After getting only half a season in 2020, it was great to be able to get back to a full season of cricket this year. There were still lots of restrictions in place but heading into April there was a real sense of optimism. The 1st Team also had the excitement of a first full year in the Premier League with all the ‘Big’ sides making the trip to Reed.
Whereas Covid caused games to be cancelled last year, this year it was the weather and unfortunately lots of fixtures were lost to rain, which was a real shame.
We always knew playing Premier League cricket was going to be tough and with injuries and availability issues for some of our best players, it certainly turned out that way. Personally though, I really enjoyed the experience. Having players like Owais Shah play at Reed was great.
Being in the Premier League meant the 1st Team players could not play in the Village Cup. So our Second team got the opportunity to play a couple of really good matches at the Green that were really well supported. We ended up losing to a very good Preston side.
The stand out adult team this year was our Third team which was led extremely well by Rhodri Hughes. Some really good performances meant promotion, which was a fantastic achievement. Rhodri has now got a new job that is out of the area which is unfortunate for us, but I wish him well and hopefully he will be back for the odd match.
Where we struggled for availability this year, we were able to give a lot of the younger players an opportunity in adult cricket. To see the progression of Will, Sam, Max, Charlie and others was a real highlight of the season and they all made big contributions.
My niece now plays in the Under 9s so I go up and watch on a Sunday morning when I can. To see the Green full of children enjoying their cricket is really encouraging for the future. This takes a lot of organising and we are so lucky at Reed to have a large group of volunteers who put in so much time to support the club not only supporting youth cricket but across the club. Thank you for all the work each volunteer puts in to help make the club so successful.
So what does next year bring? The First XI will be back in the Village Cup so fingers crossed for another good run in that.
So roll on April and hopefully Covid will be behind us by then and we can go back to normal.
Stuart Smith
Chairman, Reed Cricket Club.
November 2021.
