Mayfield batted first in this friendly fixture, on what was to prove a very unpredictable early season green pitch. Mayfield struggled to score, being reduced to 88 for 5 after 24 overs. There was a very economic spell from Neil Haslam of 8-7-5-1. Matt Yates replaced Owen Hughes, but could only bowl 3 over due to a muscle strain. There was a notable 122 run sixth wicket stand (Starck finishing unbeaten on 58 and Goodchild falling one short of 50), with some of the Reed bowlers proving to be expensive (Emes: 7-0-46-1, S Hughes: 5-0-40-0, Childs 2-0-19-0) and the batmen’s negating the slow outfield by hitting a number of sixes. The youngsters; Harry Hawes and Kieran McKinna plugged away taking 3 wickets between them. Owen Hughes returned for 2 overs and took his second wicket (7-1-19-2) in the last over of innings. Mayfield finished on 211 for 7, with extras accounting for 35 runs, indicating all-round early season rustiness. Reed started their innings cautiously, after the loss of Jack Childs in the second over. Kieran McKinna stuck around for 15 overs for 14 runs before being bowled. Reed were never in a position to challenge Mayfield’s score, with only Paul Garrett (10) and top scorer Owen Hughes (29) being the only other batsmen to reach double figures. Owen having to drop down the order after suffering blurred vision and vomiting due to a migraine. Toby Emes and S Hughes dropped anchor at the end of innings to bat out for a draw, as agreed that the side had to be bowled out to lose. Reed finished on a miserly 93 for 8 off their 40 overs, with extras accounting for 23 of the runs. Man [...]

A youthful Reed IV’s team made the journey down to Mayfield CC on Saturday. Greeted by a very slow outfield and a wicket that looked as if it could deliver a few surprises captain Bowman fancied a bowl and trusted Owen “Iron boots” Hughes (2-8) and Matt Yates (1-33) with the new ball, both returning good figures. Bowman then turned to the spin of Emes (1-31) and unpredictability of Steve Hughes (2-64) and inspired captaincy it was too, Emes striking with just his first ball. Mayfield looked rattled at 43-5 but Kureshi(36), Starck(25) and Patel(42) stuck around and contributed runs to help Mayfield finish on 176 all out. After teas Reed prepared to bat, opening pair Johnson and R. Willoughby both started well striking boundaries in the first two overs. After that it went somewhat downhill as Reed fell foul to a devastating spell of slow bowling by Cullen (5-14) who dismissed the top four in the space of six balls. Moody, accompanied by talismanic skipper Bowman steadied the ship but a chase never looked on the cards and Reed continued to lose regular wickets ending on a disappointing 60 all out. Report submitted by Ben Moody.