SATURDAY (SHPCL): Reed 1st XI couldn't quite restrict Hoddesdon and were unable to score the mathematically possible points required for the outright Championship winners spot. They will have to wait a further week to see if they achieve promotion to the Premiership by playing Luton Town & Indians in a Play-off. Hoddesdon made 224 for 8 with Jack Tidey taking 3 wickets. Reed replied with 217 all out; James Heslam 70, forties from Ed Wharton and Mitchell Cooper and Matt Sampson with 31. A massive weekend is looming! The Division 4B Champions, (i.e., Reed 2nd XI), made heavy weather against Ampthill Town in a 10-run victory on The Green. Chris Jackson, Marcus Martin and Ed Garrott all passed 40 in Reed's 201 for 9 then Martin (3) and Garrott (2) took wickets as the visitors came close, ending on 191 for 8. All at Reed CC send best wishes to Rupert Martin who sustained a nasty injury to his finger yesterday when a ball was hit back to him whilst bowling. "Rupe" underwent surgery last night. The Thirds did what they needed to do by overcoming Ickleford's total of 218 for 3. Sam Osborne took two of those wickets in a super spell. Richard Johnson, top-scoring with 76, supported by Mike Robertson, (48), and Peter Baker, (34), set-up the win despite a clatter of wickets before Reed finally crossed the line. We then had to wait a couple of hours before the result of the Bentley Heath / Bushey match that would decide the promotion places was published. Unfortunately for us, Bushey won, thus pipping Reed by 2 points. SUNDAY (Friendly): Owen Hughes registered his highest score of 69 not out in Reed's innings of [...]

SATURDAY (SHPCL): EXCITING TIMES FOR REED CC! The Firsts bowled out Ampthill for 128 with Tom Greaves removing four of the visiting batsmen. Zac McGuigan led the charge to overhaul them with 70 as Reed won comfortably by 5 wickets. Reed are placed 2nd in the Championship with only top-of-the-table Hoddesdon to play Away in the last league fixture next week. It is possible for Reed to overtake Hoddesdon if they win handsomely. Hemel Hempstead are too far back in 3rd place to affect the top two clubs even if they win next week. Should Reed not beat Hoddesdon, they are assured of a Play-Off match against the 9th placed team in the Premiership on Saturday 14th September. That would be staged at Reed and could be against one of three clubs battling for survival, West Herts, Luton Town & Indians and Hertford although mathematically Harpenden could be in the mix as well. All to play for! “Champions-in-waiting”! Reed Seconds cannot be caught by Watford who are 35 points behind. After losing only 4 wickets chasing-down Flamstead’s 125 all out, Reed remain top of Division 4B and will face Ampthill who are in ninth position on The Green next Saturday. Karl Ward featured for Reed taking a “five-fer” and James Sandford also claimed 3 wickets. Rich Barlow was top-scorer. This is a magnificent effort from all those involved in the Second XI’s campaign this season. Well done! The Thirds lost to Rickmansworth by 19 runs, being all out for 142 chasing 163. There were 3 wickets apiece for Kieran McKinna and Ollie Sayers whilst Richard Johnson scored 36 in the reply but the other contributions didn’t make quite enough runs. This puts Reed back to [...]

SATURDAY (SHPCL): All three teams batted first. All three teams won - the Firsts by 58 runs, the Seconds by 143 and the Thirds by 73 runs. Reed lost 21 wickets overall, the oppositions 30. Reed totalled 735 runs against 461 from our combined opponents. All pretty comfortable judging by the figures but in reality it was not that easy. At home, Zac Mcguigan top-scored with 64 backed-up by scores in the thirties from Rob Lankester, James Heslam and younger brother Will as Reed reached 232 for 7. Dunstable were all out for 174. McGuigan and Jack Caine took 3 wickets each. There were 3 wickets each too for Matt Bowles, Owen Hughes and Ed Garrott as Chorleywood were dismissed for 131 in their failed chase of the 2nd XI's 274 for 9. Chris Jackson had hit 63 and Phil Frenay 48 in the Reed innings. Scott Nash had a 3-wicket haul as well when Reed Thirds bowled out Hoddesdon for 156. Julien Fynn, Steve Hughes and Rob Willoughby each took 2 wickets. Reed's total of 229 for 5 was reliant on Fynn's 59 with useful contributions of 45 from Willoughby, 38 from Paul Garrott and 33 from Rhodri Hughes. SUNDAY: No fixture at Reed. An RCC tour party is expected in the Bournemouth area sometime during the morning. Expect Match Reports to follow shortly. PGB

SATURDAY (SHPCL): No, it wasn't a Ninety-Point Saturday! But just as good a feeling. Winning Limited overs matches in the Championship attracts only 25 points, meaning that added to both the Seconds and Thirds winning and scoring 30 points each, Reed aggregated 85 points on Saturday. The Firsts battled it out in a low scoring game at Shenley Village. James Heslam's 29 was top score in Reed's 125 all out, then Jack Tidey's return of 3 for 11 helped bring about Shenley Village's downfall to 98 all out. As play concluded, their positions in the Division had reversed, with Reed claiming second spot and Shenley back in third. Phil Frenay led the way with eighty for the Second XI supported by George Garrott's fifty in Reed's innings of 231 on The Green. Northampton Exiles were well adrift after being bowled out for 162; Rupert Martin, Julien Fynn, Matt Bowles and James Sandford were rewarded with 2 wickets apiece. In the contrasting setting of the vast acres at the Met Police Sports Ground in Bushey, Joe Graves, Rob Willoughby, Ollie Sayers and Matt Yates each took 2 wickets as Bushey fell for 186. The Third's successful run chase was largely based round Scott Nash's 84 and Owen Hughes' 36 not out as Reed won by 4 wickets in the gathering gloom. If you wish to study the current League Tables, where those mysterious dotted lines have appeared denoting promotion and relegation zones, go to the SHPCL website at www.hertsleague.co.uk There are only 3 matches left in the programme so there could still be some to-ing and fro-ing to look forward to. (Sentence ending in a preposition!) Expect Match Reports to follow shortly. There is no fixture [...]