Reed IIs moved to joint top of the Saracens Herts League Div 7 with a close fought victory over Southgate Adelaide on Saturday, in very trying conditions. Reed won the toss and inserted their hosts, in bowler friendly conditions. When Tom Fulk caught Whiting at extra cover off Karl Ward, with the score on 15 the decision looked like paying off. Ward then proceeded to rip through the batsmen taking the first 5 wickets as Adelaide slumped to 34 – 5. Omar came to the crease with an obvious intention to take the attack to Reed. On 26 he lofted one to cover where the usually safe hands of Tom Fulk failed to hold on to the  catch. The drop proved costly as Omar bludgeoned his way to an eventual  95. Ward continued to pick up wickets though with Irwin and Doyle becoming victims 6 & 7. There was a real opportunity to get all 10 wickets but skipper Archer picked up the wickets of Samuels and McDermott both for ducks. With Omar running out of partners he attempted one shot too many and became Ward’s 8th scalp, 5 short of his century. Ward took the plaudits for an amazing spell of 21.3 – 1- 8 – 79, ably supported by Richard Johnson, who bowled well without luck and Archer. The score of 186 all out was probably 60 more than Adelaide should have attained. Reed set out on the chase, in worsening conditions but sensible batting saw a 30 opening partnership between Fulk and Smith. 30 – 1 became 40-2 as Frenay fell cheaply. Tom Fulk was joined by Edward Garrott and the pair batted with great maturity to see Reed to 97 before Fulk fell for [...]

Reed second XI entertained Redbourn on Saturday in their Hertfordshire League clash. Skipper Jason Archer won the toss and with a fantastically prepared batting track and glorious conditions chose to bat. Mark King and Fergus Martin got Reed off to an excellent start putting on 81 before King was caught for 60. Marcus Martin joined the fray and after struggling early on went through the gears putting on 58 with his sibling before Fergus was trapped in front for 20. Ian Fulk joined Martin and the pair completed Reed’s third 50 partnership of the innings with Fulk managing just 7 before he was caught spectacularly but bizarrely at gulley of the wicket keepers boots pads and gloves. Richard Johnson in imperious form entered his first shot a contender for shot of the day as it raced to the boundary for 4. Martin’s innings had been purring all afternoon and with three figures in sight he was caught a short extra cover, a fine knock of 87 that really deserved a century. Reed continued to pile on the agony for Redbourn as Karl Ward set about the attack in cavalier fashion. With Johnson a 5th wicket partnership of 43 ensued before Ward was caught on the boundary for 17. The Reed innings closed on a massive 261 – 5 with Johnson unbeaten on 43. With such a fine deck the run chase was always on and Redbourn’s openers started as if this was their target. Ward a revelation with the ball this year found the edge of Smiths bat on numerous occasions, but his luck ran out when he edged one to the gulley region where Archer trousered his first top draw catch of the day, to send him [...]

Reed moved in to third position in the league on Saturday after another comprehensive victory. This time over fellow promotion hopefuls Old Cholmelians. After losing the toss and being asked to bowl, Richard Johnson removed the opener with the first ball of his spell. Sanderson and Jaleel then forged a partnership of 112, before Jason Archer had the latter caught in the gulley by King. Undaunted Old Cholms continued and with 18 overs to go with the score 154-2, it looked like Reed were going to have to chase a mammoth total, but Richard Robertson and Archer had other ideas. In tandem the swing bowling attack reduced Old Cholms to 185 all out in 44 of their alloted 53 overs. Archer with 3-48 and Robertson picking up 5-43 of 12 overs. Reed had 55 overs to chase the target but in the end needed considerably fewer. Fergus Martin and Mark King put on 76 for the first wicket and King another 44 with Marcus Martin. King passed 50 then acclerated putting on 52 with Phillip Frenay, before falling for an outstanding, 125 out of a total of 176. Frenay and Ben Bowles then saw Reed home without further loss, as the hosts chalked up a 7 wicket victory in just 33 overs. Still undefeated, Reed travel to a surprisingly struggling, Kings Langley on Saturday with promotion more than a distinct possibility. Captain Jason Archer commented " It is the end of July and we are still to lose a game if we can carry on the run until the end of the season, promotion from a very strong division would be a certainty but we will take nothing for granted, as all teams in this [...]

Reed moved in to third position in the league on Saturday after another comprehensive victory. This time over fellow promotion hopefuls Old Cholmelians. After losing the toss and being asked to bowl, Richard Johnson removed the opener with the first ball of his spell. Sanderson and Jaleel then forged a partnership of 112, before Jason Archer had the latter caught in the gulley by King. Undaunted Old Cholms continued and with 18 overs to go with the score 154-2, it looked like Reed were going to have to chase a mammoth total, but Richard Robertson and Archer had other ideas. In tandem the swing bowling attack reduced Old Cholms to 185 all out in 44 of their alloted 53 overs. Archer with 3-48 and Robertson picking up 5-43 of 12 overs. Reed had 55 overs to chase the target but in the end needed considerably fewer. Fergus Martin and Mark King put on 76 for the first wicket and King another 44 with Marcus Martin. King passed 50 then acclerated putting on 52 with Phillip Frenay, before falling for an outstanding, 125 out of a total of 176. Frenay and Ben Bowles then saw Reed home without further loss, as the hosts chalked up a 7 wicket victory in just 33 overs.Still undefeated, Reed travel to a surprisingly struggling, Kings Langley on Saturday with promotion more than a distinct possibility. Captain Jason Archer commented " It is the end of July and we are still to lose a game if we can carry on the run until the end of the season, promotion from a very strong division would be a certainty but we will take nothing for granted, as all teams in this league [...]

Reed marched to the top of the league on Saturday with victory over Northwood Town, who were before Saturday themselves at the summit. Town won the toss and it was no surprise they elected to bat on another delightful deck at The Green. The decision appeared to have backfired as Graham Wilson and Richard Johnson soon had them reeling at 35-3. Town skipper Phil Carter then set about rectifying the damage and with Cotton they put on 70 until Emms had the latter bowled. Carter was a thorn in the side though, cashing in on an early drop to reach his 50 before King had him well caught behind by Robertson. With plenty of overs left and the score on 170-5, skipper Jason Archer brought himself into the attack with Johnson as his foil. The pair removed Town’s last 5 batsmen for just 11 runs. Archer finishing with 4 for 7 off six overs. The total of 181 looked 50 short, in fact it was a long way short as Reed’s innings was to show.Reed’s opening partnership of Fergus Martin and Mark King was superb. Youngster Martin, the perfect foil for swashbuckling King. Fergus embedded himself rotating the strike as King stroked the ball delightfully to all parts of the ground. No bowler was spared as King broke the heart of the oppositions attack. The 50 partnership was reached in the 15th over, the 100 partnership in the 25th and the total of 182 required was reached on the last ball of the 32 over. Reed celebrated a decisive 10 wicket victory with Martin 42 not out and King 130 not out. King’s innings an absolute delight.Archer commented “ What a performance against the league [...]

Reed 2nd XI traveled to London Colney on Saturday for their last warm up game before the league season. Reed lost the toss and were asked to field. Opening bowlers Joe Curk (5 ov 3mdn 0 for 6) and Marcus Martin (7 ov 0 for 19) got Reed off to a good start with tight early season spells of line and length bowling. The first 12 over’s conceding just 30 runs.Colney were under pressure and the introduction of Louis Gearing (7ov 0mdn 1-17) and Michael Robertson (10ov 0mdn 3-33) intensified that, following on from the spells of Curk and Martin in terms of accuracy but picking up 4 wickets along the way. At drinks Colney were 62-4.The last 15 over’s of the innings were going to be crucial for Colney as they looked to push on the scoring rate and set Reed a reasonable target to chase. Reeds “death” bowlers captain Jason Archer (8ov 2mdn 2 for 17) and young leg spin bowler James Bloor kept the run rate down to just over 3 an over but also snaffled 5 big wickets, to rip the heart out of Colney’s middle order. At tea Reed had restricted Colney to 140 for 9 off their allocated 45 over’s.Reed’s young opening double act of Fergus Martin (32) and Tom Greaves (0) suffered an early setback with Greaves getting one that nipped back to knock out his off stump. This brought Chris Jackson (68 no) to the crease. The duo batted superbly putting on 78 for the second wicket, before Martin skied one to extra cover.This brought Joe Curk (32) to the crease and after adapting to the slow paced wicket, scored freely. Jackson completed an outstanding half century [...]

Reed IIs continued their promotion charge and moved to second place in the league after another convincing victory. This weeks opponents Kings Langley won the toss and decided to bat. Reed made an unfortunate start as Peter Tidey tore a hamstring bowling the 4th ball of the day. Richard Johnson (4-47) took over and dismissed the top 3 batsmen. Karl Ward chipped in with his 25th wicket of the season at the other end, but it was Jason Archer (4-30) who ripped the heart out of the middle order as Kings Langley stuttered. Eventually bowled out for 189 in 49 overs. Only Sambrook providing any real resistance with 49 from number 8. Reed made their usual excellent start with Fergus Martin and Mark King completing their fifth fifty plus opening stand in six starts together.King eventually fell for an excellent 51. Marcus Martin (44) and Stuart Smith (55no)then added a further fifty for the third wicket, before the former became Perkins third victim. This proved to be the last wicket to fall as Richard Johnson (32no)joined Smith to see Reed home, with the third major partnership of 74.

Reed second's opened the Saracens League campaign with a fine win away at Hexton. After losing the toss and being asked to field, opening bowlers Karl Ward and Richard Robertson, contained the Hexton batters. With the score on 30 Ward made the breakthrough, having Smith caught by a diving James Bloor at midwicket. This dismissal then opened the floodgates as Ward ripped through the top order taking 6 for 40 off 18 overs. Jason Archer and Michael Robertson also picked up wickets as Hexton crumbled to 112 all out.In reply Fergus Martin and Aidan Swain got Reed off to an ideal start reaching 30 before Martin fell. Ian Fulk came to the crease and batted sensibly with Swain and then Michael Robertson to take Reed to the point of victory. The honour of clinching the 30 points was left to Mitchell Cooper, who pulled Marshall for 4 to seal the victory, with 5 wickets in hand.

Reed IIs were again left frustrated after a draw against Flamstead in which they dominated throughout. The returning Stuart Smith recovered from losing two early partners to carry his bat through the innings for a magnificent 112 not out. Ably supported by Edward Garrott 57 and Richard Johnson 38. The total of 232-5 off just 50 overs enabled skipper Jason Archer to call an early declaration, giving his bowlers a similar number of overs in order to dismiss Flamstead. The Flamstead innings never gained any momentum, after 10 overs from Karl Ward (4-59) and Richard Johnson, the opposition were struggling at 14-2. A brief flurry of runs ensued, from the middle order, mainly down to the attacking fields, but as they capitulated and with 20 overs to go, survival was clearly the only thing on Flamsteads agenda. A mere 41 runs were scored off the final twenty overs with Flamstead creeping slowly past the single batting point target. The innings closing on 151-7. A rueful Archer commented "At times we are almost our own worse enemy. Our opening spells of bowling are so accurate that teams seem to give up the run chase less than a quarter of the way through the innings, coupled with the excellent wicket at Reed bowling teams out will be a struggle, if the batsmen decide that dogged resistance is their only option"Reed entertain Flitwick on Saturday in a clash of two of the 3 remaining unbeaten sides in the Division, and with Flitwick being a side who are willing to chase down totals a good game is in prospect.

Reed 2nd XI entertained  table topping Dunstable on Saturday and sent a clear message to the rest of the division with a performance of great quality. Without William Clarke drafted back in to the first team as a late replacement, Reed relied on opening quicks Ward and Johnson to get them off to a good start. After the opening salvo, Graham Wilson (19-1-49) and Edward Garrott (17-3-40) bowled extremely well, restricting the league leaders to just 139 off their allotted 53 overs, on a perfect batting track with a lightning quick outfield. In response Reed lost a couple of wickets, more to impatience than quality bowling, but future star Fergus Martin again carrying his bat for an unbeaten 42 and Richard Johnson 58not out saw Reed home. Johnson closing the innings with a huge straight six. The visitors leaving with a mere three points as Reed closed the gap on the promotion pace setters. With half the season gone Reed remain unbeaten.