Reed’s poor start to the season continued against Watford Town at home on Saturday. After the previous few days of rain, Reed knew it would be hard to bat early on, so they would have wanted to win the toss however they were unsuccessful and were asked to bat. Even though the wicket was doing quite a bit the Reed openers of James Heslam and Tom Greaves thought they had both got themselves in before Heslam was first to be dismissed for 23. Greaves offered resistance batting well with Liam McKechnie (15) and Phil Frenay (18) before he fell for Greaves fell for 34. With excellent bowling from the Watford bowlers, Reed were eventually bowled out for 101. After a lovely Reed tea, in reply Watford came out expecting to finish the game of quickly, with minimal loss of wickets. Luckily Reed saw otherwise and put in a spirited bowling and fielding display with lots of players trying to finally make an impact on the game. Lee Johnson bowled tight and unsuccessfully but leading wicket taker Graham Wilson took 3-40 putting and Greaves 2-17, to put the game into an interesting position getting Watford to 79-5 then 84-6. Watford looked edgy but some lusty blows from A Munir saw Watford home to an overall deserved victory.

Reed were unfortunate for the rain to ruin their chances against Welwyn Garden City on Saturday.  James Heslam and Chris Jackson batted superbly together in helping Reed to their total. Heslam was first to go due to an unfortunate run out for 61. Jackson batted to nearly the death of the innings hitting a classy 90 and was ably supported by all his team mates when setting WGC 223.  Jack Tidey got a wicket with his first ball of the game however the other WGC opener got off to a flier before youngster Tidey (3-18) got 2 more wickets in his final over. WGC were 79-3 in their reply when the rain came down.   With Reed wanting to go back out after the initial shower it seemed WGC were happy to take the draw after losing 3 key batsman or alternatively they were using their local knowledge.  Reed finished with 13 points and WGC 10 therefore deservingly getting more out of the game. 

Reed lost at home to Shenley on Saturday despite being in good positions in the game with the bat and ball. Shenley got off to an inconspicuous start with Vadgana and the slow scoring Middlesex youngster Thurston, who put on 36 for the 1st wicket in 12 overs before Reed openers Lee Johnson and Graham Wilson both starting hitting their straps. The bowlers split the first 7 wickets with keeper Simon Jackson taking 5 catches. With Johnson (5-72 off 16 overs) using his pace to rip through the batsman working in a great partnership with the wily Wilson (3-35 off 17 overs). With Shenley now slumped to 73-7 off 24 overs it bought to the wicket the classy Stanley and Hameed. Both batsman looked far better than the batsman before them as they slowly built a solid total. They defended well and put away the bad ball superbly before the Reed spinners of Tom Greaves and Will Dobson got their wickets. Johnson took the final wicket bowling out Shenley for 198. In reply Reed were unlucky to lose Greaves in the first over, playing onto his stumped. This was followed by the Shenley bowler giving the Reed batsman a send-off not dissimilar to something seen on a football field. Skipper James Heslam (26) and Liam McKechnie added the stability to the Reed innings seeing Reed to 51 off 11 overs before losing McKechnie (23), who again witnessed the beautiful spirit of the game which was to carry on throughout the Reed innings. Phil Frenay and Will Dobson nearly saw Reed in to a match winning position before Frenay (19) was unlucky to be adjudged out caught behind. Dobson (27) kept going before suffering a back [...]

Reed were unfortunate in the end not to beat Redbourn, in a very close encounter on Saturday. Lee "red bullet" Johnson fresh from his Sky Sports show took the 9th Redbourn wicket in the final ball of the game, leaving Reed frustratingly with 1 Redbourn wicket left and Reed without a delivery to take it with.Batting first all Reeds top 4 batsman got in on a wicket that was not easy or free scoring, especially with tight bowling and good fielding from Redbourn. Skipper James Heslam and Tom Greaves got Reed going before Greaves was first to go for 15. Heslam was just finding his form before he went for 22.  Liam McKechnie and Chris Jackson then started building the partnership that looked like it was going to set a total that would win the game. McKecknie and Jackson were batting with all the style and grace of Emmy Award winning actors before both fell shortly after each other for 32.Reed went from the comfortable 99-2 to 106-5 when Will Dobson followed shortly after, despite hitting one of the biggest 4s seen at Redbourn.  Marcus Martin (21), Jack Tidey (13) and another not out from Simon Jackson (11) kept Reed going to set Redbourn 170 to win.At tea Reed thought it was a total that could be defended or they could bowl out the opposition due to the now golf bunker look of the wicket. Redbourn got off to a slow but solid start putting on 57 in nearly 22 overs. With the solid foundation in place Reed thought that they must have batsman later in the order to play their shots. However regular wickets throughout the innings stopped this from happening.  Will Dobson back from [...]

In a topsy turvy league game at Preston on Saturday Reed unfortunately came off second best. Reed were on top on numerous occasions before good bowling and great fielding from Preston saw them win and go ahead of Reed in the Hertfordshire league. Graham Wilson after his 9-fa last year at Preston was the pick of the Reed bowlers taking 7-59 in 17.1 overs. However after Preston were 102-8, Reed should have done better than finally bowling the home side out for 200, mainly thanks to super rear guard action from Mark Walters (48). Without 1st team Captain James Heslam, Tom Greaves and Liam McKechnie opened the batting knowing they had 55 overs to reach the total set by Preston. The openers were involved in a calamitous run out leaving McKechnie standing at the same end as Greaves when the Preston keeper was taking the bails off at the other end and thus running McKechnie out. Stand in captain Chris Jackson tried to rebuild after this early disaster and played a great captains innings of 57. His only support was 31 from the returning Phil Frenay before Reed were bowled out for 168. Chris said "that my 57 and Grahams 7-59 become insignificant when we lose. I won't make the excuse that by missing 3 ever presents this weekend was the reason we lost. We did not perform to the level I would expect and I hope we get going at home to Knebworth Park on Saturday

On paper the Reed win over Potters Bar IIs looks an easy win, however with the rain on Saturday reducing the overs Reed had it was a great win and a fabulous run chase. Reed were asked to bowl and Graham Wilson and Lee Johnson both again started brilliantly finding the right areas straight away. Johnson was beating the batsman with pace and Wilson similarly with subtle movement both ways. Wilson got the first 2 wickets, firstly with an easy LBW decision for the umpire and secondly with what could only be described as ball of the season. With Potters Bar batsman at the other end to experienced Palmer (74) deciding to play some interesting shots to tight bowling, Potters Bar continued to lose wickets. Wilson bowled 13 overs 2-45 and Johnson 17 overs 2-53, before being replaced by Will Clarke and Will Dobson. Clarke returned to the quality of bowling he last produced in 2005 taking 1-26 off 10, whilst Dobson produced a spell of variety in his 2-54. With Potters Bar scoring 185-7, Reed knew they would have to get off to a good start and this is exactly what James Heslam and Liam McKechnie did. Reed took the attack to Potters Bar but still managing to defend when the delivery deserved it. Reed raced to 83 off 17 overs with Potters Bar using 5 different and unsuccessful bowling options in this short time. With rain looming all around Heslam (36) was first to go playing a very expansive shot trying to quicken the run rate before the heavens opened. With no Duckworth Lewis Method in the Herts League, when overs are lost to rain, batting teams end up having to score the [...]

Reed first team finished the season with an emphatic win and in doing so condemned Old Albanians to relegation. It was a great all round performance from Reed. James Heslam scored 43, Phil Frenay 28 and young Marcus Martin a quick fire 35. Vice Captain Chris Jackson however scored a masterful not out 100, with his last run being scored off the last ball of the Reed innings after Martin had kindly run himself out for Jackson to reach the landmark. Reed scored 247-4. Old Albanians never looked like getting near the Reed score and were bowled out for 167 giving Reed a convincing win. Wickets were also shared around with Graham Wilson taking 4 and Lee Johnson, Tom Greaves and Ed Garrott taking 2 each. Vice Captain Chris Jackson, was " more than pleased with the all round team performance including his own. We have finished the season really strongly and after losing 3 key players this year, it has been a magnificent achievement to finish 8th out of 20 teams in such a strong league. James (Heslam) did so well taking over from Bernie (Morss) mid season and all the lads have upped their efforts immensely after we lost Andy Young (moved to South Africa) and being without Tom Fulk (due to work commitments) for most of the season. Our overseas player Liam McKechnie fitted in really well and scored lots of runs at the back end of the season and we would hope to have him back next year. Hopefully we have set the platform for a good 2011 with lots of second teamers trying to make their way in to the first team too.

Reed out played Northwood from start to finish at home on Saturday but could not manage to bowl them out or more importantly hold their catches to win the game. Skipper James Heslam and Tom Greaves (20) got Reed off to another good start putting on 52 for the 1st wicket in 10 overs before Greaves was 1st to go. The loss of wickets all through the Reed innings did not stop Heslam who led the team from the front. Heslam had good partnerships with Chris Jackson (17), Ed Garrott (23), Will Dobson (20) and Simon Jackson. Heslam scored 124 off 116 balls, including 20 4s helping Reed. An improvising 31 not out from Lee Johson saw Reed to declare on 255 in 51 overs. Reed bowled well throughout the Northwood innings and regularly took wickets. Opening bowling Graham Wilson took 5-33 in 14 overs, before Reed turned to spin. Dobson (11 over 2 for 18) bowled superbly from one end and from the other end Heslam shuffled his other bowlers. Reed had Northwood 49-6 before the opposition scratched their way to 121-9 with 10 overs left. This bought in Dhanatunge to the wicket who without doubt was not a number 11 and he and his captain tried to bat out the rest of the game. In this 10 over period Reed dropped 4 hard catches but Northwood dug in well to draw. Only Lewis (53) showed any resistance for the visitors. Heslam said “I was disappointed not to win however the scorebook shows how much we outplayed them. We got 6 more points than them which is always a bonus and it was a shame that we just did not take the catches at [...]

In the only game played in division 2, Reed stuffed a very poor Northchurch side. Despite heavy showers, a coastal beach of sand and Reed captain James Heslam using paper towels on the wicket ensured the victory and that Reed will finish mid table in the league. Graham Wilson and Lee Johnson bowled 42 of the 45 overs Reed bowled. Wilson bowled tightly with his 2 for 70 whilst Johnson ripped through the limp Northchurch batting line up with a season best 6-60. Rain mid way through the innings shortened the game and got the sand and paper towels on the wicket Tom Calder top scored for Northchurch with 56 before being caught by a sharp catch from 'keeper Simon Jackson. Northchurch surprisingly declared on 140-8 with a ball to spare. In the shortened reply interestingly the visitors opened with slow bowlers and Tom Greaves and James Heslam got Reed of to the best possible start putting on 87 in 13 overs before Heslam went for 39. Greaves fell shortly after for 52 before young Marcus Martin went for a duck. With Reed now at 93-3 it was left to Chris Jackson and Liam Mckechnie to take Reed to a much deserved victory with 11 overs left. Jackson finishing on 28 and Mckecknie on 26. Skipper James Heslam was ecstatic with the win. "We did a lot of work when the heavens opened in their innings to make the pitch playable. The umpires were great and I feel sorry for Northchurch who only got 5 points which will virtually relegate them".

Reed were the unlucky losers in a game that went down to the final ball of the match at home to Luton Town & Indians on Saturday. With Luton requiring 2 off the final over with 1 wicket left, the ever improving spin bowler Will Dobson (3-70) managed to bowl 4 dots balls before Luton managed to scramble a single on the 5th ball. This meant that Luton could win or the game could be tied but a miss hit shot by the Luton number 10 saw Luton scrap through. Reed batted first and quickly saw them at 39-3 after some good bowling by Bashir (6-47). The quick wickets bought Chris Jackson and Phil Frenay together who batted superbly against a strong Luton team. The two class batsman took Reed to 174 before Frenay was out for 76. Young Ed Garrett showed maturity beyond his years in scoring 26 not out. Jackson was unfortunate to miss out on a ton when he was out trying to bring this up in fine style in the final over of the innings for 96, with Reed finishing on 243-6. With Luton having Rajasthan Royals IPL player Dhiren Salvi in their batting line up, Reed knew they would have to bowl and field well to have a chance of winning this game. They got off to a great start after two sharp pieces of glove work from Simon Jackson seeing Luton stumble to 37-2. With Salvi now in with Naik (71), Luton started to take the game to Reed. With Captain James Heslam shuffling his attack, including his 3 spinners, he managed to get Salvi out for a classy 78 thanks to some great spin bowling from Garrett. This [...]