The Hughes Army earns team victory
Annual opponents Little Hadham played host to Reed for the penultimate Sunday fixture of the 2014 season. The strength of his side left Reed captain Rhodri Hughes in no doubt that batting first was the right way to go. Unusually for the visitors the match was arranged as a timed game as Peter Baker and Rob Willoughby started proceedings. Despite the apparent strength of the batting order Reed soon found themselves in trouble with early wickets falling leaving them 37 for 3. Lloyd Bowman began to repair things with some good shots to the leg side. Marcus J.E. Baker now at the wicket soon enough started to play his shots in a care free fashion quickly racking up boundaries. Bowman eventually fell for 27 but Baker continued regardless. His use of the slog sweep and hitting down the wicket proving particularly destructive. Having raced past his 50 and quickly heading towards three figures Baker was then unexpectedly removed thanks to a fantastic diving catch at square leg. Jack Tidey joined Maseeh Naeem at the crease and the pair played without any pressure as Tidey also tallied up 4’s and 6’s. In no time he had also reached his half century before retiring. Hughes decided that Reed’s 233 for 5 was enough so declared. In the 3 overs before the tea break Little Hadham suffered a terrible start as Joe Graves struck twice. After tea Ollie Mansfield quickly claimed his own wicket with a fine line and length. Hughes began to rotate his bowlers with spinners Matt Naeem and Toby Emes taking wickets thanks to catches by M.J.E. Baker and Tidey. Reed soon had their hosts at 32 for 7 before a stubborn partnership between South [...]
