2022 will be remembered for the incredibly hot summer we had. It was the first time I can remember playing in a game where the overs were reduced due to it being too hot. We played Sandridge and I lost the toss and we were in the field. Simon Jackson was keeping and when he told me he was tired I knew the bowlers must be struggling. On the pitch there were the usual highs and lows. Personally, getting to Captain the 2's for a full season was very enjoyable. It meant I could get a bowl which usually only happened on the last game of the season if we had nothing to play for. My second ball of the season was a very short very slow ball to Hewitt from Welwyn. He should have hit it to Barkway but somehow managed to hit it straight back at me for a caught and bowled. I'm sure there's an old saying there somewhere. It was good to see the 1st Team get some new players in to strengthen the side. Chris Chambers returned to the club after about 20 years away and Head of recruitment, Bill Mansfield managed to get Bertie Scott to join. It was also great to welcome Zak back from Australia. I think the 1st Team have a lot of strength in depth now and hopefully 2023 will be successful for Tom and the team in both the league and cup. Where I think 2022 has been most successful is with the development of the young players at Reed. There were a number of outstanding performances from young players across all 3 adult teams. Scott Nash's 3rd team regularly fielded a number of [...]

After getting only half a season in 2020, it was great to be able to get back to a full season of cricket this year. There were still lots of restrictions in place but heading into April there was a real sense of optimism. The 1st Team also had the excitement of a first full year in the Premier League with all the ‘Big’ sides making the trip to Reed. Whereas Covid caused games to be cancelled last year, this year it was the weather and unfortunately lots of fixtures were lost to rain, which was a real shame. We always knew playing Premier League cricket was going to be tough and with injuries and availability issues for some of our best players, it certainly turned out that way. Personally though, I really enjoyed the experience. Having players like Owais Shah play at Reed was great. Being in the Premier League meant the 1st Team players could not play in the Village Cup. So our Second team got the opportunity to play a couple of really good matches at the Green that were really well supported. We ended up losing to a very good Preston side. The stand out adult team this year was our Third team which was led extremely well by Rhodri Hughes. Some really good performances meant promotion, which was a fantastic achievement. Rhodri has now got a new job that is out of the area which is unfortunate for us, but I wish him well and hopefully he will be back for the odd match. Where we struggled for availability this year, we were able to give a lot of the younger players an opportunity in adult cricket. To see the [...]