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About Peter G. Baker

Vice-President, RCC Oldest Centurion

Reed Firsts win last ball thriller

The Firsts won their third match in a row, but only off the last ball of an exciting, high scoring game against high flying Hemel Hempstead Town. Ilangaratne (58) and Penny (39) established a fine base for the host's innings with a century stand, so skipper, Tom Greaves turned to his young leg break bowler, Sam Osborne, who had both caught trying to hit over the field. Osborne (3-40) , the frugal Toby Fynn (2-27) and Bertie Scott (1-37) soon had Hemel floundering at 138-5, but Doodson (26) , Australian Billy Jones (49 not out) and Parkins (35 not out) took control, the latter two scoring 49 from the last four overs to finish on 251-6. Reed were always behind the run rate, although a partnership of 66 for the fourth wicket between Rob Lankester (75) and Matt Sampson (36) gave some hope at 138-4. However when Lankester was brilliantly caught aiming for a maximum on the long straight boundary and Greaves (29) was bowled by opposing captain, Nick Hodgins (3-42), the game seemed to be over. Reed were left needing 49 from 5 overs, but with only 2 wickets remaining. This did not phase the Tidey brothers with Sean attacking the bowling and Jack alternating the strike, they powered their way through to the last over needing fifteen for victory. Two sixes and a wide meant just 2 were required from two balls. A desperate scramble on a misfield saw Jack run out, but they had one of the runs and Sean finished proceedings on the last delivery, easing the ball over the infield to claim an unlikely victory. Once again Sean Tidey was the hero with a fabulous knock of 57 from 32 [...]

By |2022-08-18T09:26:57+01:00August 18th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Reed Firsts win last ball thriller
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Reed win close contest – At Last!

Having lost 3 recent close games from a winning position, the Firsts seemed destined to throw away another against Flitwick. Needing just 136, they collapsed to 114 for 7, but this time an unbroken eighth wicket stand saw them home. The hosts at fist seemed on course for a big total when they cruised to 77 for 1, but for once it was the opposition who collapsed. Only two batters reached double figures as Zac McGuigan and Tom Greaves tore through their line up with the help of two terrible run outs. When both Thurstances were dismissed without scoring, the innings started to unwind, (McGuigan the instigator with an LBW and run out). Then Sri Lankan Wankhade holed out to Bertie Scott from Greaves's bowling for 63. 123-6 at lunch soon became 135 all out as Greaves (4-24) and Scott with a wicket maiden polished off the tail. A special mention should be made of McGuigan who, in Toby Fynn's absence, bowled unchanged throughout the innings, never dropping his express pace to record figures of 20-3-77-3, which made sure the Flitwick batters were unable to settle. In a mirror image of their innings, Reed started well with Rob Lankester (38) and McGuigan (28) mastering Flitwick's talented spin trio, taking the score to 75 for 2. However the inevitable collapse of the middle order happened with Lankester's demise. Skipper George Thurstance then rolled the dice with the introduction of leggie, Lowe, who immediately bowled McGuigan with his first ball and Greaves with his fifth. 22 were needed by the last 3 wickets and as Reed lost the same number for no runs against Old Owens when only 6 were required, the writing was on the wall. [...]

By |2022-08-07T06:06:40+01:00August 7th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Reed win close contest – At Last!
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Firsts slip up again

For the fourth match running, the Firsts found themselves in a tense finish, despite holding a dominant position at one stage, and for the third time they let the game slip away. Luton Town and Indians needed 13 runs from the final over and top scorer, Jeetan Patel smashed two boundaries and a maximum with one ball left. This was after Reed bossed the majority of the match. Will Heslam set the tone with a speedy 58 until he was brilliantly caught over his shoulder by mid-on running back. There followed a procession of batters getting set, but not pushing on for a big score: Kallum Ward (24), Matt Sampson (37), Zac McGuigan (28), Rob Lankester (27) and James Heslam (24) . This left Reed with a total of 246 all out, but at last they made use of all 60 allotted overs. On a hard, fast pitch and outfield, the opposition were confident of overhauling that score, but their first 30 overs seemed to suggest otherwise. Toby Fynn started remarkably with 8 consecutive maidens and a wicket, leaving Luton 20 for 2 from 16 overs. At 85 for 5 from 30 a draw was probably their best outcome, but then the game changed dramatically. Kevin Whitehall joined Patel and made a half century in just 18 balls (9 fours and 2 sixes). After 9 balls he was scoring at a rate of 333%! Even when he skyed a catch to Sean Tidey behind the wicket, the tail enders joined in with the fun maintaining a rate of of 6 an over in tandem with Patel who finished on 79 not out. As chances went down, even Tom Greaves could not staunch the flow as [...]

By |2022-07-26T07:27:43+01:00July 26th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Firsts slip up again
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Reed U11s win League unbeaten but suffer Quarter-Final heartbreak

Reed Under 11s completed a fantastic unbeaten league season but suffered an agonisingly close defeat in the Hertfordshire Junior League (HJL) Quarter-Final last Monday evening at Reed to Wheathampstead the eventual Hertfordshire Championship winners at Finals Day on the following Sunday. The Reed boys were the stand-out team across all of the HJL groups winning every match and by some staggering margins. Like in the first round of 4 matches already reported on this season, the team were dominant and even more so playing some outstanding cricket in the second half of their campaign. The first of the second set of their league matches was likely to be the league decider against a strong Hitchin team (who themselves lost out in a close Quarter-Final encounter this week) and Reed put in probably their performance of the season with some fine bowling and fielding. The Heslam brothers did the damage with the ball with Josh picking up two early wickets and then 9 year-old younger brother Eddie Heslam producing figures of 5 for 17 ripping through the dangerous Hitchin middle order. This was well supported by Henry Cook (2 for 5) and superb fielding, Rory Longland with two excellent catches, E Heslam direct hit run out and a fine stumping by wicket keeper Ethan Fox. Reed put the icing on the cake with J Heslam and Fox knocking off the runs with no wickets down only Heslam retiring at 25 and it was left to Cook to secure the winning runs. The next game saw a comfortable victory over Datchworth with Reed racking up 158-3 in their 20 overs. Runs for J Heslam (16), Fox (25 retired), Cook (25 retired), E Heslam (24) and Jon Green [...]

By |2022-07-21T00:07:32+01:00July 20th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Reed U11s win League unbeaten but suffer Quarter-Final heartbreak
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Owens squeeze home

For the third week running Reed was involved in a close match and this time they fell just short. With 6 needed and two batters set, they lost the last 3 wickets in 4 balls to slip agonisingly to defeat against the league leaders, Old Owens. However, at tea, with the score on 64 for 6 victory seemed a distant prospect until Mitchell Cooper (35) was joined first by Bertie Scott (25) and then Rob Lankester (19) doubling the score with aggressive stroke play. What was more remarkable, Lankester was a late replacement as he was still suffering from the thumb he broke over a month ago at Dunstable. What's more he hit the spinner over his head for two straight sixes! Yet just as an unlikely win was on the cards, he fell followed by Cooper and Julien Fynn to give Owens a 5 run victory. Earlier, Reed bowled well as Zac McGuigan sent back the first four Owens' batters for 40 runs with Scott (9-5-19-4) and Skipper, Tom Greaves, (2-24) mopping up the tail. Even then Old Owens felt confident that 133 was enough, but Reed's middle order so nearly proved them wrong. A disappointing end to a fine fighting display against a top bowling outfit. Match Report submitted by Peter Wholley.

By |2022-07-18T05:48:53+01:00July 18th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Owens squeeze home
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Under 13s Await Title Crown!

Our Under 13 Team is expected to be crowned one of the Cambridgeshire League Champions having only lost one game all season! The team has developed substantially this year and very nearly stayed unbeaten eventually losing their final game by two runs! We now have a handful of friendly matches left and a fun Hundred-style game with our Under 11s on the President's Day Sunday 24th July. Some of our Under 13s have already started to make the step up to the Under 15 team and the confidence the Under 13 league wins have given our children is great to see. Notable batting performances this season have been Josh Heslam scoring over 100 runs and averaging 39 which is staggering considering he is an Under 11 and has to retire on 30 so there have been several Not Outs there. Aaron Nash and Sam Dawson have also chipped in with some important runs, Aaron often anchoring the innings as captain. Lewis Karim clicked recently at Thriplow with 22 not out and continues to show great potential, meanwhile Lily Hall has been gradually creeping up the batting order with some valuable runs late on in games. A special mention to Oliver Walters too who has looked technically very correct in games as well. Lily has however emphatically taken the bowling crown though with an amazing 18 wickets at 5.67. Josh Heslam backed up his impressive batting performances with 8 wickets at 6.25. Sam Dawson was slightly unlucky not to get more wickets as our strike bowler got quicker and more accurate as the season progressed. A special mention to Finn Wisson who took a wicket with his first ball in competitive cricket at Wenden! Our fielding [...]

By |2022-07-15T18:35:37+01:00July 15th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports, News|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Under 13s Await Title Crown!
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Reed win despite Wharton’s ton!

Ed Wharton reminded Reed how much they miss him with an imperious ton, but even he could not stop the Firsts from registering victory, albeit with just over two overs to go. Reed dominated from the start with an opening partnership of 77 at nearly a run a ball by Will Heslam (40) and Kallum Ward (43). The latter scored all but a single run in boundaries. The momentum was maintained by Tom Greaves (28) and Zac McGuigan (34), but it was Matt Sampson who took the game away from Preston racing to 82 from 85 balls, including 7 boundaries and 6 maximums. It was a breathtaking innings, seeing off the leg spinner with 26 in one over. Even when he was caught on the boundary, Sean Tidey (19) and Bertie Scott (24) took the score to 296, frustratingly just short of the 300 mark with two overs left of the 60 allocated. When Toby Fynn, McGuigan and Greaves bagged 2 wickets apiece the game seemed done and dusted, but from 92 for 6 Ed Wharton, accompanied by keeper, Will Gillimore (36), doubled the score and Peter Murrell (32) helped Preston on to 223 for 7. With a minimum of a dozen overs left all three results were possible, but at last Wharton snicked McGuigan behind to Tidey for a scintillating 114 with 14 boundaries and 4 sixes at a rate of 121. Reed have struggled to close down matches this season, but Greaves juggled his bowlers astutely so that McGuigan (4-73) and Fynn (3-84) did the job with a little more than 2 overs to go. The skipper, himself, finished with 3-65 as Preston were bowled out for 262. The first timed-match win of [...]

By |2022-07-10T07:39:06+01:00July 10th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Reed win despite Wharton’s ton!
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Shenley have a sting in their tail

A stunning stand of 70 at more than a run a ball by Shenley Village's ninth wicket pair a la Bairstow/Stokes stole the match from Reed after they looked set for their first win in four. Reed set off well with Sam Osborne moving confidently to 18 until Aussie Nissen made one leap on him and the keeper snaffled the chance. There was a repeat perfomance against Max Sanderson which the umpire adjudged to be out too. After a 57 run partnership between Will Heslam (34) and Zac McGuigan (37) Reed were going well at 90 for 2, but 4 quick wickets left them in trouble. However, Bertie Scott (20), Karl Ward (16) and, chiefly, skipper for the day Sean Tidey, with a sublime 48 steered them to 218 all out. Northants batter, Charlie Thurston, tucked into Reed's pace attack with a string of boundaries, but he carelessly lofted McGuigan to Sam Osborne at cover and when keeper, Kallum Ward, pouched a chance off McGuigan, Shenley were on the back foot. At tea though, they had rebuilt to 100 for 3. On the resumption, Toby Fynn took over, taking 4 for 60 from 19 consecutive overs with more help from Ward and Osborne in the field. 122 for 7 seemed to indicate a Reed victory, but even another Ward/McGuigan wicket couldn't halt the onslaught of Vekaria (29) and Shafiq (42) for the ninth wicket. They smashed 11 boundaries and one maximum offering just two difficult chances with no bowler immune from the barrage. Consequently, Shenley won by 2 wickets. An exciting contest then, which fluctuated abruptly from one side to the other. Unfortunately, Reed were left with just bonus points at the end. Match Report [...]

By |2022-07-04T06:48:40+01:00July 4th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Shenley have a sting in their tail
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Absent, Injured and Out

With 17 players from the First and Second XIs either unavailable or injured, clearly both sides were on a hiding to nothing. Reed Firsts even included two injured quick bowlers to make up numbers! Their opponents duly obliged as Broxbourne recorded two century stands, George Davies leading both with 143 not out , well supported by Niles Robinson (68) and Darcy Murphy (32 not out). Toby Fynn and Matt Giblin both claimed a couple of wickets, but Broxbourne racked up an impressive 290 for 5 declared. To make matters much worse, Reed slumped to 11 for 5 against the pace of Connor Ridley and Murphy, the former finishing with 4 for 32. Thankfully Matt Sampson (61) and Stuart Smith (29) survived to compile their own century stand, giving the score some semblance of respectability. However, their departure wasn't the end as the last 3 wickets added 64, mainly through Sean Tidey (18) and Toby Fynn (27), plus a penalty 5 runs for a helmet infringement! Aussie Murphy had the final say though, his pace accounting for 3 of the last 4 wickets to fall. Let's hope more players are available for the trip to Shenley Village next week as we reach the halfway mark in the season. Match Report submitted by Peter Wholley.

By |2022-06-27T06:40:49+01:00June 27th, 2022|Categories: 2022, 2022 Match Report, Match Reports|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Absent, Injured and Out
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