Bowman achieves promotion in first season as Skipper
The 4th XI travelled the short distance to The Meads the Home Ground of Hare Street and Hormead to play Hertford's 5th XI in their penultimate League match of the season. Skipper Lloyd Bowman kept up his recent run of correct coin toss calls and put Hertford into bat. Matt Giblin and Neil Haslam opened the bowling for Reed and immediately began to exert pressure on the two Hertford openers. Runs were hard to come by and Giblin struck first J. Davis giving a catch to Paul Garrott (23-1), Giblin took the wicket of the Hertford Skipper S. Dawson in the same over with no addition to the score. At the other end Haslam bowled his medium pace inswingers and leg cutters passing the bat regularly and was unlucky not to take a couple of wickets as two lofted shots cleared both mid on and mid off. Giblin ended his spell with 9-2-23-2 and Haslam 9-4-15-0, equivalent to maybe a two wicket haul considering how the game was progressing at 41 for 2 off 18 overs. Ollie Mansfield replaced Giblin and Ian Roberts replaced Haslam. Roberts bowled Stemp on the stroke of the drinks break for just 4, 51 for 3 in the 21st over. Mansfield took the wicket of N.Osborne for a duck soon after the resumption, Giblin taking the catch at mid on and Hertford were wobbling at 53 for 4. H.Sewell now came to the crease and together with opener C Ives tried to rebuild the Hertford innings. Sewell struck the ball firmly of both bowlers and made full use of the short square boundaries on both sides of the pitch.They increased the run rate and within six overs had brought up the [...]