Champions Reed Start Key Weekend in StyleTop of the table Reed 1st Xl travelled to Dunstable on Saturday knowing that 10 League points would guarantee promotion and 13 League points would guarantee their being SHCL Division 2 Champions and return them to Division 1 of the Hertfordshire League.Things began well for Reed when skipper James Heslam won the toss and immediately decided to bat as a score of 200 plus would produce 10 bonus points and secure promotion. However the wicket and new ball proved lively early on and with the score on only 13 Will Heslam departed spectacularly bowled for 9. However, the arrival of Tom Greaves to join James Heslam in the middle saw the pair take complete control of the game. Both batsmen played carefully but positively. Good balls were stoutly defended but anything loose was unceremoniously despatched to the boundary. On a scorching hot day without a cloud in the sky Reed proved too hot for the Dunstable bowlers. Greaves proved particularly punishing early on and recorded a series of rasping boundary shots all around the wicket. The score moved past 150 without a single chance being given by either batsman but with a century looking assured Greaves fell LBW for 83 an innings containing 1 x 6, and 13 x 4’s. It didn’t get any e asier for Dunstable when the talented Chris Jackson strode out to the crease. In concert with skipper Heslam the pair took the score forward rapidly with Heslam being particularly severe on the bowlers. The 200 arrived without further loss and with it Reeds promotion was assured. James Heslam then passed 100 and raced to 119 before his 134 ball innings comprising 16 x 4’s [...]

Reed travelled to County Hall on Saturday aiming to fire themselves back up the table after their disappointing league defeat the week prior.  On a hot afternoon Reed won the toss and elected to bat, and James Heslam and Tom Greaves wasted no time punishing the early loose deliveries.  Heslam (33) was first to fall, followed by Greaves (26) whom together had got Reed off to an excellent start.  A bowling change which induced more control and guile slowed up proceedings, however Reed comfortably pushed the scoring on.A flurry of quick wickets in the middle order slightly hampered proceedings, however Chris Jackson (63*) held the innings firm which allowed him to support the impressive Will Dobson who amassed a classy 88.  Mitchell Cooper (31*)  contributed well towards the end of the innings, who along with Jackson put on 55 before Reed declared with 3 overs of their allocation remaining, leaving County Hall chasing 271 for t he win. In reply Lee Johnson (2-78) made the early breakthrough for the visitors, however the pace bowlers were finding it difficult to extract too much out of the wicket.  The introduction however of Tom Greaves (3-51), again picking up a wicket with his first delivery saw Reed firmly on the front foot.  Will Dobson (2-21), likewise impressed with he ball, and the two bowled well in tandem together.   At 118-7, Reed looked close to victory.  However a firm rear guard approach by Stevenson (52*) and Hibbert (33*) saw County Hall bat on to play out for the draw, finishing on 209-7.

Reed got off to winning ways in their first outing of the 2012 Herts League season with a 3 wicket win over Chipperfield Clarendon. After a heavy week of rain the win was as much owed to that of Reed's groundsman Richard Robertson who persevered the heavy rain and prepared a decent wicket ready for play. Reed won the toss and elected to a bowl, and offered the new ball to 15 year old debutant Tom Walshingham. Tom bowled with complete control and precision in an excellent spell of bowling which saw him pick up his maiden league wicket in an exemplary spell of bowling, finishing with figures of 1-2 off 7 overs. Ably assisted by the ever reliable Lee Johnson (3-35) Reed took early control and made batting difficult for the visitors. Alex Kelly, also making his debut also shone with the ball in a fine spell of controlled bowling picking up figures of 4-20 off 13 overs and narrowly missing out on a hattrick. The visitors struggled throughout to make any consistent impact to the innings, and saw them finish on 118-9. The pick of the Chipperfield Clarendon batsman was Matt McDonald who stubbornly carried his bat for 48 overs to finish unbeaten on 37. In reply, likewise Reed never really got to grips with the conditions and lost wickets at regular intervals whilst moving closer to the visitors total. James Heslam top scored with 42 and provided the platform for the lower order to push for victory. Sean Tidey assisted further with some lusty shots but it was left to Jack Tidey to finish off in style with a maximum six with 18 over's remaining for Reed to take all 30 points

A five wicket haul from all rounder Tom Greaves saw Reed take all 30 points from their trip to Broxbourne, to make it two from two in their Herts League campaign. Having lost the toss, Reed's skipper James Heslam saw his batsman make hard work with the bat against a good Broxbourne bowling unit, with only himself (32) and younger brother William (25) making any real effective contribution in Reed's total of 126.In reply Broxbourne had no real response to Reed's bowling attack and their overall endeavour to win, which again saw the excellent partnership developing between openers Tom Walshingham (2-20) and Lee Johnson (2-29); displaying pace and control which would outwit most Division 2 batsmen. At 45-3 Broxbourne looked like they had weathered the earlier storm and were looking to consolidate closer to the visitor's total. However the introduction of Tom Greaves (5-20), picking up a wicket with his first delivery was the turning point in the game.Greaves bowled with flight and guile, gaining purchase from the wicket that along with the pressure of the game proved too much for the home side. Bowling well in tandem with Jack Tidey (1-27), Greaves finished with figures of 5-20 off 10 overs, which saw the previous week's talisman Alex Kelly and experienced spinner Will Dobson unrequired in the bowling department. The re-introduction of Lee Johnson saw the final Broxbourne wicket fall on 101 despite some rallying rearguard action from the home side.

Reed maintained their composure ahead of their NVC semi final with a comfortable 6 wicket win over Abbots Langley on Saturday. Batting first the home side had no answer to Reed's persistent attack, with both lee Johnson and Jack Tidey causing trouble from the off. It was Tidey (5-20) however who stole the show, picking up all 5 of the first wickets, including a sublime catch in the slips by Chris Jackson.  The versatile Tom Greaves then mopped up the tail with his usual consistent array of flight and guile along with a wicket a piece for Callum Ward and Mitchell Cooper, leaving Abbots Langley all out for 123. In response, Reed acknowledged the importance of winning the match and made slow but steady headway despite losing Will Heslam and Tom Greaves cheaply. Both James Heslam and Chris Jackson moved the score onwards untroubled, however a shift in game plan influenced by the very effective Parth Mehta saw Reed slow up the run rate. When Heslam (34) fell this bought Marcus Martin to the crease who batted with slick composure in a fine innings before he went for one big shot to finish the game and was bowled by Mehta for 32. Jackson remained unbeaten on 48 to see the side home and put Reed in 2nd place in the league in close contention with the leaders Luton Town.