Reed hosted Hatfield in the North Herts League Division 1 on Sunday, and managed to beat the wet weather to record a 4 wicket victory.Reed captain Marcus Martin won the toss and invited the visitors to bat first on a slightly damp but good looking track. Hatfield’s opening pair of B. Golder (47) and Shah (14) got them off to a flying start with 32 runs coming off of the opening 3 Overs, helped by some ill disciplined fielding by Reed. However Lee Johnson’s (6-1-21-1) pace was to prove too much for Shah, as he edged behind to Willoughby in the 5th Over. Rupert Martin (8-3-22-2) then got in on the act, taking 2 wickets in 2 balls to remove Waterman (1) and Wynne for a first ball duck. Joe Curk also bowled well, and took with wicket of Whitehead (8) to finish with figures of (6-1-21-1). However, some good batting by R. Golder (35) and some wayward bowling from Marcus Martin and Phil Frenay allowed Hatfield off of the hook. It was left to Reed’s spin twins, Jason Pallett and Will Dobson, to help remove the remaining Hatfield batsmen. Dobson (6-1-20-1) struck first to remove the dangerous B. Golder after a stunning, if slightly bizarre catch from keeper Robert Willoughby. This signalled the beginning of the Jason Pallett show, as he ripped into the middle order by bowling T. Jakes, and having R. Golder caught by Smith. Marcus Martin then took a good catch in the deep to remove A. Jakes, before Matt Bowles stunned the crowd with a  breath taking diving catch to give Pallett his 4th wicket and removing Biggley. Pallett then completed his first ever 5 wicket hall by bowling D. [...]

Reed bounced back from their Saturday disappointment in great style to win their National Village Cup Area Final at Eversholt by Five wickets. Batting first Eversholt kept up a good run rate despite losing two early wickets to Richard Johnson 1 For 37 and the evergreen Peter Tidey 1 for 29. A 91 partnership between Muzawazi and Litchfield upped the rate and at 177 for 3 the hosts looked good for a score in excess of 250. However, Chris Jackson with his leg spin took 3 for 55 and the cunning medium pace of Jason Archer 1 for 44, stopped the free hitting and held Eversholt to 230 for 9 in their 40 overs. Reed set off like an express train in pursuit of their target. A cameo 28 from Michael Curtis led things off but Captain James Heslam with an 83 ball 96 led the visitors home. Chris Jackson 31, Phil Frenay 21 and an unbeaten 23 from Tom Fulk saw Reed Home with 13 balls to spare. They now meet the winners of the Bucks Area Final in the next round.    

Reed remain unbeaten in the North Herts League Division 1 after comprehensively beating the table topping Crawley Green Nomads at The Green on Sunday.In glorious sunshine, Reed captain Marcus Martin won the toss and chose to bat on a typically good Reed wicket. Opening pair Richard Johnson and Matt Bowles did well to negotiate the Opening 10 Overs, bowled well by A. Jethwa and M. Jethwa, as they took the score to 33 before Bowles was bowled by Reed for 4. Johnson was then joined by Joe Curk, and the pair set about upping the scoring rate and setting a good total. Curk (47) soon got into the groove, as he plundered two 4s and five 6s before G. Hull had him caught in the deep. Johnson remained composed however, and played some classy shots as he passed 50, ably supported by Phil Frenay. Frenay looked in good nick as he began to find the boundary too regularly for the visitors liking. Johnson eventually went in the 37th Over for a superb 64, but Frenay remained not out on 44, helped by some very handy late runs from Fergus Martin (3) and the big hitting Graham Hazard (11 Not Out). Reed finishing on a good 216-4 off of their allotted 40 Overs.After Richard Johnson’s superb showing with the bat, it was left to another Johnson to star with the ball. Lee Johnson ripped through the hapless Crawley Green batsmen with a spell of vicious and accurate pace bowling. Johnson ended up with figures of 7-1-21-6, and of those 6 wickets, 5 were clean bowled. Marcus Martin (6-1-27-2) also bowled well as he took two wickets, including the dangerous A. Jethwa (32). The final two wickets [...]

Reed hosted Breachwood Green in the North Herts League division 1 on Sunday, looking for a winning start to their season having had their first scheduled league game rained off at Hatfield two weeks ago. In glorious sunshine and with a good looking track at ‘The Green‘, Reed captain Marcus Martin had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss. Openers Tom Fulk and Joe Curk then set about posting a good total for the home side. Fulk (9) got off to a quick start, hitting two boundaries off of paceman Yassar, before he was removed by Gibbons after a stunning gully catch. Reed then lost Stuart Smith soon after for a duck, leaving them at 19-2 after 5 Overs. Curk was then joined by Martin in the middle, and the pair began to build Reed’s total. Curk was looking in particularly good nick, as he advanced into the twenties and thirties. A partnership of 42 followed, before Martin was caught and bowled by slow bowler Merchant for 9. This brought the in form Richard Johnson to the crease, and along with Curk, Johnson helped to steady the Reed ship and eventually increase the Reed total. Curk was beginning to find the boundary with alarming ease, and played some sumptuous shots as he reached 50, supported ably by Johnson. The runs kept flowing for Reed, and Curk punished every bad ball, as well as most good balls as he raced towards his maiden century for Reed, brining up his 3 figures with a huge 6. However, getting to 100 did not stem Curk’s run flow, and even after Johnson departed for a well made 35, Curk continued in his brutal but classy run scoring [...]

Capped by an excellent club victory the previous day in the Herts League, Reed advanced to the final 16 in the country for the National Village Cup, by overcoming Buckinghamshire champions, Bledlow Village, by a massive 178 runs, in what proved to be a destructive afternoon.The Bledlow contingent arrived in numbers early to the Reed ground, but they were soon joined by a pulsating crowd of home supporters of all ages, who cheered on the home team with every run and wicket.  Having lost the toss again, James Heslam was asked to bat, in what proved to probably be the worst decision of the day – Reed advanced to 280 for 6 off their 40 overs, marked by a thumping 45 from Baz Curtis, 99 off James Heslam and 70 from Chris Jackson.A Mould (9-0-57-0) was first to the sword as he was flayed to all parts of the ground by Curtis – 40 of his 45 in boundaries.  James Heslam built a superb momentum on the back of his 64 the previous day as he too pressed the boundaries with some powerful strokes laced with an arrogance of an in-form batsman.  With the score on 77, Chapman (5-0-49-1) bowled Curtis, but this only served to worsen the situation as this brought Chris Jackson to the crease who thumped his first 3 deliveries for boundaries through midwicket and the covers.  With Heslam, he shared a partnership of 126 with some huge boundaries and an enormous six over mid wicket from Chris Jackson.When Heslam fell on 99 to King (7-0-49-1), Phil Frenay (2) tried to maintain some momentum but was run out trying to advance the run rate further.  Richard Johnson (16) and K Ward (20*) [...]

Reed overcame local rivals Baldock in comprehensive fashion in Sundays North Herts League Division 1 game at Avenue Park.On a gloriously hot afternoon, Reed captain Marcus Martin won the toss and elected to bat, a decision that turned out to be a good one as Reed’s batsmen made the Baldock bowling attack toil all afternoon in the hot temperatures. Opening up with Ed Blissett and William Dobson, Reed’s start stuttered as Dobson top edged Mackey’s full toss deep cover in only the second Over to earn himself a duck. However Steve Lovegrove joined the evergreen Blissett in the middle, and the pair set about steadying the Reed ship. Both batsmen played the conditions perfectly, as they took time to get settled at the crease before accelerating the scoring around the 12 Over mark. Lovegrove was aggressive in his punishment of the bad balls, and Blissett played with his usual air of calmness as the score advanced to 88-1 at the 20 Over mark. Blissett survived a controversial caught behind appeal before joining Lovegrove in the pursuit of boundaries. Indeed, there was only 4 balls separating each batsman making their half centuries as Lovegrove (69) and then Blissett (62) took Reed well into 3 figures for the 2nd wicket, which arrived when Bracken found Lovegrove’s off stump. Blissett soon followed, stumped off of the off spin of Diplock.Reed found themselves 152-3 with 14 Overs remaining as the sprightly new pair of Phil Frenay and Matt Bowles came to the middle. Frenay was first to find his feet, soon plundering the Baldock attack to the boundary, soon followed by Bowles. A mixture of good running and plenty of well placed boundary shots allowed the pair to increase [...]

The Sunday 1s travelled to Ampthill for a friendly, which unfortunately ended in a loss but some good performances from two of the club’s younger players.Ampthill batted first, with the Reed openers Michael Robertson (1-35) and Mitch “the Titch” Cooper (2-22) bowling well and keeping the run rate low. Ampthill lost 2 quick wickets with Robertson and Richard Johnson (1-39) picking up one each.  Unfortunately instead of Reed kicking on and taking more wickets, the Ampthill batsmen both went onto make centuries before retiring.  Following this Reed were more successful with their bowling and took five more wickets, with Massey Naeem (3-25) and Cooper both striking.  Even though there were some good bowling performances, including that of J. Pallett, Ampthill went onto make a very competitive total of 265 from their 45 overs.After tea Reed came out to bat with captain Marcus Martin and the club’s new boy Joe Curk.  Unfortunately things didn’t start as well as hoped with Martin getting an unlucky duck.  Curk however, showed some exciting shots to rush to 30, before being caught going for another big shot. Chris Jackson added 10, before Tom Greaves made a superb 60 showing patience and some fantastic shots against an experienced bowling attack. Greaves was supported by Matt Austin (3), Richard Johnson (20) who looked in good form, Rob Willoughby (13), and Naeem (23).  Robertson (13) and Cooper (3 not out) added runs at the end, with Jason Pallett not worrying the scorers by being run out before facing a ball.  In the end Reed only made 192 all out in 41 overs, leaving themselves well short, but did try to make a game of it to the end.  Man of the match was [...]