Reed IIs went 10 points clear at the top of the table with 4 games to play, after a resounding victory away at Rickmansworth IIs. Rickmansworth, themselves with feint promotion aspirations before the start of play, won the toss and made the decision to insert Reed into bat on what looked a very green wicket. Reed sent out openers Fergus Martin and Phil Frenay and the duo did very well to negotiate the new ball as it swung and seemed around. The score was approaching 75 when the first wicket fell, with Fergus getting a leading edge off of the leg spinner and departing for a solid and important 20. This wicket brought skipper Marcus Martin to the crease, and he and his VC Phil Frenay continued the good early work and set about showing the reason they are widely regarded as the 2 of the premier batsmen in the league. Martin had a couple of scares early on, but Frenay was imperious and punished anything full in quite a thunderous fashion. The pair took the score well beyond the 150 mark, and at a good pace, as Martin got in and began to also find the boundary. The score had reached 180-1 when Frenay was adjudged LBW for a brilliant 80. Richard Johnson (2), Karl Ward (12) and Roddi Liebenberg all came and went whilst trying to up the tempo further as the score past the 200 mark. Martin was then also given LBW and departed for a well made and gritty 70. Tom Walsingham (24 Not Out) came to the crease and played with freedom and style, whilst Alex Kelly (4) and the one-legged Matt Bowles (1 Not Out) helped Reed amass an [...]

Reed II’s were left frustrated in their attempt to win a 3rd consecutive game under new skipper Marcus Martin. This despite having 4 changes to the top 6 who have performed so well thus far in 2013. Having won two and drawn one of their opening three league games, Martin lost the toss and was surprised to be put into bat by visitors Southgate Adelaide on a typically good looking Reed track. Opening pair, the veteran Ben Bowles and the returning Fergus Martin went about their task in a ‘steady’ fashion. Over 50 runs were on the board when Bowles departed for a well made 24. Fergus was then joined in the middle by brother Marcus as the younger of the two siblings continued to show form with the bat as he dispatched the bad ball with aplomb. His elder brother showed how to play the cut shot. After the departure of Marcus Martin for a solid 29, another returnee to the 2nd team strode purposefully to the middle. Michael Robertson, who hadn’t played a 2nd team league game in over 4 years, set about batting in the manner he is noted for. A couple of towering 6s and hard hot 4s elevated the Reed scoring rate, and took the team above 100. With Fergus continuing with his own game at the other end, Reed began to look like they were in a strong position at 120-3 with 18 Overs still to bat in the innings. Fergus eventually departed for a classy 64, and Robertson’s stay at the crease ended soon after for 33 as the score moved quickly towards the 200 mark, and the full 10 batting points for the home side. The 3rd [...]

Reed IIs continued their imperious league form by demolishing St Albans IIIs on an unseasonably chilly day at The Green.Reed skipper Marcus Martin, unbeaten thus far in his first 6 games at the helm, won the toss for only the 2nd time all season and decided to go against high profile advice and insert the visitors into bat. Martin again opted for the in-form Toby Fynn and Peter Tidey to spearhead his bowling attack, and although one of the At Albans opening batsmen took the attack to Reed early on with some sumptuous drives through the off-side, the evergreen Tidey soon regained control by tempting him to hit an uppish drive into the ever dependable extra-cover specialist Karl Ward. This wicket got the home side’s tail up, and Fynn soon got in on the act, snaring 2 quick wickets as he sent down 7 magnificent overs. Fynn (2-8) was then replaced by the follicley challenged Rupert Martin, who soon got in on the wicket taking act as Reed ran riot and ripped through the St Albans middle order. Martin used his surprise in-swinger to good effect and finished with figures of 4-25, leaving Peter Tidey with figures of 3-32. Phil Frenay got the 10th wicket with a fast, in-swinging Yorker. St Albans all out for 72 inside 30 overs.Reed’s opening batsmen Phil Frenay and Fergus Martin set about chasing the modest total in calm and measured fashion, however Ferg (4) soon snicked a decent delivery to slip to give the visitors their first point. Captain Marcus Martin, perhaps controversially batting in his usual position at 3 despite the return to the team of Ward, strode to the middle intent on finishing the game quickly. Unfortunately, [...]

After last weeks defeat Reed’s 2nd XI were desperate to get the promotion ambitions back on track. Skipper Marcus Martin won the toss and took the courageous of putting the visitors in. With the sun out and the pitch looking like a batting paradise Reed would have to bowl well.Peter Tidey and Karl Ward opened the attack for Reed, but it didn’t take long before the home side realised it would be a long afternoon. Pinner and Brown looked very solid for Stevenage and Pinner was playing extremely well. He played very straight and after a few risky shots early on, kept putting the good and bad ball away. After 20 overs the pair were going at almost five an over and it looked like Reed would be chasing well over 200. Fergus Martin replaced Ward and with a mixture of slow off breaks and arm balls, started to pull the run rate back. Tidey spoke to his bowling coach and tried a new tactic to Pinner and it produced an immediate effect when the youngster was well caught by Fergus Martin for an excellent 86 when the score was on 135. Brown was to follow thirteen runs later for 48 again, off the bowling of Tidey.Reed were suddenly making progress. Simon Roberts, returning to the ground where he played his early cricket looked in good nick, but Tidey won that battle too and bowled him for 15. The runs now slowed. From that 148-2 in just 32 overs, it was now 179-6 with 8 overs left. A black cloud had been looming over the pavilion for some time and that is not a good sign at Reed. Sure enough rain came. The players tried [...]

Reed were asked to bowl first by the Tewin skipper on what looked like a a good batting wicket and fast outfield. Reed opened up with a mixture of youth and experience. In fact if you add up the ages of the other bowlers you don't reach the experience of Peter Tidey.Tidey is having a superb season and again struck early with just 1 on the board. Pickworth and Vacani rebuilt the Tewin innings and looked in control against Jack Caine and Tidey, but they were hardly setting the scoreboard alight either. At drinks the home side had reached 45-1.Alex Kelly who had replace Caine, struck immediately after drinks removing Vacani for 19. Tidey not to be outdone then bowled Pickworth for 20.Aylieff came in trying to up the rate as did Bryce but Tidey had both of those caught and in the process took his 50th wicket of the season. Kelly is also in a rich vein of form with the ball. He removed the dangerous looking Shankster for 14 thanks to some superb glove work from Tim Tidey.Reed whipped out the tail and left themselves 99 to win.Openers Phil Freney and Fergus Martin set about the task with efficiency. They ran well picking up ever single that was available to them and putting the bad ball away. Martin looked like he might outscore his partner when he hit a big six to midwicket, but he fell LBW with the score on 45.Freney had reached 38 when he fell the same way, but by then Reed need just 38 to win. Skipper Marcus Martin didn't hang around and the 30 points were won with a six over the bowlers head. The Skipper was 45 [...]

Reed IIs continued their march towards the top end of the league, thumping a useful Potter Bar IIIs side at ‘The Green’ to continue their unbeaten run in 2013. Winning the toss on a day that promised, and in many parts of the County delivered monsoon like conditions, Reed captain Marcus Martin had no hesitation in asking the visitors to bat first. The ever reliable opening pair of Toby Fynn and Peter Tidey started in typically miserly fashion, though an early breakthrough didn’t look likely as the Potters Bar openers remained steady against the new ball. This all changed as Reed witnessed one of the more hopeful quick singles of the season, which left the young opener stranded as a combination of Peter and Tim Tidey saw the bails removed with the batsmen well short of his ground. This only brought the visitors big hitting number 3 to the crease, and he wasted no time in exerting his authority with some eye catching and clean hitting. The batsmen at the other end were less successful, as gradually the nagging lines of Tidey and then specialist change bowler Rupert Martin (9-1-30-2) began to bare fruit. Tidey (22-5-80-4) again bowled over after over from the village end of the ground and again picked up wickets at key times as the innings progressed. The key for Reed came when Marcus Martin held on well to a ball skied into orbit from the visitors danger man. This signalled a procession of wickets as Alex Kelly (7-1-15-2) got in on the act after replacing the jaded Rupert Martin, and Reed looked to have Potters Bar on the ropes at 120-9. The final wicket paring then went about frustrating Reed, as [...]

Reed travelled to Radlett IV looking to continue their fine league form. Radlett was the venue of the rare league win the season before and so hopes were high. Again the wicket looked like a belter, but Skipper Marcus Martin decided to put the struggling home side into bat. This looked like a great decision when Peter Tidey struck early. Tidey has a love affair with Radlett and watching his 22 over spell you could see why. Reed were quickly in the wickets putting Radlett on the back foot.Runs were slow to come by, less than 2 runs an over. Tidey was well supported by Rupert Martin. The home side were quickly three down and it should have been worse for them, but the visitors catching was not at its best. Martin bowled Radlett’s skipper with an over pitches yorker. Another dropped catch looked like it could have been a match changer, but the drinks break did the trick as Reed struck twice quickly afterwards.Radlett tried to up the pace, but Alex Kelly who had replaced Martin took two wickets in his 11 overs to keep the home side pegged back. A lusty last wicket stand saw Radlett past 100, but Kelly dropped a caught and bowled only to knock it on to the non strikers stumps to effect a run out. Radlett were all out for 113.Reed had to bat for 15 overs before tea and they knew a solid start would be important. Baz Curtis and Phil Freney opened for Reed and had made a good start before Freney was caught behind. Karl Ward and Curtis continued to find the boundary on regular occasions and the pair had got Reed to within 45 [...]

Skipper Marcus Martin took the bold decision and decided to bowl first after winning the toss. His decision look well vindicated as Tom Walsingham struck with the fifth ball of the innings bowling Wagstaff for a duck. Peter Tidey then picked up two more quick wickets leaving the visitors in trouble at 29-3. That soon became 46-5 when Rupert Martin replaced Walsingham from the pavilion end. He took 2-21 in 9 overs.A stand off 30 between Willoughby and Pearth stopped the rot. Both despatching anything loose to the boundary. Reed desperately needed a breakthrough as the rain clouds gathered. Tidey removed both Willoughby and Pearth. Pearth becoming his fifth victim.The players were driven from the field by thunder and lightning with the score 102-8 in the 35th over. The ground staff got the cover on just in time. With over an hour lost to rain and hail Ickleford were left with 6 overs to bat after tea. Time for Tidey to pick up one more wicket and finish with figures of 6-45 from 20 overs.Reed were left to chase 136 to win in 35 overs. Baz Curtis went early for just 8, but with the weight of his decision to chase Martin came to the wicket to make sure the decision was a correct one. He raced to 26 before being bowled with the score on 45. He made sure Reed were ahead of the required rate. Opener Phil Freney made 13 when he was caught in the deep trying to move the score along. Ed Garrott and Richard Johnson put on 45 in 11 overs, but with 41 still needed Johnson went for 24. Garrott looked in no trouble and put the bad ball [...]

Reed II’s remain unbeaten after producing their finest performance of the season to beat a useful Letchworth Garden City III’s side at Fairfield Park. On a scorching hot afternoon, Reed skipper Marcus Martin lost the toss and his side were asked to take to the field. A lightening fast outfield and a track resembling the M25 indicated that a long afternoon could ensue for the visitors, who had Peter Tidey and the returning Tom Walsingham sharing the new ball. Despite the favourable batting conditions, a combination of excellent line and length bowling and superb fielding kept the scoring very tight in the early exchanges. This scoreboard pressure eventually told as the evergreen Peter Tidey trapped one of the Letchworth openers plumb LBW, and then a few overs later forced the other one to drive uppishly into the gleeful hands of Marcus Martin. A quiet and relatively uneventful period then followed from overs 17 until 34, as Reed continued to frustrate the hosts with good bowling and tight fielding. Walsingham (10-3-34-0) had been replaced by Alex Kelly (12-2-36-0) and Karl Ward (12-3-60-0) replaced Tidey. The home side knew they needed to score more quickly, and began to play some more expansive strokes. The fast outfield meant full value for shots and the scoring rate began to rise, though still Reed pegged the home side back as excellent run outs from Matt Bowles, Alex Kelly and Marcus Martin. Ward toiled away from one end and was then joined again by Peter Tidey (19-4-71-4) who continued his magnificent form as he approaches 30 wickets at just over the halfway stage of the season. Letchworth managed to creep over the 200 mark and secure all 10 batting points, as [...]

Reed II’s secured a well deserved promotion with a game still to play after victory against Luton Town & the Indians on Saturday, setting up a mouth watering title decider against second placed Hexton next weekend.After losing the toss, Marcus Martin’s men were asked to field but soon made early inroads into the Luton top order, as first Kallum Ward and then Peter Tidey got into their stride to leave the visitors reeling on 12-3. Ward (4-0-23-2) bowled with real pace to pick up two of these wickets, but it was the guile of Tidey that continued to do the damage for Reed as he struck twice more to reduce Luton to 43-5. Alex Kelly (13.5-5-42-3) replaced Ward and took no time to get into his own rhythm, as he and Tidey combined to remove the final 5 Luton wickets. Tidey achieving another 5 wicket haul as he reached an astonishing 56 wickets for the season, ending with match figures of 17-10-18-5. Luton had been bowled out for 94 inside 35 Overs.Reed knew that a win would all but secure promotion, no matter what went on elsewhere. However, they got off to a shaky start as first Phil Frenay (4) was caught behind, before skipper Marcus Martin skied an attempted moo to mid off for 13. Reed were shaking on 24-2 and Luton smelt blood. Fergus Martin remained calm however and he and Richard Johnson steadied the ship to take Reed past the halfway point. Just when things were looking assured Johnson danced down the track only to miss the ball and give the left arm spinner his 3rd wicket. 57-3 then became 68-4 as Reed stuttered towards their target, this time it was Ferg [...]