Reed lost out on a hard fought battle against promotion contenders Hertford on Saturday. Having won the toss, Hertford inserted Reed into bat and the Heslam brothers started well at the top of the order. Both batsman got good starts but both lost wickets at key times when they were both set, and eyeing up big scores. This was the story throughout the Reed innings, with all bar one top six batsman making it into the twenties or thirties, but failing to make Hertford pay, losing wickets at key times. As a result Reed finished prematurely on 179 all out in 49.1 overs, knowing that this was 20-30 runs shy of a par score.In reply Reed knew they had to exert early pressure on the Hertford batsman, and that is exactly what they did. Jack Tidey, returning to opening the bowling in light of Mitchell Cooper's absence bowled with pace and movement, causing the Hertford batsman trouble throughout. Ably supported by Lee Johnson and Tom Greaves, Tidey (2-86) bowled a mammoth 18 over spell, picking up two prized wickets. The ever reliable Tom Greaves (2-38) played with the Hertford batsman, and was unlucky not to have picked more wickets in an excellent spell of tight, patient spin bowling . At 76-5 Hertford were on the rocks, but Ray and Bancroft batted stubbornly, and with the assistance of a fair amount of luck they put themselves into a strong position. When these two departed, Hertford surely couldn't lose and despite Reed making them work very hard for the win, Hertford knocked the winning runs with an over to spare with just two wickets remaining. This finished a tight, hard fought game by both sides. Reed will [...]

Reed continue to battle hard in the race for promotion thanks to a dramatic last over victory at Hitchin. Reed won the toss and took the risk of bowling first on a green looking wicket knowing one of Hitchin’s key bowlers was unavailable.The visitors made a decent start with Jack Tidey (3-32), Mitchell Cooper, Tom Greaves (1-68) and Rupert Martin (2-55) all bowling well. This along with another direct hit run out by Will Heslam left Hitchin at 104-6 off 33 overs when the weather intervened. Unfortunately this break which was surprisingly extended to include tea disrupted Reed’s rhythm and when they returned a combination of some lacklustre Reed play and good batting by Hitchin saw the home side eventually make 224-9 off their 52 overs. No.4 Sharma made an excellent knock of 97 not out including some big hitting in the last few overs and he was well supported by No. 8 Neale (41).In reply Reed knew they needed a positive start and they got this to a certain degree at 25-0 off 5 overs. However, both Heslam’s fell soon after for 12. Nevertheless Greaves and Chris Jackson not only repaired the damage but kept the scoring rate up moving Reed along to 93-2 in the 21st over. Although Greaves fell for an impressive run a ball 44 Stuart Smith joined Jackson (37) and another good partnership took the score to 125-3 in 28 overs. By this point the run rate had increased a little to over 6 an over but this was ok as long as Reed’s middle or lower order could bat well. Smith took on the role of anchoring the innings and did so impressively. He was supported by particularly useful [...]

Reed get back on track!Reed returned to winning ways in Saracens Herts League Division One with a very impressive victory over Hitchin 1XI at the green.Following the wet weather, Reed Captain James Heslam was pleased to be put in the field by Hitchin. This proved to be understandable as opening bowlers Lee Johnson (14-2-37) and Mitchell Cooper (13-4-35) produced two excellent spells making full use of the decent bowling conditions. They both found their line early and hit good areas with pace to leave Hitchin in disarray at 10-5 after 10 overs with 4 batsman clean bowled. Hitchin were able to recover somewhat with Kennedy (39) playing a decent knock but the Reed pressure was relentless with Johnson and Cooper completing long spells. Curk and (2-6) and Greaves (1-17) were then being brought into the attack with good effect to leave Hitchin 61-9 and Reed were in dreamland. A last wicket partnership gave Hitchin the slightest of hope taking them to 98 before Cooper removed their number 11. In reply Reed knew a good start would prevent any chance of a nervous chase and that is exactly what they got. Despite testing bowling from Hitchin who have performed well with the ball this season James and Will Heslam batted sensible putting the bad ball away to take Reed to 67-0 in good time. Will Heslam (25) was then removed caught in two minds by a short ball from one of the Hitchin quicks but this only brought Joe Curk (26 not out) to the crease who showed his class to ease Reed to victory supported by James Heslam who remained unbeaten on 43 not out.Reed travel to St Albans next week in search of another [...]

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Reed 1 XI travelled to Ampthill Town in good spirits off the back of consecutive Herts league division one victories, however, they were left frustrated by the weather.Captain Heslam won the toss and given the unpredictable weather forecasted chose to bowl first so Reed could control the game in terms of the potential for restricted overs affecting the number of overs for batting.Reed made an excellent start with Lee Johnson (2-19) and Mitchell Cooper (0-7) leaving Ampthill at 28-2 off 10 overs. But then the rain arrived and continued for over an hour leaving the ground in an unplayable state by the 3:30pm cut off point.The game was abandoned as a draw with 10 points each and leaves Reed looking ahead to next weekend with the 1st of a run of 4 home games in a row in which they will hope to build on their 4th position in the table.

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Reed moved into 2nd place in Herts league division one on Saturday with another solid performance to defeat Ampthill Town.With rain forecast Reed were pleased to have the chance to field having lost the toss and made a good start with opening bowlers Mitchell Cooper (1-30) and Jack Tidey (2-28) again bowling well restricting Ampthill to 20-2 after 10 overs. Although a decent partnership developed taking the score to 57-2, Greaves (4-53) made an important breakthrough following which Reed took control of the game forcing Ampthill to 108-8 in the 40th over as he and the once again impressive Rupert Martin (2-37) bowled very well. The visitors did forge a late partnership taking them to 153-8 before the return of Tidey and Cooper finished off the innings at 154 all out in the 52nd over with Barnes left 77 not out at the end.With the forecast uncertain Reed were anxious to chase down the runs quickly and again turned to Sean Tidey to open. Unfortunately it didn’t come off this time as the Ampthill openers bowled with fire. Greaves though was in the mood and made a high quality quick fire 27 which helped weather the loss of James Heslam for 14. However, Reed were under pressure at 47-3 even if only after 7 overs. But Joe Curk (59) and William Heslam (14) then forged the match winning partnership with Curk dominating the bowlers. He played beautifully on his return to the side and when he departed Reed were almost home on 121-4 off 18 overs with Heslam providing good support. As the skies turned greyer Jack Tidey and Michael Robertson were promoted up the order to finish the game quickly and that Reed did [...]

Match Report To Follow

Match Report To Follow

The opening game of the 2013 season proved a fruitful and enjoyable game for Reed as they travelled away to Broxbourne. The side made up of first and second teamers were asked to bat first in the cold, overcast conditions.Reed started on the wrong foot with the loss of two wickets but recovered with a solid third wicket partnership between Chris Jackson and Joe Curk, making his return to the club from Australia. Both looked comfortable at the wicket with well timed shots. However, a sudden mix up left Curk being run out for 20 and with another quick wicket following soon after Reed were struggling at 55 for 4. Joining Jackson at the crease was Matt Bowles who ended any trepidation their team mates may have been feeling by combining in a fantastic partnership of 87. Jackson continued in the same form that proved so successful for him last season, whilst Bowles played some wonderful sweeps and cuts to frustrate the opposition. With six overs remaining in the innings Jackson was out LBW for a classy 53 and Bowles followed soon after just two short of what would have been a much deserved half century. Reed captain Lee Johnson (12*) and Rupert Martin (8*) finished the innings as Reed posted 1 67 for 7 from their 45 overs.In response the home side mirrored Reed with an un-steady start, Rupert Martin picking two cheap wickets up in his spell of 5-2-22-2. Opening from the other end was Reed stalwart Peter Tidey who restrained the hosts with his steady action but was unfortunate not to get a scalp himself. The flow of the game then changed with Gagan (24) and Davis (41) blasting boundaries. Reed began [...]