SATURDAY: No real joy for the League teams as the 1sts and 3rds lost, the 2nds drew and the 4ths conceded. The First XI were all-out for 149 chasing Chorleywood's 216. Mitchell Cooper scored 47 and Chris Jackson 42 after Reed's bowlers, Tom Greaves (3 wickets), Ed Wharton (2) and Cooper (2) had kept the visitors to a gettable total, but it was not to be. The last delivery of the match was hit to the Hoddesdon boundary in the Second XI match. But was it a 4 or a 6? That was the debatable question and eventually the umpires decided it was a four. A six would have meant a Hoddesdon victory by 5 wickets. But as it was only a four, the match was drawn with Reed 1 run ahead. Crucially, Karl Ward had reached the 70s in Reed's 225 for 9 with support in the lower order from Stuart Smith when Reed were in trouble at 140 for 7. League newcomers Potten End showed why they are top of Division 9A and will probably find their true playing level further up the ladder within 3 or 4 more seasons when they declared on 256 for 4 on the Freman Oval. MJE Baker took 3 wickets and Neil Haslam 1. The weakened Third XI managed only 56 in their innings, MJEB (14) and Bill Mansfield (10) were the only batsmen to reach double figures. Because of lack of players throughout the club, the knock-on effect hit the Fourth Team badly and they had to concede their match against Harpenden. This is their 4th concession this season and they face possible expulsion from the League if they concede once more. After 9 weeks and [...]

SATURDAY: Hooray! - the 4th Team managed to put a side in the field. Boo! there were only 8 of them and they were thrashed by Letchworth who scored 352 for 5, Neil Haslam and Lloyd Bowman took 2 wickets each. When Reed batted Martin Johnson scored 40 and Michael Hubbard 19 but were all-out for 86. The Firsts had another impressive win. Scoring only 199, (46 not out to Sean Tidey and 42 to Stuart Smith), West Herts were scuppered for 132 in the 43rd over. Toby Fynn took 3 wickets whilst Ed Wharton and Sean Tidey took 2 each. On Hertford's second ground, Reed 2nd XI declared on 274 for 9 after 49 overs. Richard Johnson and George Teeboon notched-up half centuries for Reed then Joe Graves (3 wickets), Julien Fynn (2) and Karl Ward (2) contributed to Hertford's downfall to 151 all-out. On the Freman Oval, Harpenden Dolphins lost regular wickets to Matt Giblin (3), Marcus Baker (3) and Steve Hughes (2) but still made it to 192 all-out. Peter Baker led the reply and had just passed his ton when finally holing-out with 6 runs required. MJEB was not out 24 as Reed claimed victory by 6 wickets. SUNDAY: The match was changed to Datchworth away but Reed struggled to find a full team. However the MJEB octet put up a good fight and ended on 213 in response to Datchworth's 232. Joe "Digger" Graves continued his wicket-taking form with 4 for 35 and Rhodri Hughes's 70 and Marcus Baker's 41 were the major contributions with the bat. COLTS: Earlier in the week the Under 13s (81 for 4) beat Broxbourne (51). Sam Osborne scored 26 and Charlie Walters 22, then [...]

SATURDAY: The 1sts had a good win at Hoddesdon when Tom Greaves scored 90 batting at number 6 and Stuart Smith 48 overhauling the 245 set by the hosts with 4 wickets in-hand. Earlier Sean Tidey took 4 for 54. At Reed, the 2nds went down by 71 runs against West Herts who had been all-out for 190. Karl Ward (4 wickets), Ian Osborne (3) and Alex Kelly (3) had done the damage. But Reed fell well short as only Ward and Osborne managed credible scores in the thirties in response. Over at Hatfield Hyde, Paul Garrott continued the run-making with 67 but collectively Reed's 206 for 6 wasn't enough when H-H knocked-off the runs with 5 wickets down and 5 overs to spare. 2 wickets for Matt Yates. The 4ths again had to concede because of lack of available players. A well-attended Curry Evening after Saturday's matches offset the disappointments and celebrated the successes of the day. Thank you Marion and Paul Watts for your splendid curries. SUNDAY: The friendly fixture against Hare Street & Hormead was initially moved to the Meads because of the Village Cup match taking precedence at Reed, but even so there weren't enough players and the match was cancelled. The Reed XI played Preston in the Herts / Beds Regional Final of the National Village Cup on the Green. Losing early wickets to Jack Tidey, (3 for 16 from 8 overs), Preston made it to 149 for 8, Sean Tidey and Karl Ward picked-up 2 wickets each. Reed comfortably reached their target in the 34th over thanks to Will Heslam (28), Richard Wharton (52) and Rob Lankester (60). Reed will now be away to neighbouring rivals, Foxton, (winners of [...]

SATURDAY: The Firsts scored at 6 an over to total 302 for 6 on the Green. Fifties were scored by Will Heslam, Richard Wharton and Matt Sampson. When Botany Bay batted Sampson took 2 wickets and Marcus Martin 3 in four deliveries and were all-out for 230. At the end of the first batch of 50/50 format matches, Reed are 6th in the Championship Division. The Seconds came up short at Broxbourne who had made 205 all-out, Peter Tidey in the wickets there. Reed mustered 186 all-out with George Garrott top-scoring with a half-century. Reed are 5th in Division 4B. On the Freman Oval, Mill Hill Village were bowled out for 170. 2 wickets each for Steve Hughes and Martin Johnson, and 3 to Marcus Baker. Then Paul Garrott led the way reaching 80 and MJEB hit 60 as the Thirds passed the target with 5 wickets in-hand. This leaves Reed in 7th position in Division 9A. For the second successive week, the Fourths had to concede having only 5 available players. This Division plays only matches in the 40/40 format and positions are based on points aggregated divided by matches played (including those conceded). Perhaps it is needless to report, but Reed are bottom of Regional Division B East, with a Minus 1 Point Average. I am sure we look forward to when player availability is better and Reed CC as a whole can field four competitive teams in the Herts League all playing at their full potential. SUNDAY: After 532 runs were scored on the Green on Saturday, a further 606 runs were notched-up on Sunday. Reed made 322 for 7 with Will Haslam (91), Jack Tidey (73), Mitch Cooper (66) and Toby [...]

It's been all-change this week. The Fourths had to concede their Herts League match on Saturday. Not enough players! Eaton Bray have conceded their Village Cup match against Reed 1st XI on Sunday. Not enough players!! The Sunday "Friendly" against Aspenden would have been conceded; not enough players!!! But because the 1st Team players became available, there will be a match at Reed on Sunday. It won't be against Aspenden though (not enough players!!!!). Instead a combined Preston / Knebworth Blue side will visit us; 2pm start. SATURDAY: The Firsts and Seconds had a double-header against Ampthill. Away at Ampthill, the 1sts bowled them out for 144, 3 wickets each to Tom Greaves and Sean Tidey. Ed Wharton then biffed 66 supported by Rob Lankester's 25. But precariously poised 9 wickets down needing the final runs, Toby Fynn saw Reed to a 1 wicket win. Meanwhile at Reed, Phil Frenay led our 2nds to 218 for 6 with 89; Matt Sampson scored a half-century too. The visitors could muster only 134 leaving Reed victors by 84 runs. The wickets were "shared around". Over at Bayford, the 3rds played Bayford & Hertford Nondescripts who reached 205 for 8 in their 50 overs. Marcus Baker took 3 for 25 and Steve Hughes 2 for 19. At 24 for 5 in reply, Reed looked dead & buried, but a new 6th wicket partnership of 119 between Matt Yates (26) and MJEB ensued. MJEB ploughed-on to 133 until Reed were all-out for 201, just 5 runs short of the target. SUNDAY: The Sunday friendly against a Combined XI from Knebworth Blue and Preston at Reed saw fine batting performances from George Garrott, (83), and Rhodri Hughes, (78), as they [...]

Saturday: Of the 131 matches in the Herts League programme, 22 were cancelled, 3 conceded and 34 rain affected. Unfortunately, heavy rain did not come soon enough at Reed as the 1sts were bundled out for 62 and duly lost by 8 wickets. The 2nds travelled to Harpenden where the rain caused abandonment after the hosts had reached 30 for 1 in 11 overs. The 3rds ended with 30 points after a win against Shenley Village on the Freman Oval. In an innings reduced by the rain to 48 overs, Paul Garrott scored 69 and Marcus Baker, (39), Rob Willoughby, (35), and Ben Moody, (28 not out), took the score to 213 for 6. After and during rain, Shenley batted to finally finish on 101 for 2 after 24 overs before the weather conditions were such that play could not be continued. Based on run-rate, they had required 107 off those 24 overs. There was a wicket apiece for Maseeh Naeem and MJE Baker. At the Maccabi Sports Ground in Barnet, Totteridge Millhillians racked-up 208 for 6 after a delayed start in an innings reduced to 35 overs. Neil Haslam, Lloyd Bowman and Richard Stuart took 1 wicket each but starring with the ball was Graham Stuart with 3 for 36. There were no stars with the bat, Steve Hoy, (18), and Peter Baker, (14), put on 35 for the first wicket but were the only batsmen in the nine-man team to reach double-figures. Reed all out 58. Sunday: Reed's friendly away at Aston was cancelled. Once again Reed were unable to find 11 players available to play. Village Cup news: Because Shenley Village had conceded to Reed last weekend, and Long Marston had conceded [...]