The Headlines for the final Sunday Friendly should have been "Gibbo leads the victory charge with marvellous ton!" Instead, he hit the winning runs with a two, but left himself stranded on 99 not out. At the secluded picturesque cricket ground where Stansted Hall & Elsenham CC reside, all the Reed XI plus 12th man were present and correct at the advertised start time. Worryingly, the SH&E Captain was accompanied by only 3 of his team-mates. Confusion over the start time and long delays caused by road works in Stansted, (where typically no one was actually working on a Sunday), meant that the wayward home players were "on their way". Once they had 6 changed and ready, the hosts decided to bat first as one-by-one their remaining team-mates arrived by various means. Fortunately, the opening pair of Thomas and Robinson compiled a century stand at well over 6 an over. Mike Robertson in particular found it difficult to come to terms with the right-hand, left-hand combination. He bowled some superb deliveries in his spell, but unfortunately what would have been potential wicket-taking balls to the right-hander were deemed leg-side wides to the left-hander - and vice-versa. Ben Mansfield took the first wicket and Will Archer added another. Debutant, Mark Rutt, took two but the fielders didn't help by spilling several chances. Robinson reached his splendid century then retired. In the end, SH&ECC set Reed the imposing target of 260 in 40 overs. After a suitable refreshment interval, Rhodri Hughes carried-on from his eighty last weekend and was soon into his stride. MJE Baker also soon found the middle of his little-used bat by hitting 4 fours in the second over of the innings and Reed [...]