Reed III impressive start to the season was halted on
Saturday after going down to a 3 wicket defeat to Knebworth
Park V. Skipper Matt Bowles lost the toss and his side were
asked to bat on what looked a very green and lively pitch.
The in form William Heslam opened up with father John, and
despite the excessive bounce the young Heslam looked in
imperious form as he combined some excellent back foot
shots with sensible leaves and a solid defence. The pair
took the score to 20 before John Heslam was bowled by
Mantle after attempting a drive. This brought about a
collapse, as the Reed top order struggled to cope with the
excessive bounce of the pitch. Paul and George Garrott both
came and went to the impressive Mantle in quick succession,
and they were followed by William Heslam (17), who was
caught superbly off of the bowling of Johnson.
This left Reed in a perilous position at 24-4, with skipper
Bowles and Richard Robertson now at the crease. The pair
batted sensibly, protecting their wickets well and steering
Reed away from a disastrous score. Bowles (31) was looking
set for a long stay in the middle, but then fell foul of
the pitch as a ball kept low and beat his defences. Two
more wickets fell as Kallum Ward and Graham Hazard went
cheaply to leave the visitors staring down the barrel once
more, but the combination of sensible and stylish batting
from Robertson (34) and the brutal Jim Allsopp (19) lifted
Reed into the batting points. However, Mantle’s 5 wickets
and the cleaning up of the Reed tail meant the final score
for the innings was a lowly 136.
Knebworth had 50 Overs to chase the visitors’ total, but
had to negotiate the tough pitch and a fired up Reed
bowling attack. Julien Fynn tore into their top order, with
reducing the home side to 2-2 in the 1st Over. Kallum Ward
then joined the action, bowling another Knebworth batsman
to leave the score on 6-3. Park’s skipper Inman then came
to the crease, and along with Evans steered Knebworth away
from the initial danger. However the introduction of Andrew
Wholley and Jim Allsopp soon swung the game back in Reeds
favour, as Inman was bounced out by the pacey Wholley, who
also picked up another wicket soon after.
Allsopp bowled fantastically in a 10 over spell, and
deservedly got a wicket, leaving the hosts 66-6. Evans (41)
remained however, and some resolute if unspectacular
batting, in conjunction with Jones saw Knebworth climb
towards their target. Ward did finally bowl Evans, but it
was too little too late for Reed as the hosts got over the
line for the loss of 7 wickets. Reed were left to rue their
low score, although did manage to pick up 11points even in
defeat.