On an overcast afternoon with rain forecast, Harpenden invited Reed to bat. Martin Johnson (2) arrived just in time to open the batting alongside Paul Garrott but then lost his wicket early. There is a moral in that tale. Wickets fell at regular intervals throughout the Reed innings, with Garrott (75) again playing an anchor role for the majority of the innings, in which he had a 69-run, 5th wicket partnership with Bill Mansfield (39). Sam Rice (14) and Ben Mansfield (11) were the only other batsmen to record a double-digit score. With a little flourish towards the end of innings Reed reached 190 for 9 off 40 overs. Reed having got through the innings un-interrupted despite some heavy drizzle falling. In reply Harpenden reached 114 for 3 off 21 overs, before the now heavier persistent rain forced the teams from the field. With more than 20 overs played and a superior run rate of 5.42 runs per over, Harpenden won this contest. Reed’s run rate being 4.75 runs per over. The wicket takers were Johnson (6-1-31-2) including one excellent one-handed catch off his own bowling and Jake Gifford (6-0-24-1). Harpenden managing to strike a number of boundaries, although there was some exceptional fielding on the boundary by Ben Mansfield, whose whites were certainly not that colour by the end of this game. Reed made an early breakthrough with Harpenden losing their first two wickets for only 13 runs, but a third wicket stand of 86 took this game away from Reed, alongside the rain denying us having a chance to bowl at the Harpenden middle order. Bowling and fielding become more difficult with a sodden ball as the Harpenden innings progressed. Today's side was [...]

Reed Fours travelled to Harpenden Sixes on Saturday. Harpeneden won the toss and chose to bat. Reed’s opening attack of Yates and Haslam exerted early pressure as the two left handed openers found runs hard to come by. Haslam in particular bowling around the wicket, got the ball to move and seam away. Harpenden had reached 42 in the 13th over when Haslam forced Louseda to play around a straight ball for 17. Roy followed in Haslam’s next over as his stumps were rearranged by a late in-swinger (44-2). Yates (6-1-22-0) who bowled with no luck, gave way to Eames’s leg spin (9-1-52-0). Harpeneden looked to rebuild with Field and Croft but Reed’s bowling was miserly. Haslam ended his spell (12-1-26-3) by taking the wicket of Field (50), as Ben Mansfield steadied himself a deep mid-wicket to take the catch (100-3). As last week the tight bowling in the first 25 overs forced the opposition to take risks to up the run rate. Croft (64*) and Caunce (42*) did just that, Childs (8-1-53-0), Ed Kershaw (4-0-19-0) and Johnson (2-0-16-0) found the last 16 overs hard going. Harpenden declared on 202-3 off 41 overs a competitive score. Reed opened their reply with Garrott and Yates, Yates fell in the 2nd over for just 4 (7-1), Bill Mansfield joined Garrott and they took the score to 46 in the 10th when Mansfield top edged a ball from Cramer for 17. Ben Mansfield came to the wicket and found it difficult against the slower bowlers. He was bowled for just 1 (62-3). Garrott had reached 40 when he missed a straight one from Cramer and was bowled for 40 and when Johnson was trapped lbw to Croft for [...]