After the loss at Pirton last week Reed III were keen to consolidate their position against unbeaten division leaders Mill Hill Village. On a day it would have suited Reed to lose the toss; skipper Maseeh Naeem won for the sixth consecutive match, and asked the visitors to bat. Kallum Ward (13-2-1-51) and Matt Giblin (8-2-2-27), opened the bowling; Giblin struck in his first over, bowling Lee for a duck. Ward beat Shar’s bat on a number of occasions and was unlucky not to pick up an early wicket. Just as it appeared that the batsman were getting to grips with the bowling Giblin removed A Potter for 17, who played on to his stumps. Ward then removed Cara for 4 with the last ball of his opening spell, a smart catch taken by the stand in wicket keeper James Hooper. After 14 overs a bowling change was forced on Reed, the skipper Naeem and Louis Fitzgerald replacing the openers. By now Shar had started to get into his stride and D Potter was striking the ball very cleanly, the Mill Hill total steadily improved. Fitzgerald (9-0-0-37) bowled with little luck but Naeem (9-0-3-41) broke the partnership by bowling Shar (27) and having D Potter (32) caught at mid on. When Naeem had Asif caught in his next over Mill Hill were 106 for 6, Reed could have been forgiven for thinking they were in with a shout. However the Mill Hill skipper Overton (74n.o) assisted by Gajjer (56n.o) showed why the visitors had be undefeated thus far. With some aggressive batting, and the use of agricultural but effective shots the pair took the score to 246 for 6 before declaring after 47 overs.Richard Barlow [...]

Arriving at the Little Berkhamsted ground the sun was shining and the hosts were keen to play on what was a very green and damp pitch. Winning the toss the Reed Skipper Maseeh Naeem asked the hosts to bat. Kallum Ward (10-3-1-27) and Matt Giblin (10-0-2-32) used the conditions well and made life very difficult for the Sahib’s batsman. Ward’s first spell of 7 overs saw him pick up his one wicket of the day for 8 runs. A change of bowling saw Sahib’s on 44 for 2 after 20 overs, Julian Fynn (11-3-2-35) removing the second Sahib opener. Louis Fitzgerald (10.5-00-28) bowled very well,giving no width but the 3rd wicket stand, with the hard hitting Allum and Patel, threatened to post a big total for Sahibs. The Sahib’s score was 114 for 2 in the 36th over when Matt Naeem (5-1-1-23) broke the 60 run partnership by bowling Patel (29). This gave Reed an opening and wickets began to fall. Maseeh Naeem picked up 3 for 20 in a 6 over spell. Giblin picked up two wickets in his second spell including the dangerous Allum for 67 and Fynn picked up his 2nd of the day and 21st of the season, leaving Sahib’s innings on 177 all out in 52.5 overs. The Reed reply was going well with Paul Garrott and Aiden Swain making good progress until a mix up saw Swain run out on 15. John Heslam had just enough time to take guard and hit a single before there was a torrential downpour and the game had to be abandoned with the Reed score on 31 in the 7th over. This game lasted 60 overs before rain stopped play and the two [...]

Two centuries and a record breaking first wicket partnership were the highlight of Reeds third teams visit to Kings Langley.Kings Langley III won the toss and decided to bat, their openers made steady progress against opening Reed bowlers Ward and Giblin. The small size of the pitch and the lightning fast outfield made it difficult for the fielding side and the ball shot to the boundary whenever it beat the infield. Matt Giblin (14-0-2-47) was the pick of the Reed bowling, but it was Kallum Ward (6-0-1-26) who struck first, bowling Thompson for 2. The fall of the first wicket brought 15-year-old Toms to the crease and it was his 125 and Barters 51 not out that helped the home side to a sizable score. Will Heslam (10-0-1-39) and Lewis Fitzgerald (8-0-1-47) also bowled well in a young Reed bowling attack. Kings Langley decided to declare on 252 for 6 after 50 overs.The target score of 253 to win at first appeared daunting, however after 10 overs and Reeds score on 62 without loss it was clear that William ‘Pud’ Heslam was back. He struck the ball to all parts of the ground; the Kings Langley team had no answer to his onslaught and the score rattled along at an astonishing pace. Paul Garrott also played his part, nudging the ball around and milking the runs, allowing Heslam to hit the boundaries. In desperation the home captain used nine different bowlers in an effort to take a wicket. This was to no avail, as the first Reed wicket did not fall until the 34th over with the score on 239. Heslam was adjudged LBW after hitting a magnificent 143 which included five sixes. The opening [...]

This week Reed III hosted last seasons Division 11 Champions, Hitchin III. After winning the toss the Reed Captain invited the visitors to bat. On a damp pitch, life for the Hitchin batsman was very difficult and they made slow progress against the bowling of Julian Fynn (13-3-22) and Matt Giblin (7-0-30). After Fynn dismissed the two opening bats, Willis attempted to hit out and for a few overs the run rate increased. Willis (21) was dismissed by an incredible catch by Will Heslam off the bowling of Lewis Fitzgerald (6-3-10). The Reed bowlers were helped with some good catches being taken by Paul Garrot and Scott Caine. Lewis Fitzgerald snapped up a very sharp caught and bowled chance and Steve Lovegrove took a flying one handed catch behind the stumps off the bowling of Heslam who returned a very miserly 2-1 of off his 3 overs. The only other bowler that was required was off spinner Nick Green who finished on 3.3-1-21. Hitchin were dismissed in 32.3 overs for 89.By the time tea had been taken and the Reed opening pair of Garrott and Heslam walked out to bat the conditions had improved. Heslam played himself in before taking took full advantage off the improving batting track, whilst Garrott played his usual patient anchor role. The score was on 21 when the pair went for an unnecessary run and Garrott was run out by a very good throw from the boundary. Ben Bowles (13 n.o) joined Heslam (61 n.o) and the pair guided Reed home to a nine wicket win, 30 points, and second position in division 10.

Reed made the journey to the heart of leafy Hertfordshire, to play promotion rivals of recent seasons Frogmore. Balding pace man R Martin was amazingly called in to the twos but he was easily replaced by youngster Matt Giblin. Balding pace man Martin usually takes the new ball, but the honour was granted to Fitzgerald (0-31)and Ward (0-29). Ward was proving very wayward and very expensive and was taken off after only a few over's and replaced by Fynn (12-2-58) who struck twice. Reed never looked like taking another wicket until Giblin came in to the attack and bowled extremely well, with good economy and snared the dangerous Bascott. At 144-3 off just 29 over's, skipper Naeem turned to Archer, and in a spell of accurate bowling taking 5-12 off 11.1 over's Frogmore collapsed to 202 all out. Naeem's off breaks accounting for the remaining two batsman. After looking at chasing well over 300 at one stage the total of 203 to win looked well within Reed's grasp.Unfortunately Frogmore's extremely quick opening attack had not read the script they tore through the top order reducing Reed to 49-8. Giblin (32no) proved a worthy replacement for the balding pace man Martin with the bat also as firstly with Naeem (10) and then Archer (14) he helped steer Reed past the 3 figure mark.Skipper Naeem was philosophical in defeat " We played against a first team and even in Div 10, these teams can have players playing several divisions below their level. It did not help that we bowled so poorly to start with and none of the batsmen applied themselves and dug in. The undefeated "monkey" is now off our back and we expect to return to winning ways next week, when [...]

Reed III stayed in touch with the league leaders and pulled a little further away from chasing pack with an away win at Hatch End. Winning the toss for the fourth match in succession, Reed skipper Maseeh Naeem put the hosts in on a dubious looking track, and Reed’s young opening bowlers took full advantage of the circumstances. Matt Giblin and Louis Fitzgerald gave the Hatch End openers few opportunities to score runs. Fitzgerald removed Richardson with his first ball, the opener edging to a very appreciative Ian Fulk at first slip. After that Matt Giblin ripped through the top and middle order taking 5 wickets in his opening seven over spell, leaving Hatch End teetering on 25 for 7. Williams and Short attempted to consolidate and their partnership managed to push the score, albeit slowly towards 50 before James Hooper (4-0-1-13) had Williams caught behind by Steve Lovegrove for 17. Matt Naeem (7-2-1-27) then removed Short for 10, Hooper taking a sharp catch at short mid on. The Hatch End skipper Sherman (27n.o) then rallied what was left of the tail and managed to push the Hatch End total to 104 after 36.2 overs. The standout performances were that of Matt Giblin (8-0-5-24) and Louis Fitzgerald (12.2-4-2-13), both youngsters bowling with pace and control.Ben Bowles and Richard Barlow opened the batting for Reed, on a pitch that was still very unpredictable. The opening Hatch End bowlers bowled a steady line and length and it was obvious to all that patience was going to be needed to reach the 105 total. Barlow was again unlucky edging to slip with the score on 3. He was replaced by Ian Fulk returning after a few weeks absence. [...]