Reed played host to table toppers Leverstock Green on Saturday and convincingly came away with all 30 points. Having won the toss, James Heslam put the visitors into bat, and with Reed missing opening bowler Tom Walsingham through injury it was up to Lee Johnson and Jack Tidey to make the early breakthroughs. It was the latter who took the first of the Leverstock Green openers clinging on to a good caught and bowled with the score on just 4. The following over the ever reliable Lee Johnson picked up his first of six wickets in a fine spell of pace bowling. Johnson caused concerns all round for Leverstock's batsmen, in particular overseas kingpin Alex King, before forcing a shot which saw the Aussie play-onto his stumps. At 27-3 and with the big run scorer out, Leverstock looked somewhat depleted, and lacking ideas. Coupled with some fine bowling from Johnson (6-36), Tidey (2-26) and then latterly Mitchell Cooper(1-10), Reed wrapped up the innings to complete an all round excellent performance in the field which saw the visitors all out for 72.In reply the result was never in doubt and Reed's openers James and William Heslam got off to a good start before Heslam jnr (9) was the first of two Reed wickets to fall. Chris Jackson and James Heslam then edged towards victory before Heslam (38) was out to a fine caught and bowled by Luke Roberts. Jackson (18*) and Will Dobson (7*) then saw off the winning runs to see Reed take all 30 points and to move in 2nd position in the league.

On Saturday Reed entertained Letchworth ll at The Green. Reed bowled first on what looked to be a decent track. Letchworth got off to a steady start with openers Wight and Mullen batting sensibly but Reed's opening bowlers Lee Johnson (13-4-56-1) and Jack Tidey (9-3-19-1) remained patient and were rewarded when Tidey picked up the wicket of Wight (11) , bowled, going for one pull shot too many. Johnson then picked up the wicket of Mullen Caught Behind by Sean Tidey for a slow 26. At 48-2, Walsh and March came together and looked to make use of the platform the openers had made. They did just this, respecting the good ball and punishing the bad. The run rate increase and Letchworth looked in control until Walsh holed out in the deep on 27 off the bowling of Ed Garrott (11-0-55-1). Spinner Tom Greaves got in the act in the latter stages of the innings for Reed picking up the wickets of March (79), Maxford Pipe (57) and Gillham (1) to finish with figures of (17-1-53-3). This left Letchworth on 214-6 off their 53 overs.In reply, Reed's opening pair of James and William Heslam got off to a solid start and reached 39 before Will Heslam was caught for 12 (3x4s). Tom Greaves came to the crease looking to continue his recent good form with the bat and did just this. He and James Heslam found the boundary regularly. The pair added 81 for the second wicket before skipper Heslam was Bowled by Maxford Pipe for 66 (12x4s, 1x6s). At 120-2, Reed looked in command but still had work to do when the reliable Chris Jackson strode out to the wicket. Jackson and Greaves looked [...]

Reed continued their push for promotion with a convincing 160 Win over Knebworth Park II on Saturday, taking them top of the league with three games remaining.Missing several keys players due to other commitments, Reed demonstrated their strength in depth by utilising their young squad but also being able to call upon experienced wicket keeper Simon Jackson to replace young Sean Tidey, making his first appearance for 2 years.On a swealtry summer day, skipper James Heslam lost the toss and surprisingly was asked to have a bat. Reed lost the early wicket of Will Heslam, however this gave Tom Greaves (38) the opportunity to demonstrate his quality, punching the ball to all corners of the ground. At the other end, James Heslam was batting well and between the pair they put on 77 for 2nd wicket. When Greaves fell lbw to Patel, Reed were in a solid position to build on from, and this they did with the help of Heslam and Chris Jackson. Heslam however fell for a well worked 61 and it was up to Stuart Smith and Chris Jackson to build the next passage of play. Smith was particularly destructive of the bad ball and was soon racing away to a quick fire 50. With Reed looking for a declaration and Smith looking for his century he unfortunately drove one back at Patel who took a good catch leaving Smith on 82 for an excellent counter destructive innings. Reed lost one further wicket before an early declaration at 261, with Jackson on 32 and Mitchell Cooper on 11 In reply, Reed got off to an excellent start with paceman Lee Johnson picking up 3 early wickets in a fine spell of pace [...]

Reed maintained their push for promotion with a nail biting 1 wicket win over Holtwhites Trinibis on Saturday. Chasing 158 to win, Reed found themselves requiring 12 runs with just one wicket remaining, but the calm heads of Chris Jackson and Lee Johnson held their nerve and saw home the win which puts Reed into 3th position and in close contention with the leading pack. Earlier on in the day, and having won the toss, the visitor's top order batted well putting themselves into a strong position until a major collapse saw them lose their last 6 wickets for 27 runs. It was the Reed spin twins of Tom Greaves and Ed Garrott who picked up 4 valuable wickets a piece which succumbed Holwhites to 157 all out.In reply, the visitors set about making up for their earlier collapse by bowling an excellent line and length throughout and rotating their bowlers well, which made it difficult for Reed to gather any kind of momentum. From a strong position of 80-3, and faced with some tight bowling Reed lost further wickets putting the game closely in the balance. The ever reliable Chris Jackson (40 no) remained constant throughout his innings, and when Marcus Martin came to the crease the pair looked like they would easily knock off the total. However the loss of Martin (23), followed by Garrott and the Tidey brothers left Jackson and Lee Johnson requiring 12 runs to win with no wickets remaining. Johnson held guard impeccably, whilst Jackson edged towards the total, knocking off the winning runs to end an exciting game which could have gone either way.

Reed 1st Xl recorded their 4th win in 6 matches this season and roared back to the top of their league table establishing a 10 point lead over nearest challengers Dunstable Town.Playing away at Hemel Hempstead skipper James Heslam won the toss and invited Hemel to bat first on a damp wicket and slow outfield. Hemel made steady if slow progress and after almost 30 overs had progressed to only 88 for no wicket in the face of tight bowling from Lee Johnson 14 Overs 0 – 33, Jack Tidey 7 Overs 0 – 15 and Mitchell Cooper 7 Overs 0 – 25. The usual tight Reed fielding put the brakes on the Hemel batsmen and the pressure told, and the game changed materially, with the introduction of the Reed spin twins Will Dobson and Tom Greaves. 88 for 0 Wkt became 120 for 6 as Dobson dismissed both openers, Morgan for 53 and Berry for 43. Elbourn went for 13 and then the procession really started with the next 7 batsmen failing to raise double figures. Dobson returned 5 for 34 from his 12 overs and Greaves 4 – 32 from 13 overs. Hemel slumped to only 144 for 9 from their maximum 53 overs as Reed restricted their opportunities to accelerate.In reply Reed opened their innings with brothers James and William Heslam, both products of Reeds prolific Colts Cricket Academy. In fact 8 of the Reed team were former Colts at the Club. The Heslam brothers played solid assured Cricket whilst also scoring at a healthy rate of over 4 an over. The pair took the Reed score to 73 before skipper James fell caught for a typically sound and robust 43. 17 [...]