Reed IIIs got their league season off to a flying start when they travelled to Letchworth V on Saturday.Captain Matt Bowles lost the toss and his team were asked to bat on a lively looking track, and lively it proved to be as variable bounce from the outset meant the Reed batsmen had to be watchful and wise in their shot selection. Openers Aidan Swain (29) and 14 year old William Heslam batted beautifully against the new ball, mixing good judgement with some excellent shot making to put on an opening stand of 88, before Swain was bowled.  Heslam (53) was not to be stopped however, and played some magnificent strokes on his way to a half century, outlining his promise as a batsman, an impressive feat given the difficult wicket. Reed’s batsmen continued to build good partnerships, with contributions from all who batted. Peter Baker (12) and Masseh Naeem put on nearly 50 together, and then skipper Bowles (43) and young keeper/batsman Sean Tidey (18) plundered a brutal 50 run partnership. Some lusty late blows from Richard Robertson (14 Not Out) and promising young all-rounder Kallum Ward (21 Not Out) then took Reeds score to 256-6 when Bowles declared the innings. A hugely impressive effort on what was a challenging pitch to bat on. In reply, Letchworth had no real answer to the strong Reed bowling attack, as Kallum Ward ((11-4-18-2) had opposing captain Gillham caught behind by keeper Sean Tidey in the 2nd Over after a peach of a ball that took the outside edge. The impressive Tidey then took a brilliant catch off of Rupert Martin (11-4-26-3) to reduce the visitors to 30-2. Martin then followed this up by dislodging the off stump of [...]

Reed III impressive start to the season was halted on Saturday after going down to a 3 wicket defeat to Knebworth Park V. Skipper Matt Bowles lost the toss and his side were asked to bat on what looked a very green and lively pitch. The in form William Heslam opened up with father John, and despite the excessive bounce the young Heslam looked in imperious form as he combined some excellent back foot shots with sensible leaves and a solid defence. The pair took the score to 20 before John Heslam was bowled by Mantle after attempting a drive. This brought about a collapse, as the Reed top order struggled to cope with the excessive bounce of the pitch. Paul and George Garrott both came and went to the impressive Mantle in quick succession, and they were followed by William Heslam (17), who was caught superbly off of the bowling of Johnson. This left Reed in a perilous position at 24-4, with skipper Bowles and Richard Robertson now at the crease. The pair batted sensibly, protecting their wickets well and steering Reed away from a disastrous score. Bowles (31) was looking set for a long stay in the middle, but then fell foul of the pitch as a ball kept low and beat his defences. Two more wickets fell as Kallum Ward and Graham Hazard went cheaply to leave the visitors staring down the barrel once more, but the combination of sensible and stylish batting from Robertson (34) and the brutal Jim Allsopp (19) lifted Reed into the batting points. However, Mantle’s 5 wickets and the cleaning up of the Reed tail meant the final score for the innings was a lowly 136. Knebworth [...]

Reed won the toss and batted and got off to a fair start on a good batting wicket with a short boundary on one side and sizeable one on the other. After 5 overs they lost William Heslam unluckily caught with the ball lodging in a hapless slip fielders crutch for 19 with the score at 23. John Heslam 25 and No3 Mitchell Cooper took the score to 55 off 15 overs before Heslam Sr lost patience and was bowled seeking to force the pace against a nagging and accurate Hertford attack. Maseeh Naeem improved Reeds run rate and struck a rapid 31 before holing out in the deep to an awaiting fielder and was replaced by Richard Robertson who also played a positive innings of 23. Mitchell Cooper meanwhile continued to make staedy progresss towards a half century which he duly completed eventually totalling 62 studiously compiled over a 37 over stay at the crease. Reed needed to take their score to at least 200 and beyond and just managed 204 - 9 with Ben Bowles contributing 12 and Alex West striking 2 good blows in 11 not out. Reed got off to a good start in the field with Julian Fynn swinging the ball prodigiously and Andrew wholley bowling with pace. A wicket for each of them saw Hertford slump to 23 - 2 but when Wholley pulled up with a hamstring injury in his 6th and was unable to continue that was as good as it got for Reed. Hertfords Anderson demonstrated a very positive intent and was well supported by Jones. Fynns 7 over spell yielded 1-20 but thereafter Mitchell Cooper, Alex West, ben Bowles and Richard Robertson made no impression [...]

A youthful Reed IIIs went down to a heavy defeat at home to Hertingfordbury IIs on Saturday. On a blissful afternoon at Freeman; Reed skipper Matt Bowles, on his return from a month out with a knee injury, won the toss and elected to put the visitors into bat. The decision proved to be a costly one, as Reed’s bowlers toiled in the hot sun, as the visiting batsman built a solid and steady total of 238-6 from their 47 Overs. The probing bowling of Jim Allsopp being the only real highlight for Reed, as they gave the opposition too many runs in extras and leaked too many singles. Reeds reply got off to a faltering start as leading run scorer Will Heslam departed early. However a solid partnership from John Heslam, who fell just short of his half century, and Alan Ward (27) did threaten to drag Reed into contention. However when both fell, along with a spectacular middle and late order collapse which yielded four ducks, the game was beyond Reed. Some good blows from debutant 14 year old Ollie Benham (16) and some late boundaries from Julien Fynn and skipper Bowles did drag Reed into the batting points, but it was too little too late as Reed were all out for 138, losing by 100 runs.

Reed IIIs went down to Cheshunt IIs on Saturday after again failing with the bat. On another blissful Saturday afternoon at Freeman, Reed skipper Matt Bowles lost the toss, and his side were asked to field first. Young opening bowlers Alex West and Matt Giblin both bowled with good control early doors, but the experienced Cheshunt batsmen saw off the new ball and begun to push the score towards 50. The introduction of Richard Robertson did bring about a wicket, but Cheshunt rebuilt and a solid partnership of 70 soon followed as they reached 120-1. William Heslam bowled well and was eventually rewarded with a couple of wickets, and once into the middle order, Robertson began to rip through the visiting batsmen, taking a marvellous 6 wickets in his marathon 18 Over spell. However the solid start made ensured Cheshunt reached 187 before they were eventually all out. The returning Will Heald, playing his first game for Reed since 2007, also snared a couple of wickets. Despite having a strong looking batting side ‘on paper’ Reed struggled from the outset, losing John Heslam (4) and Will Heald (0) early. William Heslam again looked good, and raced to 27 before he was the first of a number of victims of the sharp work from the visiting keeper, out stumped. Ben Bowles (14) and Scott Caine (9) briefly steadied the ship, but when both fell in consecutive overs, Reed were in dire straights. Skipper Matt Bowles was joined in the middle by Richard Robertson, and the pair looked comfortable in taking Reed out of danger, until Robertson was bowled after edging a ball onto his pads and then onto the stumps. Steve Lovegrove and Alex West then [...]