Reed got back to winning ways and maintained their position one off the leaders in the Herts Div 2 with a one wicket victory over Ickleford. Reed won the toss and elected to have a bowl, but found early wickets hard to come by. Millwood and Edwards put on 79 for the first wicket before the introduction of Chris Peckett saw the break through. Peckett (3-43) and Tom Greaves (5-40) bowled superbly in tandem, which saw the pair pick up three and five wickets respectively. Ickleford's innings limped along past the 150 mark thanks to some hard hitting from Mason, but it was the reintroduction of Lee Johnson which finished off the tail, leaving Reed to chase 177 to win the game.In reply, Reed started well with both Heslam and Greaves looking in fine form. Greaves was adjudged LBW with the score on 36, which gave Ickleford the impetus to attack and pile the pressure on the Reed batsman. Chris Jackson joined Heslam at the crease and between them they settled the ship, before Heslam was bowled by excellent delivery from Robinson (3-75) for 29. Reed's middle order then managed to hit the fielder on three occasions which saw a mini collapse, however Jackson and Ed Garratt batted well under pressure to move the game firmly into Reed's hands. The partnership was finally broken when Marsden (5-71) sneaked the ball past Jackson's defences with the score on 148, with Jackson making an important 54. Ed Garratt (44*) then took charge of proceedings, wining the game with a maximum to see Reed home, despite losing a couple of late wickets.

Reed side, weakened by injuries played host to third placed Hemel Hempstead on a warm but breezy day at the Green. Stand-in skipper Lee Johnson won the toss and didn't hesitate to elect to bat, on a wicket that looked dry and hard. Mckecknie and Greaves opened up for Reed, to the unusual combination of Hemel's attack of seam and spin. Both batsman started relatively slowly to some tight bowling, but soon played themselves in to provide Reed a very good starting block to build on. Mckecknie (40) was first to depart, caught and bowled having put on 121 for the opening wicket. Chris Jackson joined Greaves to the crease, and between them they continued to move the ball nicely around the park. Looking to dominate the bowling of Canham, Greaves was out 10 runs short of his century, stumped for an excellent 90. With the score at 142-2, Hemel thought they were back in the game, however a quickfire 36 from Karl Ward continued Reed's momentum before he was caught out in the deep looking to go big. It was then down to Jackson and Roddi Liebenberg, making his first team debut, to continue the home side's domination. Liebenberg (22) was unfortunate to be out on the last ball of the innings with Reed posting 250 on the board for the loss of 4 wickets. Jackson finished unbeaten on 53 not out. In reply, Reed got off to the best possible start, with Johnson bowling Hemel's skipper with the score on just 5. Jack Tidey, taking the new ball was unlucky in his opening spell, having beating the bat on a number of occasions. However, Jack was eventually rewarded when Berry nicked one to [...]

Reed continued their promotion push with a convincing 8 wicket win over Welwyn Garden City on Saturday. Having won the toss and electing to bat, Welwyn had no answer for the pace and accuracy of Lee Johnson. Johnson (5-47) picked up the early wicket of Russel in his first over and continued to cause problems for the Welwyn batsman throughout an excellent 14 over spell. Ably assisted by Jack Tidey and Chris Peckett, Reed cornered Welwyn to 60-8. However, a stubborn rear guard partnership between Lynch and Taylor, and latterly Bridgewater put some respectability on Welwyn's total. The tail enders pushed the score onto 126 before Tom Greaves (2-15) finally got the better of Lynch, luring him into a big shot after having batted so patiently in a much need innings of 36. Welwyn being bowled out for 126 in 48.1 overs. Chasing 127 to win, Reed wasted no time in stamping their authority further on the game, which saw openers Heslam and Greaves batting positively before Heslam snicked one to the keeper with the score on 34. Chris Jackson (25*) joined Tom Greaves at the crease and the pair continued the momentum, scoring freely and at relative ease. Greaves (39) was particularly brutal in dispatching the bad ball, playing a classy innings before he too fell to the useful Stainsby. In the absence of Liam McKechnie, Stuart Smith took the opportunity to cement his place at number four with a fine innings to see Reed home in the 16th over. Smith (45*) arrived at the crease at a difficult time, and having played back the first five deliveries he then scored a devastating 45 in his next 14 deliveries, which included 2 sixes and [...]

Reed narrowly missed out on promotion on the final game of the season despite an exciting run chase against Dunstable. Requiring a win, along with fellow challengers Cockfosters to slip up, Reed always knew the odds were against them but gallantly chased the unknown only to fall short at the final hurdle.Requiring to chase the game, Reed took to the field looking to restrict Dunstable to a gettable target. However, on a flat track the Dunstable batsman were rarely challenged by the Reed bowlers and moved the ball around with relative ease. Wickets were slow in coming, but it was the introduction of Tom Greaves (6-84) who peppered away at the Dunstable batsman in a marathon spell of spin bowling. Runs were too easy to come by, contributed by some solid batting and some uncharacteristically loose bowling, which saw Dunstable amass 238 all out in their 53 overs. Reed only had one game plan, and this was symbolised by the approach Heslam and Mckechnie took in the opening 11 overs, amassing 83 until Mckechnie was unfortunate to be runout for 28. Heslam was joined by Chris Jackson (75) and the pair chipped away at the total as the slow bowlers set themselves in for the afternoon. Heslam, topping off an excellent season with the bat achieved his half century before snicking one to the keeper for 53. Reed lost Greaves without troubling the scorers, and this saw the game quickly turn in the favour of Dunstable. Jack Tidey (18), pushed up the order after his recent fine form, assisted Jackson well before also snicking one behind. Two more quick wickets saw Reed reduced to 6 wickets requiring 69 off the last ten overs. Jackson was [...]

Reed travelled to newly promoted County Hall on Saturday looking to emulate their recent good form. Arriving at the ground to the unfamiliar sight of a green damp wicket, the bowlers were licking their lips, only for the batsman to be latterly licking their wounds. With the forecast set to be sunny, it was inevitable that the pitch would dry out as the day goes on so it was a toss that Reed skipper James Heslam was eager to win. However, having lost the toss and predictably inserted into bat, the Reed batsman struggled to score freely against the ball darting and lifting around off the pitch. The County Hall openers both bowled a marathon spell of good line and length and made batting difficult and slow. Mckechnie was first to go, trying to cut a ball that lifted on him, caught in the gully. This bought Chris Jackson to the crease, who along with Greaves tried to buy time and see off the new ball, before Greaves was caught at mid-on for 20. At 44-2 and the wicket making life difficult for the Reed batsman, Stuart Smith and Jackson carefully mixed patient batting with some lustier blows. When Smith was out with the score on 98, the game was in the balance. However, Jackson and Ward pushed forward, with the latter punishing anything slightly short of a length in a fine inning of 48. Jackson was eventually out, caught within the ropes of the boundary for a well built 58. Reed's middle order manoeuvred the game into commanding position, helped by some tired bowling but some nice stroke play from the likes of Heslam and Liebenberg. Reed declared in the final over for 218-9, [...]

On Saturday Reed 1XI returned from St Margretsbury with another good point scoring draw. After electing to bat Reed set off impressively with Liam Mcechnie (36) and James Heslam (97) putting on 84 for the first wicket. Karl Ward batting at 3 replacing the injured Chris Jackson joined Heslam and batted sensibly as the pair took the score up to 171-2 before Ward fell for a well made 31. Reed then collapsed to 175-5 and it took a mature and exciting innings by 17 year old wicket keeper batsman Sean Tidey of 34* to see Reed to what looked a good score of 222-9 in 53 overs. This looked an even better score when Lee Johnson (3-47) who produced an excellent opening spell removed the dangerous Simon Tilbury for 23 after Reed had frustrated him well. Graham Wilson (1-46) also bowled tightly putting the home side under pressure. Reed were then well in control of the game but unfortunately failed to take the regular wickets required to force the victory largely thanks to a very impressive 111 not out by Brown. A few chances went down which could have made the difference as St Margretsbury never looked like collapsing to defeat but defiantly rallied to 201-6 after their 47 overs.St Margaretsbury Score Card

Reed made light work of Watford Town on a rain soaked day at the Green, taking them to 3rd place in Herts Division 2. Watford won the toss and and made the bold decision to bat, on a wicket that had been covered from the overnight and morning rain but had a hint of green to it. Lee Johnson and Jack Tidey opened up and made great use of the new ball and the moisture in the wicket. Jack in particular bowled an excellent spell of bowling, creating plenty of movement, bounce and pace. It was Tidey who looked the most dangerous and claimed the first scalp, having Konx neatly caught at slip. At the other end, Sen was punishing another full and took Watford to 63-1. Skipper Heslam made the quick decision to introduce Tom Greaves to the attack and Reed were soon rewarded. Tom bowled with good flight and guile throughout his marathon spell, finishing with fine figures of 4-47. After a long rain break and an early tea, Jack Tidey returned to finish off the Watford tail, finishing with figures of 3-43 with Watford ending on 163.With the dark clouds looming all around, Reed altered their batting order and the name of the game was to knock off the runs before the rain put halt to the game. Heslam and Greaves opened up for Reed and quickly made their intentions clear. Reed reached 100 in just 11 overs before the rain came down and covers went on. Anticipating more rain, when Heslam and Greaves returned back to the crease they continued where they left off. Greaves was however first to go, caught in the deep for a majestic innings of classy strokeplay [...]