A welcome return to The Green for Reed’s Sunday Seconds saw a mammoth total amassed by the home side. Having played away for most of the season Reed were happy to have the home advantage again and with just the one game being played they could boast to having one or two first teamers in their ranks. Freddy Stuart was captain for the day, he lost the toss but came away with the result he wanted regardless with Reed being inserted.Despite an early loss, Reed scored quickly. Sean Tidey and Michael Robertson refused to play in anything but top gear with boundaries coming left, right and centre. Tidey’s assault saw him quickly get his half century. Robertson (32) finally fell after shooting one straight up. At that time the score was 85 for 2 from only 7 overs. Freddy Stuart came to the crease and joined in for a time playing to his strengths with some fantastic late cuts. Reed’s captain made 12 before being bowled and making way for Richie Barlow. Meanwhile Tidey was still blasting away in making yet another devastating century. He eventually retired hurt after a spell of cramp with 132 including 12 fours and 9 sixes. Barlow then took charge of Reed’s innings and although the run rate noticeably dropped off in Tidey’s absence the home side continued to score fluently. Barlow, looking classy (61) and Josh Caldecott-Stevens (11) batted well together after drinks. Knocks from Marcus J.E. Baker (24) and Jack Tidey (39*) added to Reed’s mighty total which finished on 338-9.With such a huge total Freddy Stuart had the luxury of rotating the bowling to give everyone a go. Joe Graves and Josh Caldecott- Stevens opened the Reed [...]

Reed’s Sunday Seconds held out against the rain to ensure a comfortable 9 wicket win over Stevenage III’s. Playing on the main ground the visiting Reed side bowled first after captain Marcus J.E. Baker won the toss.A strong side wind was present during most of the first innings and it was an added factor for Reeds opening bowlers Joe Graves and Jack Childs to battle. Both, having accustomed themselves to the wind, started bowling some good tight lines. Childs got the first wicket of the day removing the opposition captain for 0. However, troubles with his run up led to him being replaced prematurely by Rob Willoughby. The simple style of Willoughby did not allow much to be scored off the bat and when eventually partnered with Josh Conley they saw Reed to drinks with a modest total on the board.Willoughby (0-30) would finish un-rewarded due to some at times poor fielding. Conley claimed two, one bowled and another thanks to a catch from Peter G. Baker running in from gully. He would finish with 2 for 33 from his 8 overs. Sam Rice began to tie the opposition in knots as he spun the ball both ways leaving Stevenage un-sure on their shot selection. Combined with Rice was P.G. Baker and Rhodri Hughes bowling alternate overs from the same end. The plan was to not allow the batsmen to feel comfortable at the wicket with constant variation and change in rhythm. The tactics proved successful as Baker (1-17), Hughes (1-4) and Rice (1-25) took wickets. Their triumvirate came to end leaving a single over each to be bowled by Childs and Graves. Childs, thanks to Lloyd Bowman taking his second catch of the day, [...]

With one ear to the radio Reeds Sunday Second XI travelled the short journey to neighbours Cockenhach whilst listening to the incredible last day of the exciting first test of the home Ashes series. Reeds fixture would also prove to be an exciting one as they played rather than the usual 40 over a-side game a 20/20.The hosts won the toss and elected to bat. This was fine with Reed skipper Marcus J.E. Baker as it allowed Cockenhach, who regularly play 20/20, to set the tempo of the game. Under 13 Ed Kershaw opened for Reed and delivered some good deliveries but unfortunately suffered from Dev (13) and Hughs (20) big hitting. Josh Caldicott-Stevens stood up for his opening partner by removing both, one caught and the other bowled. The under 15 playing his first adult game sent down 4 overs of superb lined bowling, taking 2 for only 14. Wickets were also taken by Zak (1-29) and Josh (1-16) Conley as well as Rob Lankaster (1-23). Reed had done well to limit the amount of boundaries during the middle overs and the final total of 147 for 5 seemed beatable.M.J.E. Baker (4) started the Reed reply poorly. Over confidence from his last two innings meant he did not last past the third ball. However, his absence from the crease came with the benefit of allowing Rob Lankaster to start a remarkable innings. Lankaster played the perfect 20/20 knock, finding the boundary regularly with pulls and drives. More importantly though was his running between the wickets. He put pressure on the opposition by turning ones into two and creating singles from nowhere. In this enterprise he was well supported by Lloyd Bowman (22) as they [...]

Closing out July Reed’s Sunday seconds travelled to face Guilden Morden. Reed, earlier this season had beaten Guilden when they hosted them in their opening game. For the return fixture, Reed wanted a second win over their annual rivals.Rhodri Hughes acted as captain for Reed and was not overly disappointed when having lost the toss was asked bowl first, therefore allowing the older and more experienced hosts to set the target. An early onslaught from M.Robinson (47) was quelled when Freddy Stuart (1-31) caught him off his own bowling. First change bowlers Richard Barlow (8-3-23-1) and Marcus J.E. Baker (1-25) sent down some troubling deliveries to hold up the Guilden batsmen. However, Bates and Williams hung in there and started to put a few boundaries away. A change of bowling again proved fruitful when R. Hughes brought himself on and removed Bates (30). Hughes would go on to take a superb catch at long on to remove the potentially dangerous Sam Ingrey (15). There was also good catches from Freddy Stuart at deep midwicket and Lloyd Bowman at mid-off as Reed’s high fielding standards were kept to. Dom McOmish proved the most lethal bowler as he accounted for three wickets for only twenty six. Owen Hughes who had earlier opened the bowling came back and removed two good wickets. Reed could not quite remove the final wicket as the hosts finished on 178 for 9.Rhodri Hughes led from the front with the experienced Peter Baker as they put on 40 for the first wicket. However a sudden collapse saw Reed reduced to 63 for 4 including the loss of the two openers. Graham Stuart, who had come in at number 3, decided that despite the [...]

Reeds Sunday second XI had a positive start to the season with a fantastic win over the visiting Guilden Morden. Marcus J.E. Baker won the toss and inserted the opposition in overcast conditions.Joe Graves got things going for Reed coming down the hill, whilst Under 15 Owen Hughes opened from the other end. It was O. Hughes who got ball rolling for Reed with fantastic caught and bowled from his first ball to remove Ben Ingrey. He followed this up soon after by bowling S. Willow for 4 giving Reed a firm advantage in the early stages. O. Hughes, with impressive figures of 2 for 22 from his 5 overs made way for Masseh Naeem whilst Joe Graves (6-0-19-0) was replaced by Rhoddri Hughes. The first change bowlers proved equally dangerous with both taking wickets in their first overs. However, things took a turn for the worst for Reed as opposition captain Sam Ingrey came to the crease and took a liking to R. Hughes bowling. The left hander cleared the boundary multiple times on his way to a brisk 56. He was then bowled by the sharp pace from Roddi Liebenberg (2-1-1-2) who took another with his next ball putting Reed back on top. R. Hughes then came back on and collect ed two more wickets finishing with 3 for 58. Meanwhile, Maseeh Naeem had help up the other end with an extraordinary spell, he finished with figures of 7 overs, 6 maidens, 1 wicket for just 3 runs. The Guilden Morden tail was finished off by Steve Hughes (2-0-7-1) and Freddy Stuart taking the final wicket with his single delivery.With a target of 120 Reed were confident of a victory but knew that [...]

It was a day for the batsmen as Reed travelled away to face Knebworth Blue in a high scoring friendly. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat first.Knebworth were racing along as Gill bludgeoned the ball around the park in partnership with Butterbee (37). The introduction of Sam Rice (1-62) brought around the first wicket with John Kershaw taking a nice catch behind off Butterbee. This however only allowed Dave Saunders to come to the crease who joined Gill in the heavy hitting. Graeme Stuart then came onto bowl and took the wicket of Gill but sadly it was after he had made three figures, Stuart would go onto remove Benjamin (39) and would finish with figures of 8 overs, 2 for 40. Considering the two attacking batsmen and lighting fast outfield Stuart’s figures were good as were under 15 Owen Hughes. He had earlier opened the bowling and now would come back to take yet another caught and bowled finishing with 7 overs, 1 maiden, 1 for 30. Marcus J.E. Baker removed Saunders (67) but it had cost him to the tune of 54 runs and Josh Conley (1-48) would also chip in, in a returning spell. Reed had given themselves a hefty target of 292 due to the incredible amount of extras and dropped catches of key batsmen which in hindsight could have saved them a lot of runs. Reed went about their chase with positivity and soon were rewarded with the beginning of a good partnership between Peter G. Baker and Steve Hughes. On 26 Hughes (11) was given LBW having just hit successive boundaries. Baker was then joined by John Kershaw and the pair took advantage of the quick [...]

Reed Second Eleven travelled along to the charming village of Aston for a 40/40 friendly and having won the toss Marcus J.E. Baker inserted the hosts. Joe Graves opened the bowling for Reed and produced a fantastic spell of 6-3-13-1 which troubled Aston and claimed the early wicket of Cowell (6). Jack Childs also beat the bat several times and also claimed a wicket after L. O’Hanlon pulled a short ball straight to Alex King at square leg. Alex King then replaced Graves and too impressed with a fine action. The left hander coming over the wicket had the ball coming into the batsmen and could easily have claimed more but finished with one wicket for fifteen. Meanwhile, Childs had made way for Josh Conley just back from University. The tall man also got movement and suitably displayed his fine skill in his spell of seven overs one for just fifteen. At drinks Aston were just about holding on but then things got worse for them. M.J.E. Baker (2-6-3) brought himself on to bowl and struck straight away, the ball having hit the pads gently rolled back onto the stumps. He would then take two more thanks to some good field placements and superb catches in the deep as the hosts threw their wickets away. Under 13 leg spinner Jag Lalli chipped in thanks to a stumping from Mark King who also took a catch of Jack Childs (6.4-2-30-2) returning for a second spell. Reed had once again displayed the usual high fielding standards with catches from Lalli, Michael Robertson and Julian Fynn. Aston, all out for just 87.Not wanting to be over confident M.J.E. Baker chose to blend the youth of the team with [...]

Reed’s Sunday Seconds put in yet another solid performance on their home turf to defeat Aston. Marcus J.E. Baker won the toss and elected to bat first backing his confidence in his sides batting ability to set a strong target.Peter Baker and Rhodri Hughes started cautiously in making just 34 from the first 10 overs. However, with both batsmen now settled and comfortable at the crease a more aggressive second quarter saw Reed reach three figures by drinks. With the score on 119 the first wicket fell with Hughes being caught behind just one shy of a much deserved half century. Baker followed soon after for a well constructed 67. With two new batsmen at the crease Aston had an opening to exert some pressure. However, this was not to be the case as Lloyd Bowman and Matt Naeem resisted their attack adding 55 together. In fact Naeem, usually an accumulator, went on an all out assault and began to hit over the top in making 35. Bowman too continued his season long good form in contributing 19. M.J.E. Baker (14) then had the opportunity to bat alongside his brother James (22) as the Baker boys knocked the ball around taking Reed’s total past 200. In the final few overs Ben Moody (5*) ran well in support of the devastating Sean Tidey (27*) who hit 26 from the last over to see Reed to 253 for 6. In response Aston recovered from an early loss to form a threatening second wicket partnership. This momentum ended when spin twins Matt Naeem (6-1-19-2) and Sean Tidey (5-0-20-2) ripped through the middle order. Tidey and Naeem’s wickets were all bowled and left the visitors at 80 for 5. [...]

A young Reed side suffered a big defeat when they made the short journey to Barley. The hosts won the toss and inserted Reed which proved a good decision as the two Reed openers where lost cheaply. A positive partnership between Scott Caine (17) and Freddy Stuart (17) saw Reed keep up with a good run rate. After them Lloyd Bowman (29), Graham Stuart (10) and Marcus J.E. Baker (10) chipped in but ultimately Reed’s final total of 107 all out was a poor showing.In response the hosts showed how to do it with an opening partnership of 66. Josh Conley (3-13) gave a good display whilst, M.J.E. Baker (1-8) took the only other wicket to go. Barley chased down the low target with 20 overs remaining and 6 wickets in hand.

On one of the hottest playing days of the season thus far, Reeds Sunday Seconds played away to Bragbury at the rustic ground at Weston. Whilst the first eleven hosted Hertford in the County Cup the two’s covered their fixture in the North Herts League. The difference in age and experience was self-evident, but nonetheless the young Reed side put up a spirited fight.Reed won the toss and inserted their hosts and got off to a fantastic start with three early wickets. Bradbury’s over confidence and arrogance being their own down fall as their aggressive start stalled. Sam Hubbard (2-40) opened from the pavilion end and after a hesitant start began to send down some fantastic deliveries, he claimed two wickets thanks to catches by Freddy Stuart in the covers and Rhodri Hughes at point. Joe Graves meanwhile started at the other end and was also troubling the opposition leading to Lawrence (12) to be caught at first slip by Marcus J.E. Baker.Reed had the early advantage but things would change as a sensible partnership by Kenna and Braine put runs on the board. Whilst they were not running amuck with boundaries off every ball they did keep the scoreboard ticking over with good placement, calling and running. Both reached 50 when under 13 Edward Kershaw playing his first adult game claimed Braine for 52 in his first over. The enthusiastic leg spinner sent down some well flighted balls and could certainly have come away with more than his 1 for just 13. Sam Rice had also upset the batsmen with his spin but unfortunately came away empty handed. Kenna continued to play well and finished the hosts innings of 213 for 4 with 108 [...]