Reed’s poor form with the bat again cost the 2nd XI dear. Winning the toss and deciding to bat first seemed the obviously thing to do when the home skipper won the toss. The wicket looked a good batting surface. Openers Bas Curtis and Fergus Martin took their time and put the bad ball away with aplomb. Martin in particular looked in good nick. Curtis was the first to go when he stopped on a drive and was caught at point. A decent opening stand of 46 seemed to have set the foundation for a decent total. Unfortunately that became 46-2 the very next ball when Richard Johnson was removed. Ricahrd Barlow and Martin moved the score along to 79 before Barlow was caught. Twenty Eight overs still remained with wickets in hand.Wigfield has been brought in to the attack and with some good flight he tempted Martin to try and hit over the top only to be caught at mid-off. 94-4 soon became 136-8. Reed scored 40 runs in 12 overs losing those 4 wickets. Roddi Liebenberg and Ben Bowles both got in, but couldn’t get the big score Reed now needed. Marcus Baker struck a lusty 21 before being the last man out for 21. Reed were all out for 161.The pitched held no dangers so Reed need to bowl tightly. Nicklin had other plans and with some lusty blows looked to take the game away from Reed. He seemed to take a liking to Alex Kelly’s bowling, but Kelly had the final say when he bowled Nicklin for 14 with the score on 19. Kelly struck twice when the total had reached 37 and Reed saw a chink on light. The Flitwick [...]

Reed's 2nd XI lacklustre season ended with a lacklustre display. Reed won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first. Baz Curtis and Richard Johnson made a great start finding the boundary regular. It was a good challenge between bat and ball. Rogers was finding some swing and Inman was generating some good pace. Both openers looks settled and had reached 56 before Johnson was bowled for 22 by Inman. Five runs later her struck again removing Curtis in the same manor for 37. The next 12 overs summed up the 2nd XI Reed's season as they went from 56-0 to 96-5. 200 runs was vital for the home side if they were to stave off relegation and at this point it didn't look good. Matt Bowles looked in fine touch, but was removed by Ridley and Reed were 115-7. Marcus Baker struck a quick 10. Simon Jackson wasn't scoring at a rapid rate, but his experience told him a partnership was required. He helped the tail to put on a vital 39 runs. He and Tom Walsingham added 29 for the last wicket with Walsingham scoring 21 not out. Reed's 165 all out didn't give them the 10 points they needed so now wickets were vital. Reed's opening attack of Kallum Ward and Tom Walsingham bowled well early on, but openers Taylor and Clark knew time was on their side. Walsingham removed Taylor for 21, but by now Clark was in full flow. He and Blunt saw Flamstead to 154 without any really alarms, but Walsingham struck again and Johnson removed Clark for 71.  Reed's relegation was confirmed not soon after as Flamstead knocked off the last 12 runs. Flamstead were confirmed as champions soon after [...]

The sun was shining for the final Saturday fixture to be played up at Reed in the 2012 season and with the joy of the week before still lingering in the minds of many it was left to a mix bag eleven to face off against Baldock. As it happens Baldock too had a mixed side so the two captains left it to the toss, which Reed captain Marcus J.E. Baker won and inserted the opposition.Baker wanted to put pressure on the batsmen from the first over so asked under 13 Owen Hughes and Freddy Stuart to open the bowling, the plan to take pace completely off the ball, whilst giving no width and have the visitors make mistakes. This proved successful as Freddy Stuart had a catch taken off his bowling in the second over. This was followed soon after with Owen Hughes hitting the top of off. The same tactics were used for first change bowlers Reece Fitzgerald and Jack Childs, Fitzgerald replacing the very impressive Owen Hughes (4-0-13-1) and Childs replacing Stuart (4-0-31-1).Both bowled well to R. Rayat and J. Muir but Baldocks 3 and 4 did not look like getting out and although by drinks they had not reached 100 things could still have gone either way in the second half of the innings. Baker brought himself on replacing Childs (6-0-27-0) and made the breakthrough again in his first over, thanks to a brilliant catch by Freddy Stuart running in from square leg. Baker would continue to torment the opposition batsmen, his leg spin was just unplayable but somehow would not be rewarded again. Meanwhile, with Fitzgerald finishing his full 8 overs for just 27, Peter Baker came on for a [...]