Reed IIIs maintained their winning start to the season at home to Old Albanians IIIs on Saturday. Playing their first game on their newly acquired home ground at Freeman College, Reed captain Matt Bowles lost the toss and his side were asked to field. Opening bowlers Kallum Ward and Julian Fynn bowled excellently for little reward in the opening exchanges, on what was turning out to be an excellent track to bat on. The visitors made steady progress and found themselves without loss on 66 after 22 Overs. The introduction of the returning Jim Allsopp and the wily Richard Robertson soon turned the game in Reed’s favour however, as Allsopp uprooted an off stump, before Maseeh Naeem held on to a good catch to leave Albanians 70-2. Robertson then got in on the act, as his patient and cunning spell of swing bowling proved too much for the ailing batsmen, Robertson eventually ending up with 3 wickets. Kallum Ward also returned to the act with some style, as the promising youngster bowled a brilliantly accurate and pacey spell of seam bowling, taking 4 wickets, including 3 in 7 balls. Julian Fynn then returned to deservedly wrap up the tail. Old Albanians finally all out for just 123. In reply, youngster William Heslam picked up where he left off from the week before, where he scored a half-century on debut, by clattering the experienced Albanians attack to all quarters. Heslam played some wonderful shots and finished up on a magnificent 73 Not Out, ably supported by Steve Lovegrove (35 Not Out) as Reed got home for the loss of just one wicket, Peter Baker (9) to secure an impressive 9 wicket victory.

On a bright and sunny afternoon Reed were put in by the Exiles and soon lost Steve Lovegrove for 4. However the Father and Son combination of John and William Heslam set about building a sizeable Reed total. Heslam senior dealt virtually exclusively in boundaries with 8x4's in his 34 before he departed caught with the score at 93. William however carried on with yet another quality innings and achieved his 4th league 50 of the season before being caught for a fine 53. Richard Robertson played a quality and cultured innings of 58 not out and with 25 extras Reed declared early at 215 for 7 after 45 overs. After a delightful tea served in the open air from the Smiths Mobile Home due the pavilion being out of use due to an Art Exhibition the Exiles were never seriously in the hunt as Jim Allsopp 3-17 and Julien Fynn 2-27 kept them under constant pressure from the start. Alex West bowled a good 6 over spell of 2-22 whilst Jason Pallett 1-23 and Richard Robertson 1-23 also took a wicket apiece. Reduced to 10 men by an unfortunate injury in the field the Exiles totalled 116 all out leaving Reed clear and deserving victors by 99 runs.

On another hot and sunny day at Freman College the visitors batted first on the hard fast and true wicket but were well contained by the tight Reed bowling of Julian Fynn 8 Overs 1-10 and Karl Ward 8 Overs 2-17. Tunnell 40 was the mainstay of the North Mymms innings supported by Bevans 21 and Rodgers 21. However Richard Robertson 4-21, aided by fine Reed catching (Will Heslam x2) and good ground fielding kept significant pressure on the visitors who eventually subsided to 136 all out with one ball of their maximum 47 overs remaining. After a sumptious tea the father and son combination of 57 year old John and 14 year old William Heslam set about the North Mymms total. Regular boundaries flowed from the bats of both batsmen and JQH defied his broken finger injury with 13x4's and 1x6 in his 67 not out. William again batted majestically scoring his 3rd half century (also add a 47!) in 5 appearances in the league this season. He scored an unbeaten 65 as the pair knocked of the total in imperious fashion in only 23.4 overs leaving Reed easy 10 wicket winners with 19.2 overs to spare.

Reed IIIs got their league season off to a flying start when they travelled to Letchworth V on Saturday.Captain Matt Bowles lost the toss and his team were asked to bat on a lively looking track, and lively it proved to be as variable bounce from the outset meant the Reed batsmen had to be watchful and wise in their shot selection. Openers Aidan Swain (29) and 14 year old William Heslam batted beautifully against the new ball, mixing good judgement with some excellent shot making to put on an opening stand of 88, before Swain was bowled.  Heslam (53) was not to be stopped however, and played some magnificent strokes on his way to a half century, outlining his promise as a batsman, an impressive feat given the difficult wicket. Reed’s batsmen continued to build good partnerships, with contributions from all who batted. Peter Baker (12) and Masseh Naeem put on nearly 50 together, and then skipper Bowles (43) and young keeper/batsman Sean Tidey (18) plundered a brutal 50 run partnership. Some lusty late blows from Richard Robertson (14 Not Out) and promising young all-rounder Kallum Ward (21 Not Out) then took Reeds score to 256-6 when Bowles declared the innings. A hugely impressive effort on what was a challenging pitch to bat on. In reply, Letchworth had no real answer to the strong Reed bowling attack, as Kallum Ward ((11-4-18-2) had opposing captain Gillham caught behind by keeper Sean Tidey in the 2nd Over after a peach of a ball that took the outside edge. The impressive Tidey then took a brilliant catch off of Rupert Martin (11-4-26-3) to reduce the visitors to 30-2. Martin then followed this up by dislodging the off stump of [...]

Reed III impressive start to the season was halted on Saturday after going down to a 3 wicket defeat to Knebworth Park V. Skipper Matt Bowles lost the toss and his side were asked to bat on what looked a very green and lively pitch. The in form William Heslam opened up with father John, and despite the excessive bounce the young Heslam looked in imperious form as he combined some excellent back foot shots with sensible leaves and a solid defence. The pair took the score to 20 before John Heslam was bowled by Mantle after attempting a drive. This brought about a collapse, as the Reed top order struggled to cope with the excessive bounce of the pitch. Paul and George Garrott both came and went to the impressive Mantle in quick succession, and they were followed by William Heslam (17), who was caught superbly off of the bowling of Johnson. This left Reed in a perilous position at 24-4, with skipper Bowles and Richard Robertson now at the crease. The pair batted sensibly, protecting their wickets well and steering Reed away from a disastrous score. Bowles (31) was looking set for a long stay in the middle, but then fell foul of the pitch as a ball kept low and beat his defences. Two more wickets fell as Kallum Ward and Graham Hazard went cheaply to leave the visitors staring down the barrel once more, but the combination of sensible and stylish batting from Robertson (34) and the brutal Jim Allsopp (19) lifted Reed into the batting points. However, Mantle’s 5 wickets and the cleaning up of the Reed tail meant the final score for the innings was a lowly 136. Knebworth [...]

Reed won the toss and batted and got off to a fair start on a good batting wicket with a short boundary on one side and sizeable one on the other. After 5 overs they lost William Heslam unluckily caught with the ball lodging in a hapless slip fielders crutch for 19 with the score at 23. John Heslam 25 and No3 Mitchell Cooper took the score to 55 off 15 overs before Heslam Sr lost patience and was bowled seeking to force the pace against a nagging and accurate Hertford attack. Maseeh Naeem improved Reeds run rate and struck a rapid 31 before holing out in the deep to an awaiting fielder and was replaced by Richard Robertson who also played a positive innings of 23. Mitchell Cooper meanwhile continued to make staedy progresss towards a half century which he duly completed eventually totalling 62 studiously compiled over a 37 over stay at the crease. Reed needed to take their score to at least 200 and beyond and just managed 204 - 9 with Ben Bowles contributing 12 and Alex West striking 2 good blows in 11 not out. Reed got off to a good start in the field with Julian Fynn swinging the ball prodigiously and Andrew wholley bowling with pace. A wicket for each of them saw Hertford slump to 23 - 2 but when Wholley pulled up with a hamstring injury in his 6th and was unable to continue that was as good as it got for Reed. Hertfords Anderson demonstrated a very positive intent and was well supported by Jones. Fynns 7 over spell yielded 1-20 but thereafter Mitchell Cooper, Alex West, ben Bowles and Richard Robertson made no impression [...]

A youthful Reed IIIs went down to a heavy defeat at home to Hertingfordbury IIs on Saturday. On a blissful afternoon at Freeman; Reed skipper Matt Bowles, on his return from a month out with a knee injury, won the toss and elected to put the visitors into bat. The decision proved to be a costly one, as Reed’s bowlers toiled in the hot sun, as the visiting batsman built a solid and steady total of 238-6 from their 47 Overs. The probing bowling of Jim Allsopp being the only real highlight for Reed, as they gave the opposition too many runs in extras and leaked too many singles. Reeds reply got off to a faltering start as leading run scorer Will Heslam departed early. However a solid partnership from John Heslam, who fell just short of his half century, and Alan Ward (27) did threaten to drag Reed into contention. However when both fell, along with a spectacular middle and late order collapse which yielded four ducks, the game was beyond Reed. Some good blows from debutant 14 year old Ollie Benham (16) and some late boundaries from Julien Fynn and skipper Bowles did drag Reed into the batting points, but it was too little too late as Reed were all out for 138, losing by 100 runs.