The 2nd XI ended their 2011 league campaign with a convincing win against Letchworth. The visitors were put into bat on what looking like a good batting track. Openers Baz Curtis and William Heslam took advantage of some early wayward bowling and had raced to 28 from 4 overs when Heslam was caught off the bowling of Khan. He removed Curtis as well 2 overs later and Reed were 28 for 2. Richard Johnson and Mitchell Cooper looked in good form, but Johnson was caught behind for 11. Letchworth had fought back well pulling the run rate back to four an over.This brought Roddi Liebenberg to the crease. He and Cooper started to up the pace and brought up the 100 in the 20th over. Liebenberg reached his fifty with some powerful hitting. Only three singles in that 50 and the rest in boundaries. Cooper provided solid support and hit some fine drives as he reached 42. Cooper had looked like a fifty was nailed on, but he chipper one back to Bishton who took an easy catch. The pair had put on 107 for the 4th wicket.Liebenberg was finally removed for 106, his second ton of the season. Reed were now only five runs short of the maximum batting points with 14 overs left. Marcus Baker hit a brisk 14, but it was left to Rupert Martin, promoted from his usual ten spot and Graham Wilson to see Reed to the declaration. Martin on the brink of all rounder status hit a quick 21 not out leaving him averaging over 100 for the season with the bat. Wilson was 6 not out as Reed declared 4 overs early on 249-7The track still looked good [...]

Reed’s 2nd XI for the second week running fell one wicket short of victory. After winning the toss Baz Curtis decided to bat first. Curtis opening with inform Matt Bowles put on 71 for the first ticket and neither batsman seemed in much trouble. Curtis misjudged a drive off the leg spin off Chandracant and was caught at midwicket for 39. The run rate slowed as Mitchell Cooper and Bowles got back on track. Bowles continued to put the bad ball away with some fine drives. He had reached 49 when while plane spotting missed a ball that turned and was bowled. Richard Johnson had no answer to the leg spin and was bowled around his legs for a duck. Suddenly it was 108-3. That soon became 110-4 and Hoddesdon looked back in the match.Phil Freney was joined by Roddi Liebenberg and the pair began to rebuild. Freney played a fine supporting role pushing the ball around and picking up the odd boundary when the bad ball came along. Liebenberg’s first six scoring shots were all fours and they pair were soon on top. A score of 200 for the home side looked again possible. Freney went for 25 when he became Chandracant forth victim. Will Dobson came in to bat and along with Liebenberg moved Reed from 162-5 to 242-5 off 47 overs. Liebenberg raced to his 50 and was left 81 not out when Curtis decided to declare giving their guests 51 overs to chase the 243 to win.Opening bowlers Mitchell Cooper and Peter Tidey bowled tight opening spells and Tidey struck when the score was only 5. Hoddesdon’s skipper Nick Gandon came in and played a solid innings and Reed lived to [...]

Reed’s 2nd XI took on highflying Hitchin II on Saturday hoping a win would give them an outside chance of promotion. The wicket was very green after the down pour on Friday and the Hitchin skipper had no hesitation in asking the home side to bat. Baz Curtis opened with Fergus Martin and the pair made a solid start against some accurate bowling.Curtis was first to go for 20 when the score was on 37, but it was looking like the wicket wasn’t going to be the minefield the opposition had hoped for. Richard Johnson joined Martin and again the pair looked comfortable. Martin was pushing the ball around nicely and rotating the strike. With a damp outfield the batsman weren’t getting full value for their shots with lots of 2s being run when on other days they would have been 4s. It wasn’t until Martin had got into the 60s before he struck his first boundary and then all of a sudden three came at once.Johnsons was looking assured at the other end and he too reached 50 before being caught off the bowling of Slack who had bowled unchanged from the pavilion end. The pair had put on 128 for the 2nd wicket and it looked like Reed would post a good total. Martin finally fell for 89 when it looked like he was nailed on for his ton. Will Dobson look good for his quick fire 23 and saw Reed to maximum batting points and the declaration. Slack had bowled unchanged and took 3-88 as Reed posted 201-6. The visitor were looking for 10 points to guarantee their promotion, but after putting Reed in had only picked up 1.After tea Graham Wilson [...]

Reed lost the toss and were put into bat on a damp track after midweek rain. Baz Curtis and William Heslam opened for the visitors and made a solid start on the tricky wicket. The pair had put on 41 in 9 overs when Heslam drove at one and was caught at point. Curtis was joined by Fergus Martin. The youngest took time to get used to the conditions, but slowly found his range. Curtis had moved past 50 and looked well set for a really big score when he was out LBW off the bowling of Amos for 74. At the half was stage of the innings Reed were 97-2.Runs became hard to come by and in the next 7 overs Reed could only muster 14 runs. Will Dobson joined Martin and they both upped the pace. Doboson was working the ball around nicely and with some good running and some lusty blows put on 42 in 7 overs. Martin was caught for 46 and Dobson bowled for 19. This only brought in Roddi Liebenberg and Mitchell Cooper. Liebenberg was soon in his stride hitting the unfortunate Gilbert for 16 in his only over. He raced to 50 and with Cooper hitting a good 14 including a big six over extra cover, Reed managed to declare on 232-5 from 50 overs.In reply Hertford made a good start with Reed finding it hard to make the break through. Cooper was again unlucky not to get a wicket when a catch went down at slip. Rupert Martin struck first for the visitors having Davey caught behind. He then struck again bowling Hesla. Gilbert decided attack was the best form of defence, but he became one of [...]

Reed lost the toss and were put into bat on a damp track after midweek rain. Baz Curtis and William Heslam opened for the visitors and made a solid start on the tricky wicket. The pair had put on 41 in 9 overs when Heslam drove at one and was caught at point. Curtis was joined by Fergus Martin. The youngest took time to get used to the conditions, but slowly found his range. Curtis had moved past 50 and looked well set for a really big score when he was out LBW off the bowling of Amos for 74. At the half was stage of the innings Reed were 97-2.Runs became hard to come by and in the next 7 overs Reed could only muster 14 runs. Will Dobson joined Martin and they both upped the pace. Doboson was working the ball around nicely and with some good running and some lusty blows put on 42 in 7 overs. Martin was caught for 46 and Dobson bowled for 19. This only brought in Roddi Liebenberg and Mitchell Cooper. Liebenberg was soon in his stride hitting the unfortunate Gilbert for 16 in his only over. He raced to 50 and with Cooper hitting a good 14 including a big six over extra cover, Reed managed to declare on 232-5 from 50 overs.In reply Hertford made a good start with Reed finding it hard to make the break through. Cooper was again unlucky not to get a wicket when a catch went down at slip. Rupert Martin struck first for the visitors having Davey caught behind. He then struck again bowling Hesla. Gilbert decided attack was the best form of defence, but he became one of [...]

Match report to follow

Match report to follow

The 2nd XI travelled to Flitwick looking to continue their good end of season form. The visitors lost the toss and were asked to field. Mitchell Cooper struck early removing Timms for 2. Nicklin was in positive mood and looked well set. Rupert Martin missed a caught and bowled chance when a return catch came back at him a lot slower than he thought. Nicklin had raced to 33 and it looked like the missed chance might mean a long afternoon in the field for Reed. Peter Tidey had other ideas and a well judged half tracker was misjudged by the Flitwick opener and he was bowled. Thurstance and Alder batted well for Flitwick, but when Roddi Liebenberg caught Thurstance for 27 Reed started to stem the run rate. Rupert Martin completed a fine spell of bowling have Valentine caught for 3 and finishing with figures of 2-51 from 15 overs.Will Dobson replaced him and the home side struggled again some good spin bowling. Tidey struck twice more and at 132-7 Reed looked well on top. Dobson removed Alder for 34 thanks to a good catch by Fergus Martin at mid wicket. It looked like Reed might be chasing less than 150, but Peters took a liking to the attack and smashed 38. Cooper returned to bowl the all rounder, but not before Peters smashed him for a 6. Flitwick were all out for 178 and more importantly Reed had gained 2 extra overs for their run chase. Tidey ended with 3-52 and Dobson 3-31.In reply Reed started at a snails pace. William Heslam was dismissed for a duck, but Baz Curtis and Fergus Martin saw off the challenge of Peters and Moxon-Booth with a [...]

The 2nd XI travelled to Flitwick looking to continue their good end of season form. The visitors lost the toss and were asked to field. Mitchell Cooper struck early removing Timms for 2. Nicklin was in positive mood and looked well set. Rupert Martin missed a caught and bowled chance when a return catch came back at him a lot slower than he thought. Nicklin had raced to 33 and it looked like the missed chance might mean a long afternoon in the field for Reed. Peter Tidey had other ideas and a well judged half tracker was misjudged by the Flitwick opener and he was bowled. Thurstance and Alder batted well for Flitwick, but when Roddi Liebenberg caught Thurstance for 27 Reed started to stem the run rate. Rupert Martin completed a fine spell of bowling have Valentine caught for 3 and finishing with figures of 2-51 from 15 overs.Will Dobson replaced him and the home side struggled again some good spin bowling. Tidey struck twice more and at 132-7 Reed looked well on top. Dobson removed Alder for 34 thanks to a good catch by Fergus Martin at mid wicket. It looked like Reed might be chasing less than 150, but Peters took a liking to the attack and smashed 38. Cooper returned to bowl the all rounder, but not before Peters smashed him for a 6. Flitwick were all out for 178 and more importantly Reed had gained 2 extra overs for their run chase. Tidey ended with 3-52 and Dobson 3-31.In reply Reed started at a snails pace. William Heslam was dismissed for a duck, but Baz Curtis and Fergus Martin saw off the challenge of Peters and Moxon-Booth with a [...]

For the second year running, Reed were frustrated by the weather at Flamstead. Reed lost a vital toss and were inserted on what looked like a bowler friendly track. Baz Curtis and Fergus Martin again opened the batting, but both fell having scored 2. Matt Bowles and Richard Johnson showed more aggression and looked to have repaired the early damage before Bowles drove at a wide one and was well caught behind for a fine 36. At 65-3 it looked like Reed would be able to set a challenging total and may even get some batting points, but Rose had other ideas. He had Johnson caught at mid off for 31 and then ripped through the middle order reducing the visitors to 96-8. That was soon 104 all out. Rose finishing with 7-37 from 21.2 overs.A shower before the home side could start their innings delayed their reply, and they had to face a tricky 20 minutes before tea. Reed knew their was enough in the wicket to still make batting hard and some good bowling could still steal a victory. Mitchell Cooper had Oswin well caught at gully by Wheeler and then Rupert Martin picked up two wickets before the tea break. Blunt being removed as the players ran off for tea and another shower. The covers did a good job, but the surrounding area around the wicket was very wet. Flamstead did a good job to get play back on again. Skipper Taylor came out with some intent hitting two boundaries before he was caught a short midwicket by Cooper with a great diving catch.Both Cooper and Martin picked up more wickets and the home side were in sorts of trouble at 57-7 [...]