National Village Cup Semi-Final: Wow! Those present shouldn't forget it in a hurry. Mitchell Cooper launched that 6 towards the HM Pavilion in the 39th over giving Reed victory by 5 wickets when just 6 overs earlier they required 63. Mitch was 52 not out at the end, Stuart Smith 43 not out and earlier Rob Lankester, (41), and Tom Greaves, (47), had put the hosts on the rocky trail to St. John's Wood. But it was a challenging target set by competition debutants, Sarisbury Athletic, who scored 195 for 8. Sean Tidey kept wicket for the first 20 overs of their innings then bowled in the next twenty taking 4 for 45. Next up - as if you didn't know - will be the Final at Lord's on Sunday 15th September. And yet again the opponents will be a club from Yorkshire, this time the experienced outfit from Houghton Main. Expect a more detailed Match Report to follow. PGB

SATURDAY, (SHPCL): Three wins! The Firsts beat Leverstock Green by 8 wickets when they had them all out for 174, 4 wickets for Toby Fynn and 3 for Tom Greaves. Rob Lankester scored an unbeaten century in the run chase. The Seconds closed on 222 for 6 with Chris Jackson undefeated on 68 this week meaning he has scored an aggregate of 355 runs without losing his wicket in his last 5 innings. He was supported today by Phil Frenay's knock of 46. Marcus Martin was leading wicket-taker with figures of 4 for 27 in Hitchin's all out score of 186. Reed remain top of Division 4B. At the Freman Oval, West Herts were skittled for 114, Kieran McKinna taking 4 for 24 and having a hand in a run out. Paul Garrott (43) and Richard Johnson put on 104 for Reed's first wicket before Jonno (69 not out) saw them home by 7 wickets. Expect Match Reports to follow shortly. PGB

The Herts League programme was virtually wiped out on Saturday. Only 10 (that is 7%) of the 128 scheduled fixtures were played. 113 matches were cancelled and a further 5 conceded. Needless to add that all three of Reed's games were cancelled. The only Reed player I know of who saw any cricketing action on Saturday was yours truly. I played at a village called Saxlingham Nethergate, (how quaint it sounds), in central Norfolk, batted at number 8 and scored 11 not out, not required to bowl, then dropped a catch! Match lost. Sound familiar? Don't expect a Match Report! Sunday's match versus Woodcutters has also been called off. PGB

SUNDAY (National Village Cup): The Quarter-Final clash at Foxton ended conclusively in Reed's favour. The Foxes had posted 206 all out largely thanks to ex-Reed player, William Heslam's 83. But Toby Fynn took 5 for 34 and Tom Greaves 3 for 43. After the change of innings, Richard Wharton and Rob Lankester put-on 178 for Reed's second wicket and ran home winners by 8 wickets, Lankester out for 73 and Wharton 97 not out. In the Semi-Final due to be played on Sunday the 4th of August at Reed, we shall be entertaining Sarisbury Athletic from Hampshire - it will again be a 1 o'clock start. SATURDAY (SHPCL): Despite a 3-fer by Tom Greaves and scores in the forties by Rob Lankester and Matt Sampson, the Firsts fell at the last hurdle at Hemel Hempstead, losing by 8 runs. The Seconds went to the top of Division 4B thanks to a commanding century from Chris Jackson and supporting innings from Ed Garrott and MJE Baker in Reed's 261 for 5, then bowling Sawbridgeworth out for 134. Four wickets fell to Julien Fynn. Southgate Compton got the better of the Thirds by totalling 226 for 9 then restricting Reed to 188 for 8 in their reply. Scott Nash and George Garrott passed forty but they could have done with someone else to stick around and score that extra 40 runs! Expect Match Reports to follow shortly. PGB

SATURDAY (SHPCL): A good day for all three teams. The Firsts knocked over Old Owens for 105 then lost only 3 wickets in the successful run chase. Ed Wharton had taken 5 wickets and Jack Tidey three. Zac McGuigan top scored for Reed with 40. A very good day for Chris Jackson who made an unbeaten ton in the Second's 297 for 3. Mitchell Cooper had an equally good day; a sixty not out followed by 4 wickets! Holtwhites were all out for 99. Yet another good day down at Frogmore for Mike Robertson who also scored a century in the Third's victory and had taken 3 wickets in Frogmore's innings of 192 for 9. Reed won by 3 wickets. In the Championship Division, Reed are in 2nd place, 7 points behind Hoddesdon. Weirdly, The Seconds are also in 2nd position, 7 points behind leaders Watford Town in Division 4B. The Thirds lay 5th in Div 10A 52 points adrift. SUNDAY (Herts County T20 Cup): Reed were drawn against Finals day hosts, Radlett, but could not prevent them reaching 139 for 7 in the first Semi-Final. Jack Tidey, Toby Fynn and Zac McGuigan claimed 2 wickets each. McGuigan's 21 was Reed's top score in their reply of 58. Reportedly Totteridge Millhillians pulled out of the second Semi-Final, leaving Radlett to battle the Final out with Hertford. Expect Match Reports to follow shortly. PGB

SUNDAY - National Village Cup: Jack Tidey was on fire taking six Borstal wickets for only 21 runs in his 10 overs. The visitors from Kent were dismissed for 83. After the loss of a couple of cheap wickets, Reed coasted home by 6 wickets, Rob Lankester, 30, and James Heslam, 17 not out. SATURDAY (SHPCL): Yes, in a blink of an eye, we are halfway through the Herts League season. At this stage, the Firsts are 3rd in the Championship Division, the Seconds 2nd in 4B, and the Thirds 5th in Div 10A. On the Green, the 1st XI posted 189 for 9, Ed Wharton, Jack Tidey and Rich Wharton accumulating scores in the late- thirties but Reed failed to prevent Hoddesdon winning by 5 wickets. At Ampthill, Matt Bowles and Ed Garrot with 3 wickets each helped restrict the hosts to 97 all out. Rich Barlow passed 30 and accompanied by Chris Jackson's score in the twenties, and by Paul Garrott's 22, Reed 2nd XI eased home by 9 wickets. The Thirds had a more challenging objective once Ickleford had scored 278 for 3. It wasn't a bowler's day as Reed reached their target in the 43rd over having lost only 2 wickets along the way. Richard "Jess" Johnson was sublime hitting 124 not out, and was well supported by opener, Rob Willoughby's 34, P.G. "Tips" Baker's 44 and Mike Robertson's 51 not out. Expect Match Reports to follow shortly.

SATURDAY (SHPCL): This was a genuine 90-point day. All three teams won their respective battles, all by chasing-down targets and each having plenty of wickets in-hand. The Firsts had Ampthill all out for 91 in their All-Day game which lasted all of 64 overs, eighteen of which was all that Reed needed to knock them off. Ed Wharton had a good all-round day by taking 3 wickets and scoring a brisk 32. Matt Sampson and Rob Lankester contributed twenties and Reed won by 7 wickets. On The Green, the Second XI bowled Flamstead out for 161 in the 22nd over, Matt Giblin taking 4 wickets. In reply, Phil Frenay and Richard Barlow notched-up half-centuries with Chris Jackson supporting Barlow towards the end. Reed's innings lasted until their 28th over when they cruised home by 9 wickets. With both of those matches all done and dusted by mid-afternoon, most of the Reed players joined the regular supporters group down at the Freman Oval to cheer-on the Thirds in their pursuit of Rickmansworth's challenging score of 231 for 7, Rob Willoughby taking 4 for 34. Richard Johnson (57) and Paul Garrott (80) did most of the work and Rob Willoughby helped with 34. Reed had 6 wickets in-hand when they overhauled the target in the 42nd over. SUNDAY: In the friendly against Forest Gate Reed unfortunately came second! Reed batted first with Tom Greaves scoring 83, Zac McGuigan, 35, and Marcus Martin and Ollie Sayers both passing 20. Reed were bowled out for 201 in the 33rd over. In reply, Will Green bowled 4 very tidy overs taking 2 for 14, Sayers also picked up a wicket. However, the visitors knocked-off the required runs in 32 overs. [...]

SUNDAY - NATIONAL VILLAGE CUP. This 5th Round match, (the Final is the 9th so there is still a way to go), was on The Green against Stoke Green from Buckinghamshire. The visitors made 141 and were largely restricted by Toby Fynn (3 wickets) although all the bowlers contributed to their below par total. Reed's first wicket partnership realised 88 in 11 overs, of which the departing Sean Tidey scored 76 taking him to more than 300 aggregate runs in this season's competition. Although Reed lost four more wickets, they duly won with 5 in-hand. In the 6th Round, Reed's next opponents will be Borstal CC from Kent on the 7th July. They beat the Surrey side, Blackheath, today. Meanwhile, Foxton (Cambs & Norfolk) overcame Worlington (Essex & Suffolk) and will be hosting Findon from West Sussex next. SATURDAY - SHPCL. The Firsts were up at Dunstable (or is that Down at Dunstable?). Whichever, Dunstable made 198 for 6, with Jack Tidey returning a remarkable analysis of 2 for 32 off 20 overs. Reed's Ed Wharton made 94 in reply with thirties from Jack Caine and Richard Wharton seeing Reed home by 7 wickets. On The Green, Chorleywood were dispatched for 179 with Matt Bowles taking a 5-fer!. Earlier, Reed had posted 256 for 6. Phil Frenay led the way by scoring a 70, Chris Jackson reached fifty and Fergus Martin stroked a forty. Despite Mike Robertson's undefeated 52, the Thirds could not match Hoddesdon's 161 all out over at Roydon CC. Joe Graves made his mark early-on by taking 4 for 18, but what could have been a target of less than 100, enlarged in the latter stages of the innings. Michael Juckes took [...]