Reed’s Third Eleven suffered only their second loss of the season when they played away to Old Elizabethans II’s. With captain Maseeh Naeem on vacation and some late movement in the team line up, the threes went with a young side. Stand in skipper Marcus J.E. Baker and opening partner Peter Baker were stuck in traffic so Richard Barlow did the toss and won, elected to bat. The Baker and Baker partnership did not last long as Marcus became the first victim of the poor pitch. The ball failed to rise above the ankles as Reed’s batsmen struggled. Two down, Reed looked in disarray but an essential partnership was formed between Peter Baker and Rhodri Hughes. Playing with patience the veteran, Baker, used his experience to halt the oppositions momentum. Hughes too showed impressive determination and skill as they added 70 for the third wicket. Baker’s (48) and Hughes’s (30) innings were, on that pitch, worth double and also usefully used up a good amount of overs. Scott Caine was the only other batsmen to get into double figures with a counter attacking 23. Reed were bowled all out for 141 meaning they got two bating points and considering the pitch and most of the batsmen’s inability to settle and score was at least defendable. To their credit the opposition bowlers played well, in particular I. Mali (20.3-5-48-7) who bowled a mammoth spell and the impressively rapid C. Busby (7-3-17-1) who it turned out was an Under 13.Reed knew the conditions would be the same for both sides and backed themselves to tally up the wickets. M. Collins had initially looked threatening but ended being the first wicket to fall when Jack Caine bowled him [...]

Chasing low scores is always unpredictable. For some reason it does strange things to the brain and for Reeds Third Eleven that rule was very much apparent when they found themselves at 61 for 7 chasing down only 104.Earlier in the day Reed had demolished Rickmansworth on their own patch, infested with mole hills. This was the first week that Maseeh Naeem had lost the toss and being asked to bowl first he instructed Tom Walsingham and Jack Caine to get loose. Walsingham (8-2-8-2) had started the damage with an accurate opening spell and claimed two wickets thanks to catches behind the bat from Baz Curtis and Rob Lankaster. Michael Robertson (6-1-16-1) replaced Caine and duly had the opposition captain caught at mid-wicket by Ray Kingshott. Robertson would then himself be replaced by Naeem who would also come away with a single wicket thanks to a catch at deep mid-on by Walsingham. Meanwhile, at the other end Richard Barlow was rolling through the hosts middle order. Reeds outstanding fielding aided the bowlers by putting pressure on the batsmen. Jack Caine (1-19) came back to finish the innings breaking the last wicket stand of 31 but it was Barlow who claimed the plaudits fin ishing with 11-2-28-5.Baz Curtis opened the Reed innings and did not seem at all uneasy in his stroke selection despite the fact the pitch had clearly not been rolled. He was the mainstay for Reed as his partners came and went. At 51 for 2 it looked like Reed were cruising to victory. However, suddenly, Reed descended into panic losing five wickets in only four overs including the valuable scalp of Curtis (36). Rickmansworth sensed an almighty upset and piled on the [...]

Reed Third Eleven won a tough match in the full glare of the July sun. Reed had travelled down to Hatfield to face Hatfield and Crusaders III’s. Maseeh Naeem won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. The added factor of the scorching heat made fielding first undesirable.Opening pair Ben Bowles and Marcus J.E. Baker had a cautious start as the hosts starting attack found some early movement. Baker clipped a couple off his legs before a straighter delivery caught his edge and saw him return to the hutch for 15. The left handed Rob Lankaster played some nice pull shots scoring 19 before fishing for a wider ball and was also caught soon followed by Bowles, bowled for 9. At 61 for 3 Richie Barlow and Matt Naeem had to start the innings again. Naeem continuing from last week played the supporting role whilst Barlow, having got his eye in started to accumulate runs. The pair put on 48 when Barlow was lost for 29. Crucial knocks from Maseeh Naeem (34) and Jack Caine (28) took Reed to 204 for 8 from their full 53 overs whilst Matt Naeem was 43 not out.Lewis Fitzgerald (3-21) started with a fantastic opening spell for Reed removing the first 3 of the hosts order. This was followed by a revival as Kalaskar (32) and Butt (30) put on 51 together. The heat was still apparent despite the time being gone 6 o’clock which led to Butt being dropped twice. However, from despair came jubilation as George Garrott (2-25) bowled Butt and two balls later claimed another thanks to an incredible catch in the slips from Maseeh Naeem. This was followed by Reece Fitzgerald removing Kalaskar [...]

The Third Elevens recent run of disappointing results continued with another defeat hosting Hertford. The run up to the game saw a week long struggle to fill all four teams and with availability so poor a weakened, ten man Reed side would have to face their fellow promotion hunters. With Maseeh Naeem still vacationing Ray Kingshott did the captaining duties for Reed and kept the traditions going with yet another win of the coin toss. Kingshott elected to bat first and asked Marcus J.E. Baker and Rhodri Hughes to open proceedings.Baker was back into his stride after the frustrations of the previous week and was looking his usual self as he scored freely. Hughes also looked very solid and confident as he continued his recent good form. Baker and Hughes never seemed in any discomfort as they made a firm platform for Reed. Both played with patience and control as they put on 63 for the first wicket. Hughes (13) was caught and bowled ending his impressive innings prematurely, making way for John Kershaw. Baker and Kershaw were just starting to build a promising partnership when Baker miss judged the length of one and found himself returning to the changing rooms for 73. Kershaw and Scott Caine looked to be confident at the wicket and combined boundaries with quick singles, however they ran the risks once too many as Caine was run out for 19. Kershaw batted with is captain for a short time but then was caught at point for 38 beginning a terrible collapse that would prove terminal for Reeds hopes of making 200. Including Kershaw, 6 wickets fell for just 10 runs in 3.1 overs. Throwing away what could have been a [...]

A much welcomed return to winning ways for Reed’s Third Eleven was brought about by some fantastic performances. The whole side did a great job in the first innings in the field which was followed up by some superb knocks after tea.Reed was hosting Knebworth Park IV at Freman College and for only the second time this season Maseeh Naeem lost the toss. The opposition captain decided to bat first as Lewis Fitzgerald and Jack Caine got loose. Caine (2-26) in particular looked in a threatening mood and it only took his second delivery to produce the first wicket, thanks to Marcus J.E. Baker who whipped off the bails to remove Jones stumped without troubling the scorers. A second wicket partnership of 62 formed but Reed remained positive in the field. Reece Fitzgerald (4-34), replacing his elder brother Lewis (0-46), bowled a magnificent spell of off spin. Giving very little width, he not only dried up the runs but took wickets as he bowled two and took two thanks to catches from brother Lewis and Ray Kingshott. This combined with Ian Roberts (2-25) in deadly form as usual saw Reed reduce the visitors to 108 for 7. Trouble arose however as S. Carmody and R. Evans formed a stubborn partnership. They added 56 together before Maseeh Naeem removed Evans (18) thanks to a catch from his son Matt. Knebworth Park eventually finished on 195 for 9, all out due to being a player short.The target was perhaps more than it should have been but none the less on the Freman track certainly not an impossible one. M.J.E. Baker played positively but paid the price for his attacking tactics after miss hitting one and being caught [...]

The temperature was hot and the outfield fast when Reed Third Eleven hosted Little Berkhamsted Sahibs. Reed batted first and Marcus J.E. Baker was once again upsetting the opening bowlers. The visitors quickly realised they were in for a long afternoon of retrieving the ball as Baker calmly directed three balls from the first over to the boundary. L.B.S. had a brief glimmer of hope as they removed three cheap wickets, but with Baker continuing to plunder runs now joined by Ray Kingshott their hope was short lived. Baker (67), Kingshott (65) as well as contributions from Maseeh Naeem (34), George Garrott (11) and Lewis Fitzgerald (11*) showed the talent of Reeds order. However, it was Kallum Ward that did the most damage for Reed as he smashed his way to 90 before holing out to long on. The final total of 306 for 9 declared from 47.5 overs looked dominating but the conditions would be the same for the opposition and Reed knew they would need to fight hard.Jack Caine looked back at his best and would take the first wicket thanks to M.J.E. Baker standing up to the wicket. Baker would repeat this feat when standing up to Reece Fitzgerald (2-25). M. Short got the early momentum for L.B.S. in making 36 but a good ball from George Garrott (1-58) saw him caught by Maseeh Naeem for 36. Reed had four wickets to their name but struggled during the middle overs as Palcky and Blaby built a strong partnership. The chance of an upset suddenly became a real possibility as neither batsman looked in any real danger whilst racking up the boundaries. Reed skipper Maseeh Naeem then brought himself on and thanks to [...]

Another disappointing result officially ended the Third XI’s promotion chase in the penultimate week of the league season. Playing away to London Colney II at their attractive ground in Shenley Maseeh Naeem once again won the toss and chose to bat first.Reed suffered a crucial early loss as their usual run getter Marcus J.E. Baker played down the wrong line and was bowled first ball. In his absence fellow opener Richie Barlow dug in and took on the responsibility of leading the way. He begun to put runs on the board and after a second cheap wicket was helped in this feat by Ray Kingshott (25). They had just about settled the teams nerves when three quick wickets fell including the two set men Kingshott and Barlow (30). Jack Caine put in a crucial turn with an impressive knock of 21 however, the rest of the middle order failed to fire. In the end it was left to the tail to get Reed to somewhere close to a defendable target. Ian Roberts led the way assisted by Joe Graves who made a solid contribution. Graves (18) kept out the good balls and put the bad ones away to the boundary. After Graves, Reece Fitzgerald partnered Roberts (33) as they upset the hosts who obviously wasn’t expecting such resistance from 9, 10, jack. The last few wickets took Reed from 94 to 166 all out.After tea it was again up to the Reed bowlers to do the hard work as they went about bowling out the opposition. Jack Caine and Joe Graves both had good opening spell but only Caine (1-25) could take a scalp in his last over before the age related bowling change. Roberts [...]