A good all round performance by Reed resulted in a much needed win at home to the Exiles. The Exiles Skipper won the toss and much too the home teams surprise chose to bat first. The Reed opening attack of Julian Fynn (8-3-0-16) and Karl Ward (13-3-2-37) bowled tightly keeping the run rate to just over 2 an over. Ward removed the Exiles skipper very early in the innings, having him caught behind for 6. The Exiles batsman struggled to score runs and after 16 overs had limped to 42 for 1. A change of bowling saw wickets start to fall; Jason Archer bowled a spell of 12 overs taking 2 for 29, but it was Ian Roberts who cut through the Exiles middle order, taking 4 for 36 of his 11 overs. Richard Robertson (3-0-2-10) came on a cleared up the tail. Exiles finished on 144 all out after their 47 overs, helped by the umpires liberal interpretation of Cricketing Laws, especially the LBW rules. 144 runs was never going to be enough, with the two opening Reed batsman in good run scoring form. Matt Bowles and Fergus Martin set about the Exiles bowling, Martin (84n.o) batting with some confidence reached his 50 first hitting 13 boundaries. Bowles not at his fluent best was still too good for the bowlers, and finished on 55n.o. Reed reached their target of 145 runs in the 29th over, a comprehensive 10 wicket win and 30 points.

Momentum is vital at this stage of the season and Reed IIIs travelled to Henlow to face Letchworth Saturday with plenty and an abundance of confidence. After winning the toss skipper Naeem backed both his bowlers and batsmen by asking the hosts to bat on a sweltering day on what appeared to be a good looking wicket and an obviously fast outfield. Taking the new ball opening pair of Karl Ward and Rupert Martin bowled with determination and no little skill, Martin picking up 3 of the top 4 again with his inswingers. Although runs did come freely for remaining opener Young. The introduction of Archer who has found a yard of pace in recent weeks slowed down the run rate, as he kept the batsmen on a very tight leash. Bowling was hard work but with Fynn now introduced to the hunt batting was seemingly harder and Reed continued to peg back some good Letchworth batting. Only some inexplicably dropped catches by Matt Bowles in slips and midwicket dampened the spirits although youngster Cemal fielded superbly and compensated by saving several possible boundaries. Wickets fell to Archer batsmen 5 and 6 both cleaned bowled as Archer extracted movement from the air and the pitch.Letchworth were feeling the pressure of Reed's vice like grip and Heath and More both succumbed to run outs, in an attempt to push the score along. Eventually Young removed some of the shackles ruining the returning Martin's figures with some lusty blows and riding his luck against Archer, but Letchworth's 167-7 was never going to be enough, Young finished on 119 not out with only one other batsman finishing with a double figure score. Solid opener Ben Bowles opened the attack with his [...]

A comfortable home win for the thirds saw them gain promotion to Division 10 with one league game in hand. Reed Skipper Naeem won the toss and put the visitors in on a damp track, and the Reed opening attack of Rupert Martin and Jason Archer went to work removing the two opening bats in double quick time, Archer bowling his first victim with his first ball. The eccentric Nithya batting at 3 for Knebworth and Inman in at 4 put up a little resistance before Archer bowled Nithya (18) through his legs and had Inman (13) adjudged LBW. Martin also was in the wickets and there was a regular procession of dejected batsman trudging back to the changing rooms. Archer took his second 5 wicket haul in as many weeks, leaving the visitors on 53 with one wicket in hand. Guy Johnson batting at 10 decided to go for broke, swinging at everything that came within his arc in an effort to post a respectable score. Not pretty but very effective, the ball started to fly to the boundary at regular intervals requiring Reed to set a more defensive field. The tiring Martin was replaced by Julian Flynn and it was Fynn who claimed the wicket of Johnson (33) to bring the Knebworth innings to a close. It has to be said, the catch at gully by Archer to remove Johnson was outstanding; the ball, hit with some venom, appeared to be over Archers head and on the way to the boundary, when he leapt up and plucked it single handed out of the air. Martin finished with 4 - 37 -17, Archer 5 – 52 – 17 and Fynn 1 – 2 -0.5. [...]

Reed 3rd XI maintained their excellent run of form as they swept aside previously high flying Hertford 4s at home on Saturday, and in doing so propelled themselves to within 1 point of the promotion spots. Having won the toss, visiting skipper Carr had no hesitation in batting first on what has proven to be a usually high run scoring Freman College. However, this decision soon backfired as Reed opening bowlers Rupert Martin (8-1-31-5) and Karl Ward (10-2-31-2) soon had Hertford in a whole heap of trouble, with the visitors reeling on 10-4 inside the opening 5 Overs. Ward bowled an excellent line and length, whilst Martin got the ball to swing more than a middle aged German couple, and in doing so, taking his first 5-wicket haul of the 2010 season. Change bowlers Julien Fynn (5.1-0-17-1) and the ageing Jason Archer (4-3-4-2) then picked up where Martin and Ward left off, taking the last 3 wickets to leave Hertford shell shocked, all out for 86 in 27.1 Overs. Reed skipper Maseeh Naeem reunited brothers Matt and Ben Bowles at the top of the order, with both batsmen in good form of late. The pair made light work of the Hertford bowling attack, as Ben Bowles (33) punished anything short and wide, with 3 or 4 domineering shots through the covers, and Matt Bowles (43 Not Out) stylishly dispatching the ever more frustrated visitors to all parts. Ben Bowles eventually fell, bowled by Lait with only 26 left needed to win, but Ian Fulk (2 Not Out) joined Matt Bowles as he saw Reed home inside 15 Overs, and by 15:10.

Not a lot can be said about this win away to Hemel Hempstead V. Having won the toss Reed Skipper Maseeh Naeem put the home side in. Hemel, who are propping up division 11, were blown away by the opening pair of Karl Ward and Rupert Martin. The two bowlers made good use of the prevailing conditions and had the hosts on 22 for nine, with Martin taking 4 – 14 in 9 overs and Man of the Match, Ward, finishing on 5 – 15 off of his nine over spell. The heavens then opened up and it seemed that the home side would be saved from a crushing defeat by the rain but after an hour’s delay the game resumed. The last pair of bats decided to make a fight of it and managed to put on 29 more runs before Jason Archer (6.1-0-9-1) finally ended their resistance. The home side 51 all out. The bowlers were well supported by the fielders, with 7 catches taken, Ben Bowles taking 3 of them.With the likelihood of more rain, Naeem wanted to reach the target of 52 as quickly as possible. Ian Fulk (22 n.o) and Roddi Liebenberg were the opening Reed batsman. The Hemel bowlers had no counter to Liebenberg as he bludgeoned the bowl to the boundary for a swift 22 before being bowled with one that stayed low. Fulk was joined in the middle by Richard Johnson (5 n.o) and the pair saw Reed home in 5.5 overs, and a 9 wicket win. The win and 30 points saw Reed leapfrog Frogmore and go into second place. With four games left the Thirds are in with a good chance of promotion.

The seven wicket victory over promotion rivals Hatfield Crusaders II was based on effective and disciplined bowling by the quartet of Reed bowlers used on Saturday. The loss of Rupert Martin, promoted to the 2nd eleven, would have been a setback for many teams but with the strength in depth the thirds have, the Thirds Skipper Naeem had no reservations that his remaining bowlers would do the job, this proved to be the case. After winning the toss the visitors decided to bat. Karl ward and Julian Fynn opened the bowling and made life very difficult for the opening batsman, Fynn bowling an exceptional 15 over spell for a miserly 33 runs. Just as the Crusaders Captain Anil (35) appeared to be getting to grips with the bowling Ward had him caught at mid off attempting a drive. The introduction of the wily Jason Archer to the attack was the catalyst to the collapse of the Crusaders batting. Abbas batting at 5 was an exception, making defiant 60. This was 55 runs more then he should have got, as he survived a plumb, hitting the back leg on the full in front of all three stumps, LBW shout off the bowling of Archer. To make matters worse he also managed to be dropped 3 times on the way to his 60. Archer finished his 15 over spell with 4 for 50, Ward had figures of 1 for 50 off his 11 overs. The fourth Reed bowler used was 15 year old Lewis Fitzgerald, who took 2 for 36 of off his 6 overs, clean bowling two of the Crusaders batsman including the top scorer Abbas. The visitors finished on 171 for 9 of the allotted [...]

Reed maintained a strong hold on third spot in the division with an emphatic win against Flamstead II last Saturday. With Maseeh Naeem losing the toss Flamstead II's chose to bat which, given the nature of the wicket, was just as well. Rupert Martin and Karl Ward opened the bowling and were soon amongst the opposition with a wicket a piece as Flamstead slumped to 9-2 - two well executed catches; one for Julian Fynn and one from specialist slip fielder Ian Fulk. One further wicket a piece for the openers reduced the opposition to 34-4 before Flamstead staged a mini recovery. The ever dependent Jason Archer was then introduced as D. Watson began to look to significantly increase the Flamstead run total. Promptly clean bowled by Archer's third delivery the writing was on the wall at 60 for 6. With Martin (11-4-44-3) and Ward (11-2-28-3)adding to their wicket totals it was Archer who cleaned up the tail to finish with Man of the Match figures of 4.5-1-10-4. Julian Fynn (5-2-6-0) was the only other bowler used as Flamstead set Reed 98 runs to win. The opening partnership of Ben Bowles and Richard Barlow saw Reed off to a steady start before Bowles played onto his stumps in the fifth over (10-1). Ian Fulk coming in at no. 3 started well and it looked as if no further batsmen would be required until Barlow also played onto his own wicket. Fergus Martin joined Fulk in the middle with both players setting about the opposition bowling with some superb shots. Ian Fulk (35 not out) and Fergus Martin (32 not out) saw Reed home in the 27th over by an 8 wicket margin. Reed now look [...]

Always a tricky team to play, Frogmore again proved to be a thorn in Reed’s side. With both teams unbeaten in the league it turned out to be a hard fought encounter. Reed won the toss and with a strong batting line up, decided that it would be easier to chase down a score and asked Frogmore to bat first. Frogmore’s opening pair were made to work for their runs struggling against the accurate bowling of Julian Fynn, who beat the bat on numerous occasions. James Hooper was first to strike in the 5th over, bowling Chapman for 12 before he could get into his stride. Fynn’s opening spell was exceptional; how he managed to be wicket less in his opening spell of 8 overs 3 maidens for 12 runs will remain a mystery. As always the introduction of Richard Robertson (9-2-3-32) to the attack resulted in wickets going down at regular intervals, Karl ward (10-2-1-29) and Christian Martin (4-0-2-15) gave valuable support. Where Reed let themselves down, was in the field with three catches going to ground. A spirited rearguard action by The Frogmore skipper Albon (32) and Bradford (45 n.o) allowed Frogmore to reach 188 for 8 after their 47 overs. 40 runs more than they should have been allowed. The third new opening partnership in three weeks saw Matt Bowles and Fergus Martin start the run chase for Reed. After 6 months away doing charity work in Africa, Martin was unhurried and rarely looked troubled. Bowles on the other hand looked to attack the Frogmore bowlers punishing any loose delivery. They kept the score ticking over and after 16 over’s Reed were 60 without loss only just behind the required rate. After [...]

The all round heroics of Julian Fynn was still not enough to save Reed III from a second successive defeat. Reed losing by 4 wickets to the Cheshunt II in another close run game. Maseeh Naeem the Reed captain won the toss and elected to bat. The Reed openers, John Heslam and Matt Bowles, found the boundary at regular intervals and kept the score board ticking over. Bowles rode his luck, being dropped on more than one occasion, Heslam (16) was not as fortunate, the only chance he gave was taken with the score on 31. Bowles was joined in the middle by Fynn and the pair put on an 80 run partnership before Bowles was finally out for 58 which included 11 boundaries. Although Reed lost wickets at regular intervals the Reed batsman managed to punish any loose bowling and keep a healthy run rate. Fynn made a well deserved 64, to go with his 41 not out from last week. Naeem decided 240 was a challenging target for the visitors and declared the Reed innings with the score on 240 for 8 after 41 overs. Naeem finished on 40 not out. The declaration gave Reed 49 overs to bowl the visitors out. With Fynn doing just as well with the ball as he had with the bat a Reed win looked a distinct possibility. After 15 overs, Cheshunt were 61 for 4, Fynn taking all 4 wickets. However Gough (105 n.o) & Moss (33) batted stubbornly in the middle order, putting on 151 for the 5th wicket. All six bowlers used by Reed worked hard to win the game with little success, Fynn stood out with figures of 20.5 – 4 – 5 [...]

In another exciting encounter at Freman College both teams ended with equal points. After winning the toss, Reed skipper Maseeh Naeem had no hesitation in electing to bat. John Heslam and Matt Bowles opened the batting for Reed, but in the 3rd over with the score on 7, Heslam edged the ball to slip and was out for a duck. Fergus Martin joined Bowles and the pair put on 83 runs for the third wicket. Bowles was again in excellent form and achieved a second consecutive half century, before being caught on 54. There was mild panic when Reed lost three middle order wickets cheaply. Fergus Martin stood firm at one end before he, un-characteristically, waltzed down the wicket to a spinner and was stumped for 66. The Reed tail did wag, with two Reed veterans Richard Robertson (15) and Ian Roberts (29n.o) making important contributions to the Reed total. Reed ended their innings on 224 for 9 off their 47 over. Botany Bay wasted no time in their attempt to chase down the total. With Julian Fynn(7-0-1-26) having a rare off day and the returning Rupert Martin (5-0-1-50) rusty from his world travels the Reed opening pair was were finding it difficult find any consistency. It was only when Ian Roberts (11-2-2-45) and Richard Robertson (13-3-2-35) were introduced that Reed stemmed the visitors run rate. Roberts removed the Botany Bay number 3, Wright who had reached his half century in double quick time. With these two bowling in tandem wickets started to fall and the required run rate increased. Christian Martin (3-0-0-4) gave valuable support and allowed Reed to bring on spinners Rupert Martin (2-0-1-10) and Matt Bowles (2-0-1-6) in a bid to buy [...]