of four more brilliant catches by Lankester in the outfield, including an incredible one handed diving effort, the pair worked their way through Radlett's middle order leaving them requiring 30 from the remaining 4 overs with 4 wickets left. They had halved the deficit when keeper Sean Tidey brought off his own remarkable one handed dive to start the slide as all four [...]

By |2021-08-22T11:18:31+01:00August 22nd, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Match Report, Match Reports|1 Comment

Garrott’s Century leads Reed 2nds to Victory

On a hot day at The Green, captain Ed Garrott won the toss and decided to bat first against the travelling Southgate Adelaide. It was a tough start for the Reed top order when 6' 6" opening bowler Connor Johnson reduced Reed to 27 for 3. This brought Kallum Ward and Ed Garrott together and they set about rebuilding the innings by taking the singles on offer, running hard between the wickets and putting away the bad ball. Ward eventually fell for 62 with Mehmood (10 overs, 1 for 53) breaking the 135-run partnership, Southgate then brought back opening bowler Johnson who quickly picked up the wicket of Mike Robertson and finished with exceptional figures of 4 for 35 from his ten. Garrott was ably supported by Kieran Mckinna (19) as they pushed the score upwards of 250 with Garrott scoring his first century for the club eventually falling for 114 to the bowling of Mahmood. A flurry of late wickets meant that Reed finished 281 all out off 48.5 overs. Reed’s opening bowlers Matt Giblin and U15 Charlie Walters started very economically keeping the Southgate openers below the required run rate, however they reached 50 without loss before Anirudh Vivekanandan entered the attack and took a wicket first ball. A couple of balls later Walters brilliantly ran out the other opener and Adelaide were reeling at 55 for 2. A 124-run partnership between J Coshlan and T Mahmood kept Southgate in the game however the run rate was continuing to climb. Spinner Matt Bowles removed Coshlan for 43 and he picked up a further 2 wickets to finish his 10 over with 3 for 59. Mahmood became the second centurion of the match finishing [...]

By |2021-08-17T06:49:16+01:00August 17th, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Garrott’s Century leads Reed 2nds to Victory

A First for the Firsts

When captain Tom Greaves clipped a ball to leg and scampered through for the two runs required to register the First's first win of the season, he must have been reflecting contentedly on winning the toss and inserting West Herts on a drying wicket. As a result, a rampant Ed Wharton scythed through their top order, including the scalp of Sri Lankan international, Perrera, caught skilfully at slip by a diving Rob Lankester. That capped a fine opening spell of 3 for 22 in 11 overs. Toby Fynn then carried on the attack with a mammoth 16-over stint, finishing with 2 for 41 and 5 maidens. He was ably supported by Greaves who took 2 for 51, finally bagging the resolute Zaidi for 52, the first of Sean Tidey's two stumpings. The innings was quickly polished off by Kapil Dave's spin as he tricked the remaining three batsmen into false strokes, conceding just 25 runs. The pick of these was a finely judged catch on the midwicket boundary by Jack Caine. West Herts must have been disappointed with their total of 155 achieved in the final over of their allotted 50, due to a prolonged rain delay at the start of their innings. To be frank, Reed always looked in control of their reply with Will Heslam leading the way, making a fluent 37, including 5 crisply struck boundaries. When he was bowled by the dangerous Perrera, Reed already had 70 on the board as Rob Lankester took over the onslaught, putting on another 50 runs with the watchful Matt Sampson (16). With just 18 needed, Lankester was finally adjudged LBW for a scintillating 74. A measure of his dominance can be gauged by his [...]

By |2021-08-08T09:37:56+01:00August 8th, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on A First for the Firsts

Question 1. When’s the Quiz? Answer: 12th August

Social Secretary Sam Greaves has announced the date of the first RCC Quiz for absolutely ages. Thursday 12th August at 1930hrs at the Howard Marshall Pavilion. To plan for the event and to guarantee a table, please let Sam know via email or message if you plan to attend and how many team members you will be bringing along. Mobile number: 07950 644861 email address: [email protected]

By |2021-08-13T07:28:47+01:00August 3rd, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Season Review, News, Social|Tags: |Comments Off on Question 1. When’s the Quiz? Answer: 12th August

Fynn and Catt instrumental in Seconds’ win

Reed Seconds produced another scintillating performance on Saturday against Harpenden Thirds at The Green. Winning the toss, they asked the visitors to bat, both opening spells by Julien Fynn (10-1-30-2) and Charlie Walters (10-0-46-0) were tight. The first wicket fell on 42 when a superb piece of fielding from Fynn ran-out Williams for just 8 off of Walters' bowling. This brought the skipper Newton to the crease and he and opener Gilson built a solid partnership and the run rate began to increase. A short delay led to the match being reduced to 48 overs each, however the Harpenden batsmen continued on. Fynn returned and bowled Gilson for 88 and picked up the wicket of Frost for just 3 in the next over. Newton wasn't to be denied his century and he ended 110 not out and a quickfire 16 not out from Gosling took the visitors to a challenging 264 for 3 in their 48 overs. Reed started like an express train, with 19 off of the first over although Frenay fell LBW for just a single. Jack Caine and Mike Catt took the score to 47 before Caine edged the ball behind, having scored 17, a second wicket for J. Card. Kallum Ward joined Mike Catt and they continued with a run rate in excess of seven an over. Ward assumed the lead role in the partnership and he brought up his 50 off 45 balls before he became J. Card's third wicket with a 53-ball 61. 14-year-old Charlie Walters played a mature knock of 18, playing the short balls extremely well until he fell with the score on 190 in the 30th over. Mike Catt in the meanwhile had reached his fifty [...]

By |2021-08-03T17:53:51+01:00August 3rd, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Fynn and Catt instrumental in Seconds’ win

Greaves and Wharton thwart the Whitewash!

After a tense finish on Harpenden Common the Firsts edged a draw to prevent this season being a total whitewash. This was in no small measure due to some excellent individual performances, notably by Tom Greaves and Ed Wharton. A familiar pattern seemed to be emerging when, on a superb batting track, James Latham and 16-year-old Danyaal Khaliid built a chanceless 235-run partnership for Harpenden's second wicket. When Khalid slapped Wharton in his second spell to Greaves at silly mid-wicket for 84 a total beyond 300 appeared inevitable. However, Wharton curtailed Harpenden's ambitions with a typically aggressive spell, exerting bounce out of the placid wicket to finish with 6 for 72 in a total of 271 for 6 declared after 52 overs. This included three wickets in his final over as well as the scalp of Latham for a magnificent 147. Reed replied in customary fashion losing two quick wickets, but Rob Lankester and Greaves repeated their stand earlier in the season against their hosts, putting on 91 invaluable runs. When Lankester was out L.B.W. for a patient 51, Greaves and Wharton took over in more characteristic Reed style, smashing another 68 runs in just 10 overs leaving Harpenden beginning to rue their early declaration. However, with Wharton's departure for 29 Reed's vicissitudes started to show. Earlier Sunil Patil had been drafted into the team to keep Wicket after the late withdrawal of Sean Tidey and Michael Juckes had bravely stepped up for his first team debut as Sam Osborne, last week's top scorer, was suffering from back spasms. Worse was to follow when Patil badly jarred his shoulder when keeping. As a result, the lower order looked particularly vulnerable. Greaves did his best to [...]

By |2021-08-03T17:50:35+01:00August 1st, 2021|Categories: 2021, 2021 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Greaves and Wharton thwart the Whitewash!
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